第84部分(第2/8 頁)

；　I　am　glad　to　say；　been　much　liked　by　its　readers　and；　up　to　the　present；　proved　successful。　Of　course；　however；　when　I　speak　of　success；　I　mean　on　the　moderate　scale　to　which　I　can　hope　to　attain。

No　doubt；　however；　by　degrees　as　a　writer　I　shall　be　put　upon　the　shelf；　for　that　is　the　lot　of　all　or　nearly　all　of　us　when　we　grow　old。　I　cannot　look　forward　to　any　prosperous　period　in　my　old　age；　which；　should　I　chance　to　live　so　long；　it　seems　to　me　probable　enough　I　shall　be　called　upon　to　pass　in　a　very　modest　way。　As；　however；　I　have　been　able　to　provide　well　for　any　who　may　e　after　me；　at　this　I　do　not　grumble　in　the　least。　I　have　earned　a　good　average　ine　as　an　author　during　many　years；　and　perhaps　I　ought　to　have　saved　more。　But　investments　are　apt　to　turn　out　badly　when　the　investor　has　no　time　to　attend　to　them；　moreover；　as　I　think　I　said　I　have　discovered；　it　is　certainly　true　that　man　does　not　“live　to　himself　alone。”　There　are　plenty　of　those　who　claim　to　share　in　whatever　he　may　earn。　The　owner　of　any　fixed　property　in　our　part　of　rural　England　is；　in　fact；　nothing　but　a　distributor。　In　wages；　taxes；　and　subscriptions　he　hands　out　nearly　all　that　he　receives；　except；　of　course；　the　worries；　the　losses；　the　clamorous　and　almost　savage　demands　for　money　that　e　by　every　post；　and　the　various　official　forms　that　he　is　required　to　fill　in。　These　too　often　are　all　his　portion；　and　therefore　it　is　that　I　have　determined　to　sell　every　acre　of　our　outlying　lands　if