“ ‘That was there when your ritual was drawn up,’ said I, as we drove past it.

“ ‘It was there at the Norman Conquest in all probability,’ he answered. ‘It has a girth of twenty-three feet.’

“ ‘Have you any old elms?’ I asked.

“ ‘There used to be a very old one over yonder but it was struck by lightning ten years ago, and we cut down the stump.’

“ ‘You can see where it used to be?’

“ ‘Oh, yes.’

“ ‘There are no other elms?’

“ ‘No old ones, but plenty of beeches.’

“ ‘I should like to see where it grew.’