the cornishman being first a pagan , then a convert to methodism , but always and at all times being an unpretentious and hard working fellow ( the old chap knew how to play the crowd ) , a fisherman , a farmer or a miner down the bal , he might occasionally lose his patience with one of his colleagues who was prone to sermonising rather than pulling his weight , perhaps a foreigner from across the border in england , a temporary worker from devon maybe ( applause ) , and as a manifestation of his annoyance with this wastrel he might very well remark upon his holier-than-thou attitude and bid him be gone from his sight .