TO W. TOWNEND

Dear bill,—­

I have never been much of a lad for the

To-----

But For Whose Sympathy and Encouragement
This Book
Would Never Have Been Written

type of dedication.  It sounds so weak-minded.  But in the case of Love Among the Chickens it is unavoidable.  It was not so much that you sympathised and encouraged—­where you really came out strong was that you gave me the stuff.  I like people who sympathise with me.  I am grateful to those who encourage me.  But the man to whom I raise the Wodehouse hat—­owing to the increased cost of living, the same old brown one I had last year—­it is being complained of on all sides, but the public must bear it like men till the straw hat season comes round—­I say, the man to whom I raise this venerable relic is the man who gives me the material.

Sixteen years ago, my William, when we were young and spritely lads; when you were a tricky centre-forward and I a fast bowler; when your head was covered with hair and my list of “Hobbies” in Who’s Who included Boxing; I received from you one morning about thirty closely-written foolscap pages, giving me the details of your friend -----’s adventures on his Devonshire chicken farm.  Round these I wove as funny a plot as I could, but the book stands or falls by the stuff you gave me about “Ukridge”—­the things that actually happened.

You will notice that I have practically re-written the book.  There was some pretty bad work in it, and it had “dated.”  As an instance of the way in which the march of modern civilisation has left the 1906 edition behind, I may mention that on page twenty-one I was able to make Ukridge speak of selling eggs at six for fivepence!

Yours ever,
P. G. Wodehouse

London, 1920.

LOVE AMONG THE CHICKENS

CHAPTER I

A LETTER WITH A POSTSCRIPT

“A gentleman called to see you when you were out last night, sir,” said Mrs. Medley, my landlady, removing the last of the breakfast things.

“Yes?” I said, in my affable way.

“A gentleman,” said Mrs. Medley meditatively, “with a very powerful voice.”

“Caruso?”

“Sir?”

“I said, did he leave a name?”

“Yes, sir.  Mr. Ukridge.”

“Oh, my sainted aunt!”

“Sir!”

“Nothing, nothing.”

“Thank you, sir,” said Mrs. Medley, withdrawing from the presence.