out through the now open gates by a vigorous stroke of the boat-hook.
"May you live long, and have your green old age renewed for ever!"

On we went; and the water had the familiar aspect to me of the days
before Pangbourne had been thoroughly cocknified, as I have seen it.
It (Pangbourne) was distinctly a village still--i.e., a definite
group of houses, and as pretty as might be. The beech-woods still
covered the hill that rose above Basildon; but the flat fields
beneath them were much more populous than I remembered them, as there
were five large houses in sight, very carefully designed so as not to
hurt the character of the country. Down on the green lip of the
river, just where the water turns toward the Goring and Streatley
reaches, were half a dozen girls playing about on the grass. They
hailed us as we were about passing them, as they noted that we were
travellers, and we stopped a minute to talk with them. They had been
bathing, and were light clad and bare-footed, and were bound for the
meadows on the Berkshire side, where the haymaking had begun, and
were passing the time merrily enough till the Berkshire folk came in
their punt to fetch them. At first nothing would content them but we
must go with them into the hay-field, and breakfast with them; but
Dick put forward his theory of beginning the hay-harvest higher up
the water, and not spoiling my pleasure therein by giving me a taste
of it elsewhere, and they gave way, though unwillingly. In revenge
they asked me a great many questions about the country I came from
and the manners of life there, which I found rather puzzling to
answer; and doubtless what answers I did give were puzzling enough to
them. I noticed both with these pretty girls and with everybody else
we met, that in default of serious news, such as we had heard at
Maple-Durham, they were eager to discuss all the little details of
life: the weather, the hay-crop, the last new house, the plenty or