"I ask because I do not see any of the country-looking people I
should have expected to see at a market--I mean selling things
there."

"I don't understand," said he, "what kind of people you would expect
to see; nor quite what you mean by 'country' people. These are the
neighbours, and that like they run in the Thames valley. There are
parts of these islands which are rougher and rainier than we are
here, and there people are rougher in their dress; and they
themselves are tougher and more hard-bitten than we are to look at.
But some people like their looks better than ours; they say they have
more character in them--that's the word. Well, it's a matter of
taste.--Anyhow, the cross between us and them generally turns out
well," added he, thoughtfully.

I heard him, though my eyes were turned away from him, for that
pretty girl was just disappearing through the gate with her big
basket of early peas, and I felt that disappointed kind of feeling
which overtakes one when one has seen an interesting or lovely face
in the streets which one is never likely to see again; and I was
silent a little. At last I said: "What I mean is, that I haven't
seen any poor people about--not one."

He knit his brows, looked puzzled, and said: "No, naturally; if
anybody is poorly, he is likely to be within doors, or at best
crawling about the garden: but I don't know of any one sick at
present. Why should you expect to see poorly people on the road?"

"No, no," I said; "I don't mean sick people. I mean poor people, you
know; rough people."