'
And he recounted an anecdote of how an eminent personage he had once
dined with had been waited on with great respect and attention by all
present, but salt was offered to him with the peas. 'If you want to make
me quite happy,' said the great man, 'you will give me some sugar with
my peas.' His favourite drink, I remember, was Canary sack.
"He had a strongly humorous side, and always enjoyed a good laugh. As
an instance of this, I will recount the following incident: When I had
returned home after my first visit to 'The Old Orchard,' my sister,
three years older than myself, and I had a heated argument on the
subject of the number of stomachs in a cow. I insisted it was three;
she, on the other hand, held that it was seven. After a long and fierce
dispute, I exclaimed: 'Well, let us write to Dr. Wallace, and he will
settle it for us and tell us the real number.' This we did, the brazen
audacity of the proceeding not striking us at the time. By return of
post we received a letter which, alas! I have unfortunately not
preserved, but the substance of which I well remember. 'Dear Irene and
Reggie,' it ran, 'Your dispute as to the number of stomachs which a cow
possesses can be settled and rectified by a simple mathematical process
usually called subtraction, thus:
Irene's Cow 7 stomachs
Reggie's Cow 3 stomachs
----------
The Farmer's cow 4 stomachs.
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