Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/243

 H. H.'s bludgeonings and relentless criticisms must have felt there was something almost uncanny in his dexterous use of weapons: to-day cudgels and broad-swords; to-morrow ridiculous pin-pricks none the less galling.

The stolid stubborn resistance H. H. met with made no more impression on his mind than the solid rock can hope to make upon an incoming tide. Sooner or later, little by little, the foundations will be washed away: to-day a gentle lapping of the waves; to-morrow the breakers bursting in full force. Opposition H. H. could and did enjoy, and the reasons given for refusing to support his benevolent enterprises were sometimes amusing. One writer stated solemnly that the fewer opportunities nations had of knowing each other, the fewer opportunities would they have of quarrelling, and ended by citing Iceland in support of this theory. An abusive letter reached H. H. from Australia, wherein the writer complained that the introduction of penny postage had let loose a flood of correspondence from his poor relations in County Clare, trying to borrow money from him!

That Penny-a-Word Telegrams would further destroy the privacy of modern life was the reason put forth by Sir Arthur Bignold in a letter to his friend:

"I must own up to being an 'impossible,' inasmuch as my most fervent hope is in the direction of being let alone and not improved, and I feel certain that an instantaneous penny-a-word telegraph service would land me in Hanwell right away.

"The Postal Service was the beginning of it, for until that was established there was a little peace. You saw your friend and bade him good-bye, and you could not quarrel with him until you met him again. The