Sir Henry had been talking some time.

The Squire had not interrupted him much, but the papers which Sir Henry had presented to him from time to time--Government communications, Committee reports, and the like--were mostly lying on the floor, where, after a perfunctory glance at them, he had very quickly dropped them.
'Well, that's our case,' said Sir Henry at last, thrusting his hands into his pockets and leaning back in his chair, 'and I assure you we've taken a great deal of trouble about it.

We shouldn't ask you or anybody else to do these things if it wasn't vitally necessary for the food-supply of the country.

But we're going to have a narrow squeak for it next spring and summer, and we _must_ get more food out of the land.' Whereupon, in a manner rather provokingly reminiscent of a public meeting, Sir Henry fell into a discourse on submarines, tonnage, the food needs of our Allies, and the absolute necessity for undoing and repairing the havoc of Cobdenism--matters of which the newspapers of the day were commonly full.

That the sound of his own voice was agreeable to him might have been suspected.
Mr.Mannering roughly broke in upon him.
'What was that you said about ploughing up the park ?' 'We ask you to break up fifty acres of it near the Fallerton end, and perhaps some other bits elsewhere.