THE PATH THROUGH SUSSEX.f
HERE is Mr. Belloc once more in his mood of "The Path to Rome," and once more the result is delightful. The Four Men meet near Robertsbridge on the Kent border, and for four days they walk together through the length of Sussex till they part at Harting, on the western edge. Grizzlebeard, the Sailor, the Poet, and Myself are all delightful travelling companions, and as they walk they discuss every conceivable subject : they tell one another endless anecdotes and, best of • Lord Chatham as an Orator. By Henry Montagu Butler, D.D. Oxford, at the Clarendon Press. [ils. net.] t The Four Men : a Farrago. By U. Malec. London I Thomas Nolsoa 1014 Bons. [2e. net.]
all, they sing many delightful songs. These are indeed the principal charm of the book, and are as characteristic of their author as any of his admirers could hope. They are largely devoted to the praise of strong ale, it is true ; and theology is rather lightly handled in some of them. But the spirit is so healthy and fresh that these can scarcely be resented. The briefest snatches are perhaps almost the most inspiring. For instance :—
"If Bonaparte
Shud zummon d'Eart To land on Pevensey Level, I have two sons With our three guns To blarst un to the de-e-vil."
Or, again, a couplet about Beachy Head :— " Here the great auk, a bird with hairy legs, Arrives in early spring and lays its eggs.'
Scarcely less satisfactory are the longer ballads in the same vein that the Sailor sings from time to time. But we will
leave these for the reader to discover for himself, and content ourselves with quoting two stanzas from a more serious poem at the end of the volume :—
" He does not die that can bequeath Some influence to the land he knows, Or dares, persistent, interwreath
Love permanent with the wild hedgerows ; He does not die, but still remains Substantiate with his darling plains.
• • • • •
So, therefore, though myself be crosst The shuddering of that dreadful day When friend and fire and home are lost And even children drawn away— The passer-by shall hear me still,
A. boy that sings on Duncton Hill."
It must not be thought, however, that Sussex is a mere excuse
for a string of irrelevant stories and poems. The whole volume, on the contrary, is impregnated with the breath of Sussex air, and whoever loves the county is pretty sure to love the book as well and to feel a pang of regret when the Four Men part at the end of their journey.
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