Constance was always deeply grateful for her happy

childhood. The family had memorable holidays in the

peace and beauty of the Sussex countryside, in a little

village hidden under the Downs. In springtime the garden,

woods and fields were sweet with wild violets, primroses

and bluebells and everywhere there was birdsong. They had

picnics on the Downs when they were carpeted with cow-

slips and in the summer they pulled the pram up with

ropes, her small brother enthroned and surrounded with

“ provender for hungry children. There was a good company

of family and friends to enjoy the peace and beauty of

those still unspoilt Downs.