OUR COUNTY. 
 
 JOHN MILLS, ESQ., 
 
 AUTHOR OF 
 
 THE OLD ENGLISH GENTLEMAN ;" " THE STAGE COACH, OR THE 
 
 KOAD OF LIFE ;" " CHRISTMAS IN THE OLDEN TIME ;" 
 
 "the LIFE OF A FOXHOUND," &C., &C. 
 
 IN THREE VOLS. 
 VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON : 
 HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, 
 
 GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 
 
 im).
 
 LONDON : 
 ilYERS AND CO , PRINTERS, 37, KING STREET, 
 COVENT GARDEN.
 
 
 TO 
 
 I RICHARD MEREDITH WHITE, ESQ., 
 
 
 it 
 
 to 
 
 i 
 
 THESE VOLUMES ARE DEDICATED, 
 
 f rite nf Mtm ui teprt, 
 
 BY HIS SON-IN-LAW, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2009 with funding from 
 
 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/ourcounty01mill
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 The following pages are almost exclu- 
 sively devoted to the description of English 
 country life. It is needless to add, that 
 our invigorating national sports form some 
 of the principal features in them, as it 
 would be impossible to give anything like 
 a faithful picture of '' Our County/' unless 
 scenes of the fields and the woods were 
 blended with it. The object has been to thread 
 these desultory scenes together, by a tale 
 which, it is hoped, may obtain for them an 
 interest of a continuous order, and although 
 the plot is not constructed of elaborate 
 materials, yet something may be learned
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 from the fiction, which has for its aim, 
 the holding up the mirror to folly and 
 cupidity. 
 
 It is to be feared that a '' Jack Racket " 
 is often to be met with, waiting, like a 
 spider in his web, to catch the unwary 
 and confiding, and if one should escape the 
 trammel, from an introduction to him in 
 these Images, the labour of writing them 
 wdll be amply rewarded.
 
 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 " The Eastern sky was left all dusky grey, 
 And o'er the last hot breath of parting day, 
 To cool the sultry noon's remaining flame, 
 On gentle gales the grateful twilight came ; 
 Dimpling the shining lakes, the fragrant breeze 
 Sighs o'er the lawns and whispers through the trees.'' 
 
 On the threshold of a cottage door, or 
 lodge, at the entrance of a noble avenue of 
 lime trees, a man sat with folded arms, and 
 his face upturned to the clear and star-stud- 
 ded heavens above. The cool breeze ruffled 
 the scanty and frosted hair upon his brow, 
 and fanned his ruddy cheek freshly. It was 
 Tom Piper indulging in a reverie, described 
 
 VOL. I. B
 
 2 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 by himself as " a-thinking." Now, Tom 
 Piper was one of those choice geniuses, like 
 pearls in hailstorms, to be met with but 
 rarely. His first step in the scale of life 
 had been the filling the office of errand boy 
 at the Grange. What wonders he performed 
 in that responsible position ! Daily had he 
 to " go post " on the obstinate shaggy black 
 pony, hide-proof 'gainst whip and spur, and 
 ever resolved to go as fast as he pleased, and 
 as slow as it suited him. Daily had he to 
 convey a hundred messages, each requiring 
 a reply, upon an equal number of distinct 
 and several subjects. Daily might he be 
 seen absolutely embedded in letter-bags, par- 
 cels, baskets, band-boxes, saucepans, grid- 
 irons, pitchforks, and other multifarious 
 articles far too numerous to mention. From 
 this primitive duty Tom was promoted to be 
 an under groom, and progressively became 
 the head of that most important department 
 in a country gentleman's establishment — the 
 stable. As coachman he once enjoyed the
 
 OUR COUNTY. 6 
 
 supreme pride of parading his master, at the 
 successful termination of a terrible contest 
 for our county, through and round the 
 market town of Brybury. And had the 
 blue cockade in his glazed hat, those stream- 
 ing ribands in his horses' heads, the floating 
 banners, the drums and trumpets, and all 
 " the pomp and circumstance " of that elec- 
 tion faded from his memory ? Not the most 
 trifling incident connected with it. All is 
 as fresh and vivid in Tom Piper's imagina- 
 tion, as if the glories of that day were but 
 those of yesterday. Tom Piper, or as he is 
 more generally called '' Old Tom,'' never 
 thinks of them though, but with deeply - 
 rooted melancholy. He remembers that there 
 was a great change in the establishment 
 within a few months. The hounds were 
 given up, several servants discharged, trees 
 — ay, even the best of the stalwart oaks 
 around the Grange — were felled ruthlessly, 
 and, worse than all, the light-hearted Baronet 
 became thoughtful, serious, and sad. He 
 
 B 2
 
 4: OUR COUNTY. 
 
 rememberSj too, that reports were rife con- 
 cerning the enormous expenses incurred in 
 this contest, and it was generally whispered 
 that the estate's rental for seven long years, 
 at least, had been swamped in less than as 
 many weeks. It is a long time ago since 
 this untoward event took place; but old 
 Tom often cons the matter over, and shakes 
 his head, and sighs deeply. 
 
 After the death of his master, which, in 
 Tom's opinion took place by some twenty 
 years earlier than it otherwise would have 
 done but for this same election and its con- 
 sequences, the large and rambling rooms in 
 the Grange were shut up, and its tall and 
 crooked chimnies became of little further 
 use than as cozy quarters for the drowsy 
 bat and chattering jackdaw. The old house, 
 with its great gable-ends jutting out, and 
 moss-grown walls of enormous thickness, 
 looked quite deserted, but, nevertheless it 
 was not a grim and tottering ruin. Its out- 
 ward doors were defended with iron grat-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 5 
 
 ings of prodigious size and weight, and 
 great beams, welded with bands and rivets, 
 stretched themselves among the blackened 
 bricks in perfect wedges of stability. The 
 dried fosse surrounding the base, and in 
 which now many a garden flower grew, 
 once offered impregnable defence, and a 
 donjon excavated from the foundations, 
 betokens the objects for which the ancient 
 pile was rendered thus strong and defying. 
 
 It has been already stated that Tom Piper 
 was sitting at the door of his cottage " a- 
 thinking." But it is necessary for the 
 linking of events past, present, and to 
 come, to exercise the license ceded to the 
 historian, and divulge the secret reflections 
 and refractions of old Tom's brain. He 
 was thinking whether he should live to 
 see the sad expression — (fixed from the day 
 her husband died) — vanish from the pale 
 and wan cheek of his good and kind mistress. 
 He was thinking of the oft-repeated prayers 
 of the poor and lowly, that the health of her
 
 6 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 daughter, fair and delicate as a fresh-blown 
 lilj, might be restored, and whether they 
 were listened to. He was thinking, too, and 
 more especially of the young Baronet, or 
 Master Ned, as was his privilege to call him, 
 and whether he was justified in yielding to 
 all his boyish whims and caprices. 
 
 " Upon my life !" ejaculated old Tom with 
 a sudden movement of his limbs, as if goaded 
 by the sharp lance of conscience, " I begin 
 to suspect it 's ver}^ wrong. In ray young 
 days I never so much as neglected an order, 
 much less disobeyed one ; and now I 'm 
 grey and grizzled as a badger, I do nothing 
 else. Where can I expect to go to, I should 
 like to know ?" continued he, glancing at 
 the azure sky above, with a desponding shake 
 of the head. " Not there, I 'm sure." 
 
 At this moment hasty footsteps were 
 heard, and before Tom Piper had time for 
 speculation as to whom was approaching his 
 dwelling, a stripling stood before him breath- 
 less with speed.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 7 
 
 " Oh!" exclaimed old Tom, " that 's you, 
 Master Ned, is it?" 
 
 " Yes," replied the boy, with a hearty 
 laugh; " my mother thinks I *m gone to bed, 
 but I wouldn't, before saying good night to 
 you." 
 
 " There you go again," rejoined Tom Piper, 
 reprovingly. " Didn't you promise me not 
 to deceive her any more? " 
 
 " To be sure I did," returned Master Ned, 
 carelessly. 
 
 " Then what 's the use of your promising, 
 if you make and break with the same breath ?" 
 inquired Tom, in a manner which he flattered 
 himself must prove effective. 
 
 '' None at all," replied the boy. 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha !" laughed Tom Piper. * ' Ha, 
 ha, ha! By Saint Gemmy, Master Ned, 
 you're too bad!" 
 
 '' Yes, thanks to your teaching," sharply 
 added his young master. "But I say, Tom," 
 continued he, changing his tone, "I'm a- 
 going to keep three couple more hounds."
 
 8 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 "What, sir!" ejaculated Tom Piper, start- 
 ing from his chair. " Three couple more ? " 
 
 " Yes," replied Master Ned, taking no 
 notice of the old man's astonishment, *' and 
 you must get them at walk somewhere." 
 
 "We shall hear of a deluge, an earthquake, 
 or a trifle of that sort presently," observed 
 Tom, by way of letting off a little oppressive 
 astonishment. 
 
 " I Ve arranged for their coming," con- 
 tinued Master Ned, " and they '11 be here at 
 nightfall, to-morrow." 
 
 " There was a slight pause before Tom 
 Piper essayed to give a reply to this piece 
 of intelligence. He looked, indeed, for a few 
 moments, like one bereft of the powers of 
 speech ; but at length, after a great effort, 
 bending his head forward, he uttered, in a 
 hoarse, melo-dramatic voice, " Never, Sir 
 Edward, never! Thomas Piper has not 
 quite forgotten his catechism." 
 
 " What has that to do with keeping my 
 hounds ?" asked his young master, laughing.
 
 OUR COUNTY. y 
 
 " Simply this, Sir," replied the old man : 
 " Thomas Piper's catechism taught him his 
 duty, and although some parts may have 
 slipped out of the leaky corners of his 
 head, enough remains to keep him a little 
 straight in righteous ways." 
 
 "Pray explain your meaning," said 
 Master Ned. 
 
 " 'Tis a dull brain that won't understand," 
 significantly returned Tom Piper. " How- 
 ever," added he, " I '11 quickly leave no 
 peg to hang an excuse upon. You know 
 that my Lady — God bless her ! — con- 
 sented to allow us to keep four couple o' 
 beagles ; instead of which you got on 
 my blind side and persuaded me to buy 
 harriers." 
 
 " But then you know, Tom," chimed in 
 Master Ned, conciliatory, ''' beagles are such 
 a time killing." 
 
 " Not content with this," resumed Tom 
 Piper, without noticing the expostulation, 
 " you soon after enticed me to make an
 
 10 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 addition of two couple more, and to keep 
 them trencher-fed on the sly." 
 
 "But then you know, Tom," replied 
 Master Ned," four couple were not sufficient, 
 and only kept us puddling on without the 
 chance of a clipping run." 
 
 " And now," continued old Tom, " you 
 have the hardihood to come and tell me that 
 three more couple 's a-coming without so 
 much as having said even one word about 
 the matter." 
 
 Ay, Master Ned, there 's the rub. Tom 
 Piper's vanity is wounded at the independence 
 of the deed, and not at the deed in itself. 
 
 " But then you know, Tom," for the third 
 time said Master Ned, '' a couple or two 
 more or less can't make any difference ; 
 and as you 're always so kind in yielding 
 to my wishes, I thought I might just take 
 the liberty for once in not consulting your 
 inclination." 
 
 " He 'd entice a bird to fly into his hand," 
 mentally remarked Tom Piper.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 11 
 
 " Besides," continued the plausible Master 
 Ned," I got the hounds more as a 
 pleasurable surprise for you, Tom, than as 
 a gratification to myself." 
 
 " Come, come," rejoined Tom Piper, 
 yielding with little less consistency than 
 butter in the sunshine, " none o' your soft 
 nonsense. Sir Edward." 
 
 " It 's true," returned the young Baronet. 
 " For you know, Tom, that you like the 
 sport just as well as myself." 
 
 " That 's true," added Tom Piper, feeling 
 the homethrust of the allegation. " Quite 
 true." 
 
 ''You are too honest, Tom," said the 
 triumphant Master Ned, " not to make that 
 admission." 
 
 "But then," replied Tom Piper, in atone 
 betokening the bewilderment of his thoughts, 
 " what will my Lady say when she sees a 
 regular pack o' hounds instead of four 
 couple o' beagles?" 
 
 " That it 's your fault, Tom.' rejoined
 
 12 OUR COUNTY> 
 
 Master Ned, " and she will knit her brows 
 and say she '11 not allow it. And, after one 
 of your odd speeches, may laugh for a little 
 Avhile. I wish, Tom," continued the boy, 
 earnestly, " that you 'd try and make her 
 laugh oftener. It makes me so happy when 
 I hear her." 
 
 " I know it," said the old man, and he 
 then added a blessing not the less eifective be- 
 cause inaudible. " But come," continued he, 
 aloud, "we mustn't grow serious in our jokes." 
 
 "You'll manage the hounds, then, for 
 me, Tom?" observed Master Ned, inter- 
 rogatively. 
 
 " I suppose I must," replied the old man. 
 " That 's just the way," continued he, " you 
 get over me. My mind is not my own. Oh 
 no. Not at all." 
 
 ^* God bless you, Tom," rejoined his young 
 master, giving him a friendly grasp of the 
 hand, and adding, " Good night," flew with 
 the speed of thought up the avenue leading 
 to the Manor House.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 13 
 
 Torn Piper stood listening until the last 
 footfall fell upon his ear, and then with a 
 slow step crossed the threshold of his 
 cottage. 
 
 And where was there a prettier, or more 
 snug, cozy, and comfortable dwelling than 
 Tom Piper's ? In thick entangled festoons 
 the hop-vine and honeysuckle clung and 
 tmned about the walls and straw-thatched 
 roof, and the latticed porch formed a perfect 
 bower of fragrant jessamine. Under the 
 sheltering eaves a colony of swallows built 
 their nests, and here they remained from 
 year to year tabooed from touch or moles- 
 tation. For Tom entertained notions bor- 
 dering on the superstitious with regard to 
 these nests, and deemed them as a trust for 
 his especial protection. What order and 
 arrangement, too, the interior comprised. 
 The prim, straight-backed oaken chairs 
 were polished to an extent that sitting on 
 them, without a constant sliding motion, 
 was a matter of great difficulty and labour.
 
 14 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 The walls were decorated with a couple of 
 heavy hunting whips, a pair of spurs with 
 particularly long rowels, as if designed for 
 a more than commonly sluggish or obstinate 
 animal, and a very antique collection of 
 small prints, proclaiming themselves to be 
 " Contented Ploughboys," " Happy Shep- 
 herds," '' Industrious Gardeners," and other 
 rustic subjects which, but for the expla- 
 natory notes, might have proved difficult 
 for the spectator to guess the limner's 
 original designs. In a cage, near the 
 ceiling, a lark was hung, and a dull, old 
 sulky bird was he. The piece of turf on 
 which he stood with huddled feathers 
 peeping and peering through the bars the 
 live long day, was always fresh and green ; 
 but he had long ceased to sing, and, save a 
 feeble shake or two when placed in the sun- 
 shine, he seemed to care little whether it 
 was spring, or when " the sleety storms re- 
 turn." Another of Tom Piper's domesticated 
 companions was a large tabby cat, between
 
 OUR COUNTY. 15 
 
 which and the lark a continued jealous feud 
 was maintained in sharing the favours of 
 their master. If he spoke and chirruped to 
 the bird, and offered him a meal worm or 
 two by way of a treat, tabby began to mew 
 in the most doleful strains. And when 
 caressing the sleek sides of tabby, the irate 
 lark would draw his beak quickly across the 
 wires, producing the unpleasant effect of 
 setting Tom Piper's teeth all "on an edge." 
 By such like means were hostilities sup- 
 ported, and had been for many a long 
 vear. 
 
 Tom Piper, proceeding to a small cup- 
 board, took from a dense collection of china 
 and glass a stone mug, which he called Toby 
 Phil pot. This mug had a resemblance to 
 an exceedingly corpulent man, with a face 
 for the spout, bearing an expression of un- 
 controllable mirth. Now, Toby Philpot 
 and Tom Piper were very good friends, and 
 at certain times quite inseparable. When 
 Tom laboured under temporary depression
 
 16 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 of spirits, it was quite remarkable the relief 
 that Toby — drained of a stoop of as fine 
 nut-brown ale as ever foamed in a tankard 
 — in due time effected. At times Tom 
 seemed to be holding a mysterious kind of 
 communication with Toby Philpot, for oc- 
 casionally he would sit nodding his head, 
 and making wry faces at the grinning figure, 
 at length, burst into a roar of laughter, 
 scaring the old lark into quite a flutter of 
 astonishment, and making the cat leap from 
 her doze and dreams. 
 
 Mechanically, and as if in a brown study, 
 Tom Piper grasped Toby Philpot, and 
 going to a closet in which was a small 
 barrel, turned a tap, and gurgled him to the 
 brim. If Toby appeared a good-tempered, 
 merry soul before, he now, with a white 
 foaming diadem surmounting his brow, 
 looked quite a rollicking, jovial blade. In 
 vain did old Tom endeavour, as he threw 
 himself back in his chair and placed the 
 flagon on the table before him, to monopolize
 
 OUR COUNTY. 17 
 
 his attention with his reflective powers, and 
 thus become a wiser and, perhaps, better 
 man by a consideration of the past. In 
 vain he turned from Toby to the ceiling 
 immediately above his head, and there endea- 
 voured to fi:K and rivet his attention. By 
 some fascination, impossible to describe, 
 Tom's eyes would gradually leave their focus 
 in the white- wash and ^x themselves on the 
 social countenance of Toby Philpot. The 
 talismanic number of three futile attempts 
 were made, and believing further perse- 
 verance useless, Tom yielded to the superior 
 influence, and, with a smiling visage, lifted 
 Toby to his lips, and drained him to his 
 middle. 
 
 " It 's no use," ejaculated Tom Piper, 
 with a sob, as if at considerable loss for 
 breath, *4t 's no use," repeated he, " when 
 you 're present. A man can't be a- think- 
 ing and ." Perchance he was about to 
 
 jingle "a-thinking" with " a-drinking ;" but 
 he stopped short, and practically concluded
 
 18 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 the sentence by finishing the contents of 
 Toby Philpot. 
 
 *' There," said Tom, as if relieved of a 
 burthen, " you 're settled, and now, mayhap, 
 I may be left a little to myself," and turning 
 the incentive to mirth from him, he thus 
 continued his train of thoughts. 
 
 " I 'm a-ruining Master Ned. Yes, I 'm 
 a-ruining him. That's all. Nothing more. 
 Oh no ! What can I expect I should like to 
 be informed? The rheumatic gout next 
 winter 's quite certain, and serves me right. 
 Isn't he taught to honor his mother that his 
 days may be long in the land, and here am 
 I, it may be, cutting 'em short by helping 
 him to play all manner of tricks and vagaries 
 with not only her respected honor, but his 
 own. Upon my life," continued Tom Piper, 
 " I begin to suspect I 'm a very bad old man. 
 Instead of being as stubborn as a mule, and 
 
 moral as " Tom was clearly at a loss for 
 
 a metaphor, but added, as an after thought, 
 — " an owl, I give up like a dunce with his
 
 OUR COUNTY. 19 
 
 book, and let him do just as he likes with 
 me. There are these hounds. What do I 
 deserve for encouraging such a fancy. Why, 
 if my Lady awarded me my deserts, she 'd 
 say, Mister Piper, pack up your linen. But 
 she won't ; and I, knowing this, I suppose, 
 take a rascally advantage of the knowledge. 
 Young Sir Edward," he resumed, after a 
 pause, " like his father, is too free and 
 thoughtless, and his mother, doubtless, 
 wishes to teach him a little prudence, and I, 
 as a dutiful servant, am lending a great help- 
 ing hand in the matter. Oh yes." 
 
 Tom Piper sneered at his own sarcasm 
 levelled against himself, and then continued. 
 " Besides, there may be weightier reasons for 
 keeping Master Ned within narrow bounds. 
 Eichard Stirling, the steward, is stricter 
 than ever in collecting the rents, and chary 
 of the smallest unnecessary expenses. 
 Lawyer Sharp, also, is more frequently at 
 the house than usual, and, with Eichard and 
 my Lady, are shut up together for hours at a
 
 20 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 time. If there were not heavy matters on 
 hand, I 'm sure this wouldn't be the case, 
 and although it 's no business of mine to pry 
 into them, still, as an old servant, I can't help 
 a-thinking. There's a sort of cold heavy 
 feeling here, too," said Tom Piper, placing a 
 hand bearing symptoms of many a day's hard 
 toil upon his broad breast, "just like a large 
 lump of pig iron," continued he, " or a nor'- 
 east wind caged up." 
 
 Poor Tom ! those pigmy imps, the demons 
 blue, are playing sad pranks with ye. The 
 gibing, grinning, mocking set crowd murky 
 thoughts into your brain. From the dark 
 depths of sorrow and despair they bring 
 heartaches and gloomy imageries, and gather 
 sighs in Melancholy's footsteps. With their 
 bat-like wings they hover round, shutting 
 out all rays of sunshine in the past, and make 
 the future look a waxing load for hump- 
 backed misery. 
 
 " Tom Piper, Tom Piper !" 
 
 Tom sprung from his chair and his des-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 21 
 
 ponding appearance changed to that of 
 intense surprise. Had some one called him ? 
 He cast his eyes around, and listened with 
 stopped breath and straining ears ; but there 
 was no repetition of the voice. All things 
 were as usual. The ancient lark stood with 
 his head buried beneath his wing, and tlie 
 tabby cat, obese and lazy, had stretched her- 
 self upon the floor in the idlest of all possible 
 positions. It was very strange that neither 
 had been startled as well as their master. 
 At least, so Tom Piper thought, and he went 
 to the window and flattened the end of his 
 nose against the glass, and peeped up the 
 chimney and under the table, and, after a 
 careful search behind the round table, stuck 
 edgeways in a corner of the room, felt 
 satisfied that it was but a freak of fancy. 
 
 " Humph !" ejaculated he, reseating him- 
 self, " that was a queer move," and then his 
 eyes fell on the jovial countenance of Toby 
 Philpot. Never did this figure of fun look 
 to be enjoying his own old joke — for that it
 
 22 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 must be old is quite certain — to such an 
 extent as at the present moment. His grin 
 looked broader than ever, and his eyes, meet- 
 ing Tom's, twinkled again. In vain did 
 Tom struggle to continue a gravity of ex- 
 pression. He screwed up his lips and pinched 
 his cheeks into a variety of shapes ; but all 
 was to no purpose, and, at length yielding to 
 the uncontrollable influence, burst into a 
 hearty roar, and kept it up until his sides 
 ached again. 
 
 " It 's impossible to help it," gasped Tom 
 Piper, at a loss for breath, and shaking his 
 head at Toby, *' quite impossible. But what 
 a stupid old fellow I am though !" continued 
 he; and lifting Toby from the table, he again 
 conveyed him under the Httle brass tap in 
 the barrel and foamed him to the brim.
 
 OUE COUNTY. 23 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 " When through the morning vapour's fleecy veil, 
 The early sun looks forth with softened rays, 
 And every harebell and wild tangled flower 
 Smells sweetly from its cage of checquered dew ; 
 When merry huntsmen wind the echoing horn 
 And from its covert start the fearful prey ; 
 Who, warmed with youth's blood in his swelling veins, 
 Would, like a lifeless clod outstretched lie, 
 Shut up from all the fair creation oifers." 
 
 " YooiT,hoik!" 
 
 Profound as was Tom Piper's slumber, the 
 cheerful halloo from without unsealed his 
 eyelids with the same suddenness as if a 
 couple of springs had been pressed upon 
 them; open as they were, however, their 
 sense seemed closed, for they continued 
 fixed on the white coverlet without any 
 apparent object or design.
 
 24 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 '' Yooit, hoik !" being repeated, in addi- 
 tion to a loud and cheerful wind of a horn, 
 had the effect of dispelling the fog and 
 fumes in Tom's brain, and brought him from 
 his bed with a skip and a bound to the 
 casement, with much more than ordinary 
 agility. 
 
 Throwing the window open, Tom's face 
 emerged, and was saluted with as loud and 
 ringing a peal of laughter as ever broke 
 from youthful lungs. 
 
 " I thought it was you, sir," said Tom 
 Piper, rubbing his features in no very ten- 
 der way; " I thought it was you, sir, because 
 it could not be anybody else." 
 
 '* And a very good reason too, Tom," re- 
 plied his young master, again indulging in 
 a peal of boisterous mirth. 
 
 " Have I overslept myself?" inquired Tom 
 Piper, with something like self-reproach. 
 
 '' No," was the rejoinder, " not a minute; 
 but I am an hour earlier." 
 
 '' I considered as much," returned Tom,
 
 OUR COUNTY 25 
 
 again becoming on the best terms with himself. 
 " Your being earlier is no wonder, but my 
 being later would be a marvel and a miracle." 
 
 " Never mind that," added his young 
 master, impatiently. " Put on your breeches, 
 Tom; make haste." 
 
 " I dare say now, Master Ned," said Tom 
 Piper, in a measured tone, as if in no way 
 disposed to humour the displayed eagerness, 
 " that you 've been puffing and blowing that 
 horn to little purpose before coming to me?" 
 
 '' Well, Tom," replied Master Ned, '' I 
 admit that I have. It was scarcely day- 
 light," continued he, " when I stood on 
 Elm- tree hill, and twanged it until I had no 
 more wind left than in a pricked bubble." 
 
 " And how many o' the hounds came to 
 ye?" asked Tom Piper, with a knowing roll 
 of the head. 
 
 " Only these couple and a half," rejoined 
 his young master, pointing to the hounds 
 with his whip. 
 
 "And let me tell ye. Sir Edward," re- 
 
 VOL. I. c
 
 26 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 turned Tom, "if ye had blown till doomsday- 
 no more would ha' come. But let me give 
 it a chink-wink," added he proudly, " and 
 they '11 fly from new milk and old meal." 
 
 " I know that," added Master Ned, ''and 
 therefore be quick and let 's be off." 
 
 " Without further persuasion, Tom Piper 
 withdrew his head and commenced rapid 
 progress towards the completion of his 
 toilet. Whilst thus engaged, the opportu- 
 nity shall be embraced of entering into a 
 description of an important actor in the 
 scenes about to be described in " Our 
 County." 
 
 Sir Edward Warren, as before may have 
 been concluded, was the heir to the Grange. 
 He was now about fifteen years of age, slim, 
 handsome, and somewhat petulant of temper. 
 Perhaps the latter drawback to his many 
 estimable qualities, may be ascribed to the 
 yielding generally to his whims on the part 
 of all who possessed the power to please 
 him. His fond mother doted on him, and
 
 OUK COUNTY. 27 
 
 while flattering herself that she was curbing 
 and checking each tendency to wilfulness and 
 extravagance, was the first to give up to 
 every expressed wish and inclination. Not 
 that there was any particularly objection- 
 able desire on her son^s behalf. His love 
 for field sports was as innate as the squirrel's 
 to crack wood-nuts. It had been born with 
 him. Horses, hounds, and all pertaining to 
 the field and flood, were about the first ac- 
 cents that he was taught to lisp. Little shall 
 be the wonder, then, that at an early age his 
 strongest affections should be to indulge in 
 and gratify these early recollections. Be- 
 sides, as Tom Piper cogently remarked, " he 
 couldn't help it. His forefathers had been 
 sportsmen as long as the county had a name, 
 and, considering it was Yorkshire, what 
 could prevent his being a first-flight man? " 
 Whether this proposition could be main- 
 tained without the aid of some very ni^e 
 sophistry, may be questionable; but the 
 statement that Edward Warren was an 
 
 c 2
 
 28 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 enthusiast in the chase at the period of his 
 introduction in these pages is all-sufficient 
 for the purpose. From a mount on Tom 
 Piper's shoulders in a scamper after some 
 unlucky barn-door fowl, he progressed in 
 ferreting rabbits and hunting rats with as 
 motley a pack as eyes ever beheld. Not a 
 cur within a wide circle but what was en- 
 listed in the service. His mother's fat and 
 silky-coated spaniel, the turnspit, farmer 
 Stockley's shepherd dog, the blacksmith's 
 mongrel, the miller's terrier, and several 
 others whose breed would be difficult to de- 
 scribe, might be seen howling, tearing, and 
 digging, in their urged effi^rts, cheered by 
 their delighted and ardent leader. But as 
 years rolled on, our hero lost all relish for 
 such minor diversions, and turned his at- 
 tention to casting a fly for a trout, and, step 
 by step, at length shouldered his gun with 
 the grace and skill of a sportsman. Tom 
 Piper, be it remembered, invariably accom- 
 panied his young master in all expeditions
 
 OUR COUNTY. 29 
 
 of this nature, and claimed a prodigious 
 share of the attending success from his own 
 directions. Whether the whole of his title 
 was good is not quite positive ; but that his 
 lessons were the first Master Ned received 
 is certain, and that he profited by them is 
 equally true. For although old Tom's em- 
 ployment had never been directly in con- 
 junction with sporting, yet there was a 
 latent love for it in his nature, and whenever 
 an opportunity ofi*ered, he never allowed it 
 to slip for the gratification of the feeling. 
 In his early days, he occasionally rode the 
 young horses in the field, and from his good 
 temper, firmness, and patience, always elici- 
 ted the greatest praise. Sometimes, too, he 
 carried the game bag and creel for the late 
 Baronet ; for Tom was a great favourite, and 
 was ordered to accompany him more fre- 
 quently than any one of the other servants. 
 Thus it was, then, that Tom Piper had 
 gleaned the experience which he turned to 
 the advantage of his apt and promising pupil.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 To return, however, to the subject of 
 more immediate interest. After our hero 
 had become an expert shot and skilful fisher- 
 man, his ambition soared still higher, and 
 his dream by day and night was to become 
 a master of hounds. This project, he knew, 
 required more than ordinary management 
 for the effecting of the purpose. His mo- 
 ther objected to everything expensive, more 
 especially, to that which was likely to draw 
 observation : her reasons for so doing had 
 never been conveyed to him, further than in 
 the general remark that, *' she could not 
 afford the money." At length, however, 
 after much persuasion on his part, she con- 
 sented to the keeping of a few couples of 
 beagles. The way in which Tom Piper was 
 persuaded to purchase harriers in lieu of 
 beagles, and to make additions to the limited 
 number, is already known, and needless to 
 be repeated. The plan, however, in which 
 these two conspirators managed to keep the 
 hounds, so as to avoid detection, merits to
 
 OUR COUNTY. 31 
 
 be recorded. Taking advantage of his popu- 
 larity, Tom Piper distributed the pack 
 amongst the tenantry, to be, in sporting 
 phraseology, " trencher fed." When wanted 
 to join the meet, he used to ascend a hill in 
 about the centre of the allotted homes, and 
 blow his horn, when each flew to the signal 
 and strove to be the first to obey it. By this 
 manoeuvre, and selecting the early dawn 
 for hunting, there was little chance of the 
 plot being discovered ; at any rate for some 
 time to come. 
 
 Within the belt of merry England, per- 
 haps, there was not a finer specimen of a 
 young English gentlemen than Sir Edward 
 Warren. In addition to a dauntless spirit, 
 a gallant bearing, and for his years, a frame 
 embracing well-knit 'thews and sinews, he 
 possessed as sympathetic and generous a 
 heart as ever beat. To him the huge vo- 
 lume of the mean and cringing littleness of 
 life was closed and sealed. With the old 
 and young, rich and poor, the young
 
 32 OUK COUNTT. 
 
 Baronet made good his ground of favourit- 
 ism, and there was not one of the latter, at 
 least, within a good round distance of the 
 Grange, but would have risen early or late 
 to gratify the most trifling of his boyish 
 whims. Youthful, it is true that he was, but 
 many a maiden's heart — and especially one 
 that shall be spoken of hereafter — fluttered 
 more quickly than its wont when his bright 
 blue eyes flashed light into others. Dark 
 brown waving curls hung as carelessly as the 
 tendrils of a hop-vine above a high and open 
 forehead, and in his arched and finely- 
 pencilled brow, the pride of his birth and 
 lineage was carved indelibly. Countless 
 were Master Ned's conquests, and yet for 
 aught of any appearance to the contrary, he 
 seemed totally unconscious of his victories 
 in "tilts for hearts." 
 
 Within a few minutes of Tom Piper's 
 summons, he made the short descent from 
 his dormitory and opened wide the portal 
 of his cottage. Before the door had ceased
 
 OUR COUNTY. 33 
 
 to squeak and creak upon its rusty hinge, 
 Master Ned and the three hounds made an 
 abrupt and unceremonious entrance, sadly 
 to the discomfiture of the tabby cat, and 
 to the staring surprise of the antiquated 
 and feeble lark. 
 
 " Have ye a pair of spurs? " hesitatingly 
 asked his young master, as Tom occupied 
 himself in lacing a pair of ancle boots. 
 
 ** Spurs, sir!" ejaculated Tom Piper, 
 stopping in the act of his employment. 
 " Look," continued he, pointing to the pair 
 before described, suspended on the wall ; " I 
 wore and used them on the night I rode 
 Dicky Dolus for the doctor when you were 
 born, sir. Oh yes, certainly, I 've a pair of 
 spurs." 
 
 " Then put them on," rejoined Master 
 Ned. 
 
 " What to run in?" returned old Tom, 
 laughing. 
 
 " No," replied his young master, with an 
 earnestness of purpose, " to ride in." 
 
 c 3
 
 34 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " To ride in?" repeated Tom Piper, now 
 within the vortex of astonishment. " On 
 what, sir, may I ask?" 
 
 "Oh, Tom !" exclaimed the young Baronet, 
 giving the thong of his hunting whip such 
 a crack in the exuberance of his spirits, 
 that the tabby cat made a bound for the 
 chimney, and the patriarchal lark quite 
 skipped with the shock. '* Oh, Tom," re- 
 peated he, " we shall have such sport this 
 morning! Farmer Stockley has lent his 
 half-bred cart horse, Ginger, for you to 
 ride, and he will join us on his cob. Butter- 
 cup. Isn't it glorious? " 
 
 Tom Piper seemed literally to swell with 
 surprise. His cheeks became puffed and 
 his eyes stood from their sockets as he gazed 
 in silence at his young master. At length, 
 after a great apparent effort, he gave vent 
 to his perplexity, by exclaiming, "I see 
 what it will come to, I shall bust. Yes, that 
 will be the end of Thomas Piper. He '11 
 bust himself."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 35 
 
 **What for?" asked Master Ned, almost 
 convulsed with laughter. 
 
 " What for, sir ? " said Tom, elevating 
 his eyebrows; "isn't it enough to make any 
 man's ribs, let alone a common Christian's 
 like mine, to fly like so much glass to hear 
 of such goings on ? And so," continued 
 he, dropping his voice, " it 's come to riding 
 to hounds, Sir Edward Warren, has it? " 
 
 "And why not?" rejoined his young 
 master; "there can be no more harm in 
 riding, than in running to them." 
 
 " Perhaps not harm," returned Tom ; 
 " but what will my lady say when she hears 
 of it, and what will everybody else say? 
 Oh," groaned he, " it 's enough to give one 
 a fit of the whistles." 
 
 " Nonsense, Tom," added Master Ned. 
 " It fatigues you very much to run, and it 
 is impossible to see the best part of the 
 sport on foot. Put on your spurs." 
 
 It required, however, more persuasion be- 
 fore Tom Piper could be induced to perform
 
 36 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 the required act ; but as was usual on such 
 occasions, Master Ned succeeded in the end, 
 and in a short time both were on their road 
 to Farmer Stockley's. 
 
 "Where 's your pony?" inquired Tom. 
 
 " I told Pug to lead him to Elm-tree hill, 
 and to wait for us there," replied his young 
 master. 
 
 " Ay," responded Tom Piper, " there 's 
 that Pug, the most mischievous, idle, 
 scampish lad in all the village, and yet you 
 insist on keeping him, although he 'd dis- 
 grace the alehouse." 
 
 " But he 's so good-natured and amusing," 
 expostulated the young Baronet. 
 
 ^* He never does a day's work," resumed 
 old Tom ; *' but lounges and saunters about 
 with his hands in his pockets, and, by-an'-by 
 will become the greatest poacher in all the 
 neighbourhood." 
 
 " Poor Pug has few friends," returned 
 his master; "don't you, Tom, join in the 
 cry against him. Remember, he never
 
 OUR COUNTY. 37 
 
 knew what a home was, has no father or 
 mother, and, if I were to discharge him, 
 what choice would be left other than the 
 deepest poverty or most wretched crime? " 
 
 " That may be all very true," added Tom 
 Piper; "but he owes the light in which he 
 is held to his vagabond habits. Indeed," 
 continued he, '* many folks think him a 
 chip of Satan himself, so deep, artful, and 
 malicious is he towards every one." 
 
 " Do unto others as they do unto me, is 
 Pug's law," rejoined the young Baronet; 
 " and since others have treated him harshly, 
 they must expect nothing but harshness at 
 his hands." 
 
 By this time they came in sight of a sub- 
 stantial-looking house, situated in a deep 
 and beautiful valley. On one side, the hill 
 was flanked by a grove of ash and birch 
 trees, rearing themselves in one thick shade 
 as far as the eye could reach. On the 
 other, broad acres of green turf, interspersed 
 with arable, were stretched with pleasing
 
 38 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 variety, and tumbling and rolling between 
 the two acclivities, a fleet but shallow trout 
 stream dashed along its pebbly bosom. 
 Around and about the thatch-roofed house, 
 great bulky stacks, the produce of the lately 
 gathered harvest, stood in files of treasured 
 grain. Long rows of sheds to harbour the 
 cattle from the winds of winter, stables, and 
 out-houses for various purposes, were placed 
 in the immediate vicinity. 
 
 The dairy, too, that corner stone in the 
 pride and glory of the thrifty English far- 
 mer's dame, is close at hand. Many a time 
 has a shoe been left on its well- scrubbed floor 
 to receive the silver token from fairy's hand, 
 and, gainsay it who can, a host of gossips 
 will vouch, that ribands gay and love gifts, 
 too, have been bought by the liberal pre- 
 sents of Queen Mab, and the train of merry 
 elves, ere they tripped homewards, " o'er 
 the tops of dewy grass." A dove-cote stood 
 within a short range of the house, and here 
 pigeons of every varied plumage cooed and
 
 OUR COUNTY. 39 
 
 wheeled their flights in multitudes. Chi- 
 valrous cocks crowing their challenges, 
 cackling geese, and turkeys strutting with 
 dainty step and feathers spread, formed 
 motley groups in the yards adjoining. 
 
 "Good morning. Sir Edward," said a 
 good-humoured, ruddy-faced man, lifting 
 his hat as our hero and Tom Piper ap- 
 proached the farm gate. 
 
 " Good morning, Mr. Stockley," returned 
 Master Ned, " I hope we have not kept you 
 waiting." 
 
 ^' No, no, sir," rejoined the farmer, press- 
 ing his low-crowned, broad-brimmed beaver 
 over his short thick hair; *' I 've only just 
 turned out, and for the matter o' that, the 
 earliest bird can only chirrup the same." 
 
 "Beshrew me!" exclaimed Tom Piper, 
 ''but our master here awakens with the 
 cock. He 's been up an hour or two." 
 
 " And so called you from your roost, eh ?" 
 returned farmer Stockley, laughing.
 
 40 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " Yes," added old Tom; "he caught me 
 with my head under my wing." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! " laughed farmer Stockley. 
 '' That 's capital ! Ha, ha, ha ! " 
 
 " Come," said Master Ned, "let 's be stir- 
 ring. Is Ginger saddled?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," replied the farmer; and as he 
 spoke the object of remark — a wiry-framed, 
 long-necked, short-legged, roman-nosed, 
 goose-rumped, and particularly ill-favoured 
 animal — was led towards the spot where 
 the trio were assembled. 
 
 *' You must have something before you 
 start," observed the farmer, taking a step 
 towards the house. 
 
 " No, no," replied Master Ned, with im- 
 patience waxing stronger, " I cannot stay. 
 After a run we 11 return and breakfast with 
 
 ye." 
 
 " Well, well," rejoined farmer Stockley ; 
 ** as you please, sir. Bring out Buttercup, 
 Bob."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 41 
 
 This was addressed to the attendant upon 
 Ginger, who, after assisting Tom Piper into 
 the saddle, and taking a slow survey of 
 him whilst there, shuffled off for the re- 
 quired Buttercup. 
 
 Much might be said of farmer Stockley's 
 Buttercup, and yet little shall be the space 
 that he occupies. "With a frame of great 
 strength, he possessed a disposition of pro- 
 ceeding at a pace remarkably snail-like upon 
 all occasions. To hurry Buttercup was an 
 attempt never succeeded in. So far from 
 obeying the whip in the usual manner 
 adopted by quadrupeds, he simply responded 
 to the lash by running backwards, and as 
 for the spur, he met its goading and stimu- 
 lating properties by a succession of vigorous 
 and generally effective kicks. In short, 
 Buttercup has been known to take a mea- 
 sured and deliberate jump into a ditch, 
 rather than walk over it with greater ease 
 to himself; and this slight fact, perchance, 
 will prove of great assistance in illustrating
 
 42 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 the principal characteristics of farmer 
 Stockley's favourite cob, Buttercup. 
 
 " Will he carry you this morning?'* asked 
 Master Ned, as if cognizant of Buttercup's 
 foibles. 
 
 " Nobody can tell, sir," replied the farmer, 
 climbing with purpled cheeks and visible 
 physical exertion into the pigskin, " until 
 he 's tried," continued he, settling himself in 
 his seat. " Buttercup 's just like a woman : 
 — if he will, he will, depend on't, and if he 
 won't, he won't, and there 's an end on't." 
 
 The doubt appeared to be well-founded ; 
 for no sooner was Buttercup required to 
 move in advance, than down went his head 
 between his knees, and up went his heels 
 with such a fling, that farmer Stockley became, 
 like Mahomet's coffin, poised between heaven 
 and earth, and, for a moment, it appeared 
 extremely questionable whether the latter 
 would not be reached without the inter- 
 mediate agency of the saddle. However, the 
 fates proving propitious, the adventurous
 
 OUR COUNTY. 43 
 
 rider regained his seat, and seemed perfectly- 
 pleased with the result. 
 
 " He 's a playful rogue," gasped the farmer, 
 as if the previous exertion had expended 
 some of his breath ; " very playful." 
 
 "Remarkably so," replied the young 
 Baronet, laughing. " But," continued he, 
 " I should visit such play with some severe 
 punishment." 
 
 " Bless your life, sir !" rejoined farmer 
 Stockley, administering a thwack with his 
 tough ashen stick upon Buttercup's ribs, 
 sounding not dissimilar to a flail upon a barn 
 floor, "he cares no more for that than if I 'd 
 hit him with a rush." And certainly, if stoical 
 indifference were ever pourtrayed, it was 
 by Buttercup on the present occasion. He 
 neither winced, flinched, nor by any visible 
 motion or emotion, expressed the slightest 
 susceptibility at the visitation; but stood 
 whisking his stumpy tail, with his ears 
 thrown back, and looking like an animal re- 
 solved to do just as he pleased without con-
 
 44 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 suiting the pleasure or convenience of any 
 one. 
 
 " I 'm afraid," remarked Tom Piper, " that 
 he won't stir a peg." 
 
 " Perhaps he will follow ye if you go on," 
 returned farmer Stockley. 
 
 This hope, however, was doomed to disap- 
 pointment ; for although the young Baronet 
 and old Tom proceeded out of sight in a 
 turn of the lane. Buttercup still remained as 
 motionless as a statue. 
 
 " Bring a sieve of beans here. Bob,'' 
 hallooed the farmer. 
 
 In a few seconds the beans were brought, 
 and as they were rattled together on their 
 road a visible improvement took place in the 
 perverse resolutions of Buttercup. With 
 pricked ears and distended nostrils he turned 
 his head to the attendant with the sieve, and 
 hailed his approach with a suppressed neigh. 
 
 " That 's right," said farmer Stockley, 
 in a tone of exultation. " Stratagem 's 
 always better than force. Walk on, Bob."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 45 
 
 Dipping his nose among the tempting 
 beans, the cob followed the bearer with 
 alacrity, and after diminishing them to a 
 considerable extent, answered the summons 
 of his rider to trot forwards, and join the 
 side of his old companion, Ginger, with a 
 ready acquiescence. 
 
 In a short time Elm-tree hill was gained, 
 and at the top of the eminence a lad lay idly 
 stretched upon the ground, holding the reins 
 of a beautiful iron-grey galloway, cropping 
 the herbage at its feet. 
 
 " There 's Pug, I see," remarked the young 
 Baronet. 
 
 " Ay," replied Tom Piper, with an air of 
 discontent, "you'll ever see him in one 
 posture. Except when climbing like a 
 monkey about the trees or swinging upon a 
 gate, Pug is always on his back in the 
 sun." 
 
 *' He 's a lazy ne'er-do-well boy," rejoined 
 farmer Stockley. 
 
 '' Pish !" ejaculated Master Ned, irritably.
 
 46 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " He obeys my orders, and therefore fulfils 
 his duty." 
 
 This was spokdti with a flushed cheek and 
 flashing eye, and both Tom Piper and 
 farmer Stockley felt that the subject had 
 better be dropped without further discus- 
 sion. 
 
 Upon his master's approach, Pug — a long- 
 legged, short-bodied lad of some sixteen 
 years of age, possessing a ruddy and round 
 face, expressive of good humour and the 
 spirit of mischief — sprung from his recum- 
 bent attitude, and throwing the bridle over 
 the neck of the horse, held the stirrup for his 
 master to mount. 
 
 " Well,*"" Pug," said the young Baronet 
 throwing himself gracefully into the saddle, 
 " I dare say that your legs will carry ye 
 within sight of all worth seeing." 
 
 " Little doubt o' that, sir," replied Pug, 
 with a grin, and exposing to view a double 
 row of as white and even teeth as ever graced 
 the jaws of mortal.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 47 
 
 " Come, Tom," said Master Ned, with 
 pourtrayed impatience, " blow your horn. 
 Let's have the hounds." 
 
 Roused from a temporary dullness, Tom 
 Piper drew the horn from one of his capaci- 
 ous pockets, and, lifting it to his lips, sent 
 forth a long, well-known wind, echoing o'er 
 hill and dale, and through dark deep woods, 
 until the air, far and wide, seemed loaded 
 with the music. Again and again Tom's 
 note was sounded ; but before the summons 
 had been repeated thrice, motley coloured 
 hounds were seen trotting towards the hill 
 from various directions. 
 
 " Here they come," said the young Baro- 
 net, giving a cheering halloo. 
 
 " But they wouldn't to your twang. Sir 
 Edward," replied Tom, with glee. 
 
 "No," rejoined Master Ned; "not the 
 old ones." 
 
 As the hounds came up Tom Piper called 
 each by name, and their deep-toned tongues
 
 48 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 and waving sterns bespoke the joy felt with 
 the welcome. 
 
 " Are they all here? " inquired their young 
 master. 
 
 "All but Rasselas, sir," replied Tom 
 Piper, again making the welkin ring with 
 the horn. 
 
 Scarcely, however, had he brought it to 
 his mouth, when the missing Rasselas — a 
 fine badger-pied hound — approached at a 
 leisurely trot. 
 
 " Here he comes," shouted farmer Stock- 
 ley. 
 
 u Ay," rejoined Tom, " it 's always the 
 same with him. The last to the meet ; but 
 the first at the finish." 
 
 " Now then," said Master Ned, " where 
 shall we find a hare without loss of time? " 
 
 " In that four acre fallow," replied Pug, 
 pointing to a field within a short distance. 
 
 ''That's right!" ejaculated the young 
 Baronet. " I hate to be long in finding.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 49 
 
 Did you see her on her form in your way 
 here." 
 
 " No, Sir Edward," replied Pug, in a 
 mysterious manner. 
 
 " Then how do you know there is one 
 there? " asked his master, " unless, indeed 
 you were told so." 
 
 " I neither saw, nor was told, that there 
 was a hare in that field," returned Pug, 
 taking an unperceived peep at the wonder- 
 stricken countenances of Tom Piper and 
 farmer Stockley. 
 
 " Then how do you know, I repeat ? " 
 added Master Ned. 
 
 " The like question might sorely puzzle 
 better knowledge in better brains," repHed 
 Pug. " The how^ sir," continued he, 
 " would make many a man feel at a loss to 
 account for his pence." 
 
 "You 're a strange fellow, Pug,' said the 
 young Baronet. " But no matter, so long 
 as your prophecy be true." 
 
 " Taking a direct course towards the spot 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 50 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 of promise, Pug threw open the gate, and 
 scarcely had the pack entered the enclosure, 
 when a fine hare leaped from her form 
 and sped away with the fleetness of the 
 wind. 
 
 " Tantara!" hallooed Pug, " tantara! 
 What did I say? Ha, ha, ha!" 
 
 " Give them time," shouted Master Ned, 
 in ecstacies. Look, now they settle to her. 
 Heads up and sterns down. Have at her, 
 my darlings !" 
 
 *' Adzooks !" exclaimed farmer Stockley, 
 kicking Buttercup's ribs, " one must ride 
 to see any of this sport. 
 
 '' Your judgment 's not always right," 
 cried Pug, sweeping past with the speed of 
 a roebuck. '' I can run, Mr. Stockley," 
 continued he, " and yet see every inch from 
 the find to the finish." 
 
 " That boy," mentally observed farmer 
 Stockley, " is something more than I can 
 make out." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha !" roared Pug, turning his
 
 OUR COUNTY. 51 
 
 head back as if aware of the inward reflec- 
 tion. "Ha, ha, ha!" 
 
 Farmer Stockley felt a slight shiver 
 throuo^h his frame. Perchance the mornino- 
 air might still possess a chilling influence. 
 
 With tongues ringing under each, and 
 straining every nerve and sinew to gain 
 upon her flight, the hounds pressed the 
 hare at flying speed. Now over the deep 
 fallows, and then dipping from the meads 
 and valleys to skirt and ring round the hill- 
 tops back to the ground, in which every 
 gap and creep were known, the victim led 
 her pursuers without a check or puzzle as 
 to the line she had taken. 
 
 Through thick fences, and over bars, gates, 
 rails, and ditches, the young Baronet held a 
 foremost place, making no more swerve 
 from the course than if he had been carried 
 by some fleet- pinioned bird. Pug, too, was 
 by his side, and notwithstanding a great 
 deal of bold riding on the part of Tom 
 Piper and farmer Stockley, neither could 
 
 D 2
 
 52 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 place themselves nearer than what may be 
 iitly called a respectable distance in the 
 rear. In vain did Tom apply the self- 
 same spurs upon Ginger's flanks as he had 
 done upon the obstinate pony's on which he 
 used to ' go post' when an errand boy. Gin- 
 ger had a certain pace, and nothing could 
 force him beyond it. As for Buttercup, his 
 speed, like every other attribute belonging 
 to him, was quite undecided; but on this 
 occasion he was fully content to jolt his 
 rider within a few lengths of his companion. 
 So the chase proceeded. 
 
 Many broad acres had been scoured and 
 yet the fleet hare headed her enemies with 
 unabated ardour. Through frightened 
 flocks, huddled and scared together in 
 corners, the hounds threaded the line, and 
 on she was raced at ruthless haste with 
 their ringing cry ever in her ear. There 
 was no check or stop. Flee or die, was the 
 decree of destiny. 
 
 " From scent to view," hallooed Master
 
 OUR COUNTY. 53 
 
 Ned, pointing to the beaten hare in the 
 same field with the pack. " Now they '11 
 have her." 
 
 Fruitless were her doubles and last shifts 
 to save herself. From side to side she was 
 watched and turned, and, at length, down 
 she was pulled. 
 
 " Who-whoop !" shouted Master Ned, 
 springing from his saddle. " Who-whoop !" 
 
 " It was a glorious run," gasped Tom 
 Piper, arriving in a great heat, and panting 
 for breath. 
 
 " Without a check, too," returned farmer 
 Stockley, as Buttercup came up at a slow, 
 jolting canter. 
 
 " There," said the young Baronet, present- 
 ing the hare to farmer Stockley, " give that 
 to the dame, and tell her how 'twas killed. 
 Fairly found, fairly run, and fairly pulled 
 down. That 's your sport !" 
 
 " Thank ye kindly. Sir Edward," replied 
 the farmer, accepting the present, " and I '11 
 do so with all my heart. But," continued
 
 54 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 he, " you '11 breakfast with me this morn- 
 ing?" 
 
 " To be sure I will," rejoined Master Ned, 
 remounting his horse. 
 
 Farmer Stockley was about extending 
 an hospitable invitation to Pug, and the 
 words were on his lips, when that worthy, 
 apparently gifted with supernatural powers, 
 anticipated his design by saying — 
 
 '* Just a glass and a crust, sir, will do for 
 me." 
 
 Farmer Stockley said something about 
 " the best the house could afford ;" but for 
 some seconds after this he rode forwards in 
 silence, as if communing with some uneasy 
 thoughts.
 
 OUR COUNTr. 55 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 " What can be avoided, 
 Whose end is purposed?" 
 
 In a large and lofty room — albeit one of 
 the smallest in the Grange — a lady sat 
 bending over a couch on which a young 
 girl lay sleeping. The delicately chiselled 
 features of each bore so close a resemblance, 
 that it was impossible to doubt the relation- 
 ship between them. There the mother 
 watched, as she often did, day by day, and 
 night by night, the doubtful and flickering 
 life of her child. At one time full of hope, 
 at another cast down with dread, the weeks 
 and months flew past, and yet there seemed
 
 56 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 no change. She was always better; at 
 least Rose always said so to that anxious 
 watcher as she woke. And yet the same 
 pale cheek remained, save where a vermillion 
 tint spread in its centre like peach blossom 
 scarcely blown. Light-brown silken hair 
 fell in profusion down her fair but attenuated 
 neck, and the hand clasped in that of her 
 mother's, looked as if made of the whitest 
 wax. A fringe of long dark lashes met the 
 closed eyelids, and save for the utter lifeless 
 appearance, producing thoughts of a still 
 deeper sleep, nothing can be pictured more 
 lovely than the form of Rose AVarren as she 
 lay in the calm and peaceful slumber. 
 
 Years, long, care-borne years, had changed 
 the mother now to what she had been. But 
 in spite of the furrow here and there, cut 
 by sorrow, there were still the remains — the 
 gray ruins of beauty. The figure, tall and 
 gracefully formed, possessed a somewhat 
 haughty bearing ; but when she spoke, the 
 effect was at once dispelled. So low and
 
 OUR COUNTY. 57 
 
 soft, SO almost plaintive in their tone, her 
 words disclosed the total freedom of all pride 
 within. Mild and sad was the expression 
 in her large hazel eyes, and yet a warm 
 sunny look shone about them, as may be 
 seen in those more used to smiles, in other 
 days, than tears. The seasons through, her 
 dress was ever black, and the sombre hue 
 had become so familiarized to her, that had 
 she appeared in any other, the subject would 
 have been discussed by gossips for leagues 
 around. As it was, indeed, none occupied 
 more of the thoughts and tongues of count- 
 less numbers than did the Lady Warren. 
 The poor and old, the halt and blind, the 
 young and the friendless — all who were in 
 want — sought her aid, and never in vain. 
 Well may it be said, that if the prayers of 
 the good and lowly, offered in the secret 
 thanksgiving of grateful hearts, had been 
 received in the spirit of their offering, then, 
 indeed, would their benefactress have been 
 without a single sorrow past, present, or to 
 
 D 3
 
 58 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 come. But He who directs all things had 
 willed it otherwise, and she bowed to the 
 decree in meekness and submission. 
 
 It was very slight, so slight that on a 
 stranger's ear it might have passed unheeded : 
 but oh! how that cough grated on the 
 mother's ear, and made her blood to chill 
 and curdle in her veins. 
 
 " Are you there, mother dear? " asked a 
 faint appealing voice. 
 
 "Yes, dearest," was the reply, in a 
 manner that might have been received for 
 cheerfulness with some; "you know that 
 I 'm always here." 
 
 '* The room is very dark," rejoined Rose, 
 raising herself on the couch. '' I msh for 
 light and air." 
 
 "I drew the curtains while you slept, 
 love," returned her mother, " but now you 
 shall have both. Let your nurse," con- 
 tinued she, smiling, and kissing her 
 daughter's brow, " have her reward first." 
 
 And then the heavy drapery was with-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 59 
 
 drawn from before the old diamond-latticed 
 casement, and Rose being supported to a 
 seat close to it, the window was thrown 
 open, and the breeze swept in and fanned 
 her cheeks with his fresh breath, laden 
 with sweets leased from flower and blos- 
 som. 
 
 The autumnal tints tipped the elm tops, 
 and now and then a yellow leaf whirling 
 to the ground gave tokens of the year's 
 decline. The o'er-ripe acorn dropped 
 from its cup, and the hawthorn berries 
 were long since red. 
 
 " The winter will soon be here," re- 
 plied Rose, "and yet how beautiful 
 those flowers are," continued she, pointing 
 to a bed of carnations and picotees. 
 
 " Yes, dear child," returned her mother, 
 pressing the invalid's head upon her bosom, 
 and wrapping a kerchief closely around 
 her throat, "they are very, very beauti- 
 ful." 
 
 " And yet," resumed Rose, drawing her
 
 60 OUK COUNTY. 
 
 hand pensively across her brow, "how 
 soon they '11 fade and die! Nothing lasts, 
 mother, on earth. To grow and flourish, 
 and then to wither and decay. With us, 
 with flowers, with all things — this is the 
 law of universal nature." 
 
 "Why, Rose!" rejoined her mother, 
 holding her daughter still tighter to her 
 breast, "you talk like a little dreaming 
 philosopher." 
 
 " I often dream," replied Rose, " as often 
 when awake as sleeping. I often dream of 
 what must have been, and what may be. 
 Of the times long past, and of those perhaps 
 to come. And then," she continued, drop- 
 ping her voice, and pressing her cheek 
 close to her mother's, " I dream of that 
 promised land wherein there '11 be no separa- 
 tions from those we love, no pain, no sufl*er- 
 ing, no fears nor cares, no — " 
 
 The word was on her lip, but she hesi- 
 tated to speak it. 
 
 "What would you have said, dearest?"
 
 OUR COUNTY. 61 
 
 asked her mother, in a voice tremulous 
 with emotion. 
 
 " Death," added Rose, in a low yet 
 sonorous whisper. 
 
 " You must not, shall not, talk thus 
 seriously," added her mother, scarcely 
 capable of checking the tears now swim- 
 ming in her eyes. " Let us speak of more 
 joyous things — of health, of life, of hope. 
 These are subjects for the young, like my 
 own dear Rose, to think of." 
 
 " Hope, dear mother! " exclaimed Rose, 
 lifting her head, " none can hope more than I. 
 The dew of heaven to the parched earth, is 
 not more genial than hope to the afflicted." 
 
 " Talk no longer thus," said her mother, 
 unable to restrain her tears; "it grieves 
 me sadly. Rose." 
 
 " Not another word, dear mother," re- 
 plied Rose, while an expression of self- 
 reproach passed across her features, and 
 then, with many a kiss, she strove to heal 
 the wound created.
 
 62 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 At this moment three forms were seen 
 approaching from behind a clump of thick 
 fir-trees, which had hidden them from 
 sight until within some hundred yards of 
 the house. 
 
 '^See!" ejaculated Kose, gladly, "here 
 come Edward and Mr. Piper. But who is 
 the third with them?" 
 
 "Robin, I think," replied her mother, 
 " the mole-catcher." 
 
 " I should like him better," replied Kose, 
 "if he confined his occupation to the 
 catching of moles ; but he snares so many 
 beautiful Avild birds to pine in cages, that I 
 ever associate cruelty with Robin." 
 
 The three, as they neared, formed a 
 picturesque group. Master Ned had dives- 
 ted himself of both his hat and necker- 
 chief, the latter of which articles of attire, 
 Mr. Piper, or "Old Tom," as historical 
 truth occasionally demands his being 
 called, had taken the liberty of twisting 
 round his own throat, by way of a super-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 63 
 
 fluous addition. Across his shoulders a 
 capacious creel was strapped, and in his 
 hand he carried a long and pliant pole of 
 cob-nut hazel, fashioned by his own craft 
 into a fishing-rod of a truly useful and 
 artistic shape. The appearance, too, of 
 Robin the mole- catcher, merits a record. 
 Upon his head he wore a close skull-cap, 
 which, at a first glance, might seem 
 fashioned from black Genoa velvet ; but a 
 closer inspection would disclose the mate- 
 rial to be the almost imperceptible joining 
 of several prepared skins of his victims, 
 from whose capture he derived both his 
 appellation and his living. Robin was 
 adapted for his calling by nature. Quiet, 
 slow, methodical, and watchful, he origi- 
 nated the most simple and effective strata- 
 gems for securing anything he wanted. 
 His closely-set small gray eyes peeped and 
 peered along the verge of streams, and into 
 hedgerows, and along pathways, and up 
 trees, and among thick ivy. Nothing es-
 
 64 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 caped Robin. If a good trout rose he saw 
 him ; ay ! and could make him rise again 
 with a few hackles and feathers. He could 
 set a trap, bird-lime a twig, spread a net, 
 tie a fly, throw a line, and drink beer with 
 any man in our county. These were the 
 main objects of his ambition, and the 
 apex of it had been gained some thirty 
 years ago; for Robin the mole-catcher 
 was an old man, though still hale and 
 hearty. 
 
 " Robin was right, mother," said Master 
 Ned, turning Tom Piper's back, with a 
 sudden twist and a short turn, towards 
 the ladies. "There's a fish!" continued 
 he, exhibiting to view a splendid speckled 
 trout, gasping at the bottom of the basket, 
 on a layer of fresh-pulled rushes. 
 
 " Did he afl'ord you much sport? " asked 
 his mother. 
 
 " Capital ! " enthusiastically replied our 
 hero, his face beaming with pleasure. 
 
 '' Is it the same that you 've been en-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 65 
 
 deavouring to catch so long?" inquired 
 Rose. 
 
 "Yes," returned her brother; ''but he 
 would never take either one of my flies, 
 or Tom's. And yet with Robin's, he rose 
 at the first cast, and I hooked him the 
 second." 
 
 '^ You see, my Lady," chimed in Mr. 
 Piper, deferentially doffing his hat, and 
 entertaining a jealous impression that the 
 mole-catcher's talents were being exalted 
 at the cost of his own. " You see, my 
 Lady," repeated Tom, " there 's no account- 
 ing for taste." 
 
 At the conclusion of the delivery of this 
 aphorism, Mr. Piper was much astonished 
 at perceiving a strong disposition to laugh, 
 on the part of his auditors. 
 
 " As I was saying," resumed Tom, feel- 
 ing himself on the shady side of the sub- 
 ject, " there 's no accounting for taste." 
 
 "I beg your pardon," observed Robin, 
 who, hitherto, had stood a little distance
 
 66 OUB COUNTY. 
 
 in the back-ground; " but there is account- 
 ing for tastes, an^, if it please ye my Lady, 
 I '11 tell ye the way," continued he, with a 
 respectful bow. 
 
 " Do, Kobin," was the reply. " We shall 
 be pleased to listen." 
 
 " It 's the want of the knowledge of 
 tastes," began the mole- catcher, looking 
 under his gray and shaggy eyebrows, like 
 one who entertained no small share of con- 
 fidence in himself, " it 's the want of the 
 knowledge of tastes," he repeated, in a slow, 
 deliberate tone, " that often upsets the 
 stomachs of other things besides fish. If 
 people would only think what might be 
 likely to tickle a palate before a lure was 
 tried, a great many baits would be taken 
 that otherwise are rejected. Now, I al- 
 ways try to find out the most likely thing 
 to tickle a palate by way of a relish, before 
 I make a throw. For example, supposing 
 I see the grannam on the water, I shouldn't 
 think of tying on a scaldcrow midge. The
 
 OUR COUNTY. 67 
 
 fish would know that the scaldcrow midge 
 was all my eye and Elizabeth Martin! 
 And like you, sir," turning to Master Ned, 
 " hearing the cuckoo in December, take no 
 heed of it, from the knowledge that such 
 a note, at such a time, must come from 
 the wooden bird on some old woman's 
 clock. Do you see what I mean? " 
 
 " Perfectly," replied the young Baronet. 
 *' But it requires more art than either I 
 or Tom Piper possess, to tie a fly as skil- 
 fully as you.'' 
 
 " And therefore,'' added the mole-catcher, 
 with his small black eyes twinkling, " my 
 flies drop trout in the creel when yours 
 fail. You '11 find. Sir Edward," continued 
 Robin, shaking a raised fore-finger, "that 
 this rule applies to other matters besides 
 fishing. There '5 a fly for every man and 
 everything in season ! "
 
 68 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 "I see, men's judgments are 
 A parcel of their fortunes ; and things outward 
 Do draw the inward quahty after them." 
 
 Few men were better known, far and wide, 
 than John Sharp, Esq., attorney at law and 
 solicitor in the high Court of Chancery. By 
 the country folk his calling invariably took 
 precedence of his name, and wherever he 
 was spoken of it was always as ^'lawyer 
 Sharp." Like the majority of his profession 
 in the country, who possess a character of 
 long standing for shrewdness and integrity, 
 lawyer Sharp's influence was on the most ex- 
 tensive scale in his neighbourhood, and
 
 OUR COUNTY. 69 
 
 scarcely anything could be accomplished 
 pertaining either to life or death without his 
 assistance being sought. As a magistrate, 
 too, in the possession of profound and prac- 
 tical knowledge of the law, he was held in 
 perfect terror by evil doers of every kind and 
 description. An appeal from his stern 
 decisions was never thought of; and if the 
 quality of mercy seldom blended with his 
 justice, it proceeded more from a severe sense 
 of duty than from any disposition to be harsh 
 or tyrannical. He entertained strange no- 
 tions upon the strict necessity of the per- 
 formance of every kind of fixed engagements 
 and agreement, and was deaf to all excuses 
 in avoidance of them. " Tut, tut," he would 
 say to any apology or attempt of justification, 
 " talk not to me of your disappointed hopes, 
 your losses, or your misfortunes. These are 
 bubbles broken, and the result of four-fifths 
 of the windy puff-ball dreams of schemers. 
 If conditional to a bond or promise, well and 
 good I" — and then reading the proof aloud
 
 70 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 of no such terms existing, lawyer Sharp 
 would add, " I see none here, my good sir; 
 none whatever." 
 
 In local elections his patronage was the 
 very essence of support. Let the candidate 
 for the dignities and cocked hat of beadle 
 of the parish, waywarden, churchwarden, 
 assessor, town crier, or any other of the 
 parish offices, honorary and stipendiary, ob- 
 tain lawyer Sharp's vote and interest, and 
 the opposition retired cowed and defeated 
 without a struggle. As steward to some of 
 the largest and most wealthy of the land- 
 owners in the county, acting trustee for 
 several charities, and indefatigable in all the 
 services he undertook, lawyer Sharp held 
 the sway of a man with a great capacity and 
 skill in turning his power generally to the 
 interests of his clients; but more particularly 
 to his own profit. The object of his life was 
 to become rich, and he achieved it long be- 
 fore even his sanguine hopes led him to sup- 
 pose it practicable. Industry, thrift, and
 
 OUR COUNTY. 71 
 
 caution soon rolled his small savings into 
 large gains, and he found himself early in the 
 possession of considerable wealth. But it 
 was not with the mean and little feeling of a 
 miser that his daily exertions and economy 
 were applied to add to his store. It was not 
 for the mere purpose of hoarding that he 
 turned his attention to this one absorbing 
 pursuit. Of the world, worldly, he learned 
 from the great monitor, Experience, that like 
 tonics, there were some truths extremely bit- 
 ter but very wholesome. The power of 
 money is of this order, gainsay it who can — 
 at least so said lawyer Sharp. " I know," 
 said he, " for I was once poor and humble, 
 what the poor and humble feel, endure, and 
 suffer. The rich, so long as they are rich 
 but no longer, are honored, and courted, and 
 made the idols of the noblest born and those 
 sitting in the highest chairs of authority. 
 ^Tis the want of money which makes the ex- 
 emplary and virtuous cringe and supplicate : 
 'tis iU possession y^hioh allows the depraved
 
 72 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 and vicious to ride rough-shod along the 
 road of life in defiance of all laws human and 
 divine. As to justice being equally balanced 
 to the rich and poor may read well enough 
 in theory ; but practice proves it to be a hol- 
 low and empty fiction. A poor man should 
 be thus defined : — one who is jostled by the 
 monied with upturned nostrils and bridled 
 necks. Give me money !" 
 
 With these sentiments, formed from the 
 world's harsh lessons, we will leave lawyer 
 Sharp to work his own way, like a cork 
 against a strong tide. 
 
 There was one, however, who could turn 
 his thoughts even from money, and make 
 him feel that without her, the mines of the 
 whole world would be as nothing. And that 
 was a little child, his daughter Maud. 
 Scarcely born before she w^as motherless, the 
 bereaved infant became the focus of her 
 father's anxious care and deepest solicitude, 
 and was seldom from his sight and protec- 
 tion. When poring over heaps of mouldy
 
 OUR COUNTY. 73 
 
 parchments to solve causes of disputes and 
 rights, the lawyer would lift his smarting 
 eyes from their constant labour and meet 
 the laughing hazel ones of Maud, standing 
 by his side, and feel the arm twined about 
 his neck pressed more closely, his lowered 
 brow lifted like a cloud, and his laugh became 
 as joyous as his child's. 
 
 In long chesnut tresses Maud's hair fell 
 upon her shoulders as white as snowdrops, 
 and her red pouting lips mantling with 
 smiles, looked like moulded wax. Wild and 
 careless as the butterflies she often chased, 
 but never caught, her life glided on smoothly 
 as a stream, and if the morrow brought no 
 change, no change was ever sought : and 
 so days and years passed away. 
 
 One morning, as was their custom, Maud 
 stood by her father's side in his office, while 
 he perused a thick roll of paper with more 
 than his wonted seriousness. His thin lips 
 were pressed together, and his wan features 
 creased with intensity of thought. 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 74 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " To save the trunk," said he, communing 
 with himself, " we must lop off the decayed 
 limbs." 
 
 Maud looked at her father in silence ; but 
 he did not raise his eyes to hers. 
 
 " We must sell," he continued, measur- 
 ing each word as it dropped from his 
 tongue. " There 's no help for it. We 
 must sell." 
 
 At this moment a loud knock and ring 
 were given at the door, and soon afterwards 
 a long, thin, prematurely decrepid looking 
 man entered the apartment. His dress 
 consisted of a shabby black suit, partaking 
 of one striking inconsistency — superfluity of 
 material where it was not wanted, and great 
 dearth of it where it was most required. 
 The skirts of his coat hung drooping about 
 his heels, while his trowsers barely reached 
 the middle of his leg. The waistcoat, too, 
 was so shorn of its fair proportions, that a 
 perfect struggle seemed continually going 
 on to keep it anything near its assigned posi-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 75 
 
 tion, and a yellowish white and starchless 
 cravat, twisted in flabby folds around a 
 crane- like neck, completed a long-faded and 
 grotesque costume. 
 
 Poor Simon Slip! He had been, boy 
 and man, a lawyer's clerk for thirty -five 
 years. Penniless he commenced life, and 
 penniless, it seemed more than probable, he 
 would close it; for Simon's means were 
 very small, and they had never been other- 
 wise. 
 
 " If you please, sir," began Simon, in a 
 voice between a croak and a squeak, " Mis- 
 ter John Racket wishes to see you." 
 
 " Shew him in, Simon," returned his 
 master, and then turning to his young com- 
 panion, he kissed her and said, " I shall not 
 be engaged long, dearest; join me presently 
 again." 
 
 Simon Slip made his second appearance, 
 and, holding open the door wide upon its 
 hino-es, ushered in the client. 
 
 No one possessing penetration of the most 
 
 E 2
 
 76 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 ordinary kind, could possibly mistake, at a 
 glance, the general characteristics of John 
 Racket. Without the shadow of a claim 
 to being a sportsman, in its genuine sense, 
 he possessed every attribute belonging to 
 what is commonly called* a " sporting cha- 
 racter." With the studied appearance of a 
 groom, he wore a round, narrow-brimmed 
 hat on one side, a spotted glaring necker- 
 chief, cut-away green coat, long buff waist- 
 coat, white cords, and top boots. In his 
 hand was a straight catting jockey whip, 
 which, for the most part, he used to tickle 
 his ears and fat ruddy face, when roaring 
 lustily at his own slang. Purple spots 
 plentifully besprinkled on his cheeks and 
 chin gave strong indications of John 
 Racket's social habits, and a pair of small 
 snake-like eyes, separated by a thick shape- 
 less nose, left an impression far from favor- 
 able to the claim of his being a very desir- 
 able member of society. 
 
 " Ha ! ha ! " exclaimed Mr. Racket, in a
 
 OUR COUNTY. 77 
 
 loud tone, upon entering the room, and giv- 
 ing his hat a spin upon the butt end of his 
 whip. ** Down 's a hammer, my tidy one. 
 How do?'* 
 
 The lawyer slightly smiled at this strange 
 address, and pointing to a chair, said, " Be 
 seated, sir. You appear in good spirits this 
 morning." 
 
 " Always am," rejoined Mr. Racket, 
 flinging himself with a swagger into his seat 
 and stretching out his legs at full length. 
 " Always am," repeated he, " when my 
 pockets are lined. That 's your time o' 
 day. Chink- wink 'em along ! " 
 
 " May I ask," said the attorney, gently 
 rubbing the palms of his hands and regard- 
 ing his visitor with a look, which, for its 
 keenness, might have penetrated a deeper 
 depth than the object for which it was ap- 
 plied. " May I ask," repeated he, " the 
 cause of your pourtrayed satisfaction ? " 
 
 " A sell, sir," returned Mr. Racket, mak- 
 ing a cut of his whip crack loudly on one of
 
 78 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 his boots. " As fine a sell as ever was heard 
 of." 
 
 "Indeed!" exclaimed his companion, in 
 a tone as if the reply proved anything but 
 explanatory. 
 
 " You know my mare, Kitty Clive," added 
 Mr. Kacket, "by Lucifer, Spider's dam, 
 Miss Snooks by Trumpeter, out of Flyaway 
 by Pepper, dam Spicy by Peppercorn — 
 a regular clipper. Fit to race for a man's 
 life. A horse to a hay-seed at even weights 
 for anything of her age. She 'd beat her 
 own shadow for a mile on the flat, and can 
 scramble through dirt like a scavenger." 
 
 Hoy/ long the speaker might have contin- 
 ued his praises concerning Kitty Clive is a 
 matter of great doubt, had not an impatient 
 gesture from his listener brought him to a 
 check. 
 
 "Well, well!" observed the narrator, "I 
 see you want me to cut right in the middle 
 o' the pack, and so here goes. I matched 
 her — you must have seen it if you read the
 
 OUR COUNTY. 79 
 
 Calendar as much as you do those d — d 
 sheepskins there. I say, I matched her," 
 he continued, " against a green young 
 muff's Gimcrack ; two miles, a thousand a 
 side, money down and owners up. Ha, ha, 
 ha ! " laughed Mr. Kacket, until the shades 
 in his features became a glowing vermillion 
 tint. " I think I see him now a-climbing 
 into the pigskin like a monkey up a hop 
 pole." 
 
 " And who was the green young muff as 
 you 're facetiously pleased to call him?" 
 asked lawyer Sharp. 
 
 "A gent," responded Mr. Racket, "a 
 tough gent, for the first time — and I may 
 certainly say the last time — in his life at 
 Newmarket. Such sport ! No sooner was 
 the go given than away we went like flying 
 fish, Gimcrack pulling the green 'un almost 
 over his head at the start. Wishing to see 
 the fun, as well as to win the money, I kept 
 the mare in hand, and made a neck-an'-neck 
 of it for the first half mile, knowing that by
 
 80 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 taking one pull at her, I could go in and 
 win in a canter. Never shall I forget the 
 green young muff! First on Gimcrack's neck 
 and then all but over his tail, he kept see- 
 sawing — even betting — at which way he ^d 
 take his cropper. At last, do^vn bored Gim- 
 crack's head between his knees and away 
 skimmed the green young muff like an 
 oyster shell." 
 
 '' Was he injured ?" asked his companion, 
 in a manner conveying a complete void of 
 interest in the result. 
 
 " Slightly," replied Mr. Racket, scarcely 
 capable of restraining the mirth now swelling 
 large ropy veins in his face and forehead. 
 
 "Bones broken?" wearily inquired lawyer 
 Sharp. 
 
 " Only his neck," shouted Mr. Racket, 
 arriving at the climax with a boisterous peal 
 of mirth. 
 
 " What, killed ?" exclaimed his auditor, 
 drawing his chair suddenly back and extend- 
 ing his uplifted hands.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 81 
 
 " Certainly," replied Mr. Racket, as if the 
 question were entirely needless. " Whoever 
 heard of a lively one with a broken 
 neck?'' 
 
 After a short pause, lawyer Sharp said, 
 " Has this accident anything to do with your 
 business with me, sir ? " 
 
 " Hark back, hark back, hark back !" hal- 
 looed Mr. Racket. " Not a bit of it, my 
 daffidowndilly ; I only told ye of it by way 
 of a little bit of innocent recreation. The 
 fact is," he continued, " my old foxy gover- 
 nor's laid up with gout, spasm, curb, splent, 
 or something o' that sort, and being tied 
 up short by the head, has sent the scion of 
 the noble stock of Racket to do his dirty 
 work for him." 
 
 '' My client looks to the end," slily put in 
 the lawyer, " and not the means." 
 
 " Means! '' ejaculated Mr. Racket, with a 
 contemptuous sneer. " If I had his means 
 I 'd break every leg in the ring. I 'd clean 
 'em out-an'-out, and rig the pots on and off, 
 
 E 3
 
 82 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 up and down, to the tune of damn-me-if-I- 
 know- what-they -are-at . " 
 
 " You 're a clever man, sir," observed his 
 companion, with ill-concealed sarcasm. 
 
 " Clever! Ah!" and the speaker rolled his 
 head from side to side. " Why, Jack Racket 
 can palm a card, throw a nick to every main, 
 run, jump, ride, drive, shoot, and swim. 
 Plays billiards, pool, and cribbage. Can 
 throw a summerset, fight, and wrestle. He 
 can cut a trump, secure a die, hide the pea, 
 swallow sugared oysters, and blow the key 
 bugle." 
 
 '' Multifarious accomplishments," remarked 
 lawyer Sharp, " and, doubtless, opportunities 
 occur of your turning them to advantage." 
 
 Mr. Racket telegraphed a reply by a suc- 
 cession of some dozen most effective winks. 
 
 " I must now press upon your attention," 
 said his companion, "the particular object 
 of your visit." 
 
 " Always come to the call of time," replied 
 Mr. Racket. "Well then! my old foxy
 
 OUR COUNTY. 83 
 
 governor told me to say he'll not shilly-shally 
 any longer with his mortgages on the War- 
 ren estate. He 's determined," continued 
 Mr. Kacket, admiring the shape of his boots 
 with a side-long glance — " and we all know 
 what a pig-headed varmint he is — he 's de- 
 termined, he says, to have principal, interest, 
 compound interest, and the devil knows what 
 besides, with quick 's the word, and sharp 's 
 the motion." 
 
 " This must be a sudden resolve," rejoined 
 the lawyer, with knitted brows. 
 
 " Perhaps it may be," returned Mr. Eac- 
 ket, burnishing the tip of his nose with the 
 silver mounting of his whip. " That 's no- 
 thing to me." 
 
 After a silence of short duration, occasion- 
 ally interrupted by a subdued " Hie over," 
 " Wind him and cross him," " Have at him," 
 "TaUy-ho," ''Who- whoop," from Mr. Racket, 
 his companion said hurriedly, " I *11 call upon 
 your father within an hour." 
 
 " All r-r-r-right," replied Mr. Eacket,
 
 84 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 springing upon his feet. " That's your time 
 o' day. Chink-wink ^em along." 
 
 With this he gave a good imitation of his 
 favourite instrument the key bugle, and took 
 an abrupt departure.
 
 OUE COUNTY. 85 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 '* How quickly nature falls into revolt, 
 When gold becomes his object." 
 
 On Tip-tree hill, and within sight of the 
 Grange, stood a square red-bricked house, 
 remarkable only for a particularly stiff and 
 new appearance. The walls were fresh, even 
 to a dazzling brightness when the sun shone 
 on them, and the pea-green brass-knockered 
 door stood out in bold relief. Leading to 
 the house, from the roadside, was a long 
 straight gravel path, flanked by very young 
 and small trees. Indeed, with the excep- 
 tion of one huge poplar, rearing its head 
 loftily above the roof, and from which the 
 locality probably derived its name, every-
 
 86 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 thing around bore strong evidence of a 
 decided freedom to antiquity. 
 
 The architect of his own house, the 
 builder of his own fortune, the projector 
 of solid money-getting schemes and ven- 
 tures, the successful man made of money, 
 was old John Racket, yclept the miser. 
 The long, long years of self-denial that he 
 had passed to, as he said, '' save a little to 
 make a little." Patiently he bore the day's 
 weary labour, and night's anxious sleepless 
 thought to turn the world and its ways to 
 his own advantage. The spendthrift had 
 had his gold. The poor, oppressed, and 
 needy; the reckless, abandoned, and profli- 
 gate never applied in vain, provided the 
 security were good. Oh, but he was a close 
 one ! Let there be ever so trifling a flaw in 
 the profl'ered pledge, be the nature of it 
 what it may, and old John Racket would 
 see it at a glance, and with the same cer- 
 tainty as a stream of light through a chink 
 in a darkened room.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 87 
 
 And there old John sat in the summer's 
 sun, wrapped in blankets, peevish, racked 
 with pain, and discontented. 
 
 Toothless with age, his nose and chin 
 nearly met, and yet his small black sunken 
 eyes, shaded by thick gray brows, were 
 as bright and penetrating as in the palmy 
 days of youth, when, as was his wont to 
 boast, he could look a man through and 
 through, and see if the buttons of his coat 
 skirt were guilt or plated. The few white 
 hairs on his head were brushed upwards to 
 a point, and, by some strange connexion of 
 ideas, brought forcibly to mind the starch- 
 backed old poplar waving its shade over 
 Tip-tree hill. From beneath the capacious 
 sleeves of a loose morning wrapper his 
 clasped hands were visible, and so thin and 
 wasted were they that a bird's claws might 
 look almost as human. 
 
 Difficult it would be to explain the cause 
 of the comfortless aspect of the apartment 
 in which old John sat ruminating. The
 
 88 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 furniture was good, even costly, and well 
 kept ; but as if the walls had never echoed 
 with a laugh or merry meeting, they wore 
 a sad sombre gravity of which the most in- 
 different could not escape the frigid effect. 
 
 The shrill strokes of a clock, in quick 
 succession, now fell upon the ear 
 
 " What a time he 's gone," ejaculated old 
 John, turning restlessly in his large high- 
 backed chair ; " and I told him to be quick, 
 quick, quick," he continued, tapping the 
 edge of his seat irritably with his clenched 
 knuckles. " But he cares nothing for what 
 I say, not he." And then as the thought 
 fanned a spark of latent malice, he raised one 
 of his wasted fingers in a threatening atti- 
 tude, and said, " Mind, Jack Kacket, mind. 
 With my own I '11 do as I list, young scape- 
 grace. 'Twas I who made the money. 'Tis 
 I who *11 keep it in spite of ye. Not a shil- 
 ling shall go — not one shilling." 
 
 At this juncture the attention of the 
 speaker was arrested by the approach 
 of a neat one horse carriage towards the
 
 OUR COUNTY. 89 
 
 house, and soon afterwards lawyer Sharp 
 entered the room. 
 
 "Ah, my good friend," exclaimed old 
 John, in tremulous accents, " I am glad you 
 are come. My legs fail me more and more, 
 and as I can't get to you, why you must 
 come to me. Yes, yes, sit close to me here, 
 for I have much to say, and my voice is 
 feeble, very feeble." 
 
 The lawyer, after exchanging salutations, 
 did as he was desired, and without further 
 lapse of time, old John opened the subject 
 for discussion. 
 
 " When the late Sir Edward Warren got 
 into difficulties," began old John, eyeing his 
 listener with a shrewd, blinkless gaze, " and 
 I lent him money, time after time, when 
 nobody else would, I thought the whole of 
 the property, inch by inch, brick by brick, 
 would fall into my hands." 
 
 " You did," briefly responded his visitor. 
 
 " And if he had lived a few years longer," 
 resumed the miser, "it must have been mine."
 
 90 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " Without a doubt/' rejoined the law- 
 yer. 
 
 " Since his death," continued old John, 
 " I expected even your stewardship would 
 not foil me, and yet I appear to be no nearer 
 the end than ten years ago. How is this? " 
 
 " A portion of the estate, this very spot, 
 is in your possession by foreclosure since 
 the time you speak of, sir," returned the 
 lawyer, in a mild tone and manner. 
 
 " A portion," repeated old John, raising 
 his voice to a strained pitch ; "a slip, a 
 shred, a strip. But listen," said he, with 
 increasing excitement, " and I '11 unravel the 
 mystery. When you, sir, were poor and 
 penniless, you used my money to our mutual 
 advantage. It was so much for so much, 
 and I was contented with the rendered 
 share. But since the feathering of your 
 own nest, you 've neglected mine. The 
 plank which carried you over you Ve drawn 
 after ye. Yes, yes ; I *m an old man but 
 not blind, not blind, Mr. Sharp."
 
 OUR COUNTY. . 91 
 
 A sliglit, very slight shadow of anger, 
 spread itself over the lawyer's features ; but 
 it quickly left them, and there was no per- 
 ceptible change in his softness of voice and 
 blandness of manner. 
 
 " I know of no cause for your complain- 
 ing,'' replied he. " The interest of your 
 mortgages have been paid, and " 
 
 "Bah!" interrupted the miser; "in- 
 terest of mortgages, forsooth ! Where 's 
 the principal and interest of my bonds and 
 bills ? In heaps of waste paper, sir ; in heaps 
 of waste paper." 
 
 " I have done " 
 
 " Nothing for years and years," again 
 interrupted old John; "except telling me 
 to be patient. But I '11 wait no longer — 
 give me possession of my own; money or 
 money's worth." 
 
 " It is somewhat singular," said his com- 
 panion, deliberately; "and as this draft 
 will shew," continued he, producing a roll 
 of paper from his pocket, " that I had al-
 
 92 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 ready resolved upon the course you now 
 propose." 
 
 " Eh? " quickly interposed the miser, 
 catching the document from the lawyer^s 
 hand. 
 
 " You will there see," continued Mr. 
 Sharp, " that I have prepared the condi- 
 tions of sale for a part of the estates to be 
 sold, and " 
 
 "Why not all — why not all?" quickly 
 interrupted old John, as he greedily ran 
 his eyes over the document. 
 
 " And to pay off the most pressing lia- 
 bilities," continued Mr. Sharp, without 
 noticing the remark. " I had hoped," said 
 he, " with the strictest economy, to render 
 a sale of the property left unnecessary, and 
 thought I should be able to pay you and 
 the rest of the creditors." 
 
 " Don't speak of them ! " observed old 
 John, snappishly; " speak of me." 
 
 '* To pay you, then, sir," resumed the 
 lawyer, " in full, principal and interest."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 93 
 
 "Interest! Yes, yes," said the miser, 
 rubbing the palms of his hands briskly, 
 " remember that, remember that." 
 
 '' The large mortgages, however," con- 
 tinued Mr. Sharp, " consuming so much 
 of the income, and the increasing expensive 
 habits of the young Baronet, have now 
 rendered me hopeless of recovering the 
 estates. In justice to him only, I must 
 put in force the powers I possess." 
 
 Even the lawyer, with all his shrewd- 
 ness, did not perceive the strange shock 
 which seemed to vibrate through old 
 John's system. A slight flush of blood 
 tinged his lank jaws, and his voice shook 
 as he said, in a soft oily tone, " Did ye say 
 increasing expensive habits of the young 
 Baronet? " 
 
 ^'Yes," replied Mr. Sharp. "Day by 
 day his desires increase, and, with them, 
 his waywardness of purpose." 
 
 "Indeed," said old John, his features 
 relaxed mth smiles; "his father was of 
 the like kidney."
 
 94 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " He was," rejoined the lawyer, "and 
 hence the result. But . as Sir Edward's 
 guardian " 
 
 *' You '11 do your duty," put in old John, 
 impatiently. " But recollect, although his 
 guardian, /'m your client. Remember 
 too," he continued, pausing to give effect 
 to his words, " I was your client when 
 clients were very scarce." 
 
 " I 'm not forgetful, sir, of obligations," 
 returned the lawyer. 
 
 " I know that," answered the miser. 
 "But sometimes they 're not remembered at 
 profitable seasons." 
 
 " You shall have your due, Mister 
 Racket," said the lawyer, "and that to 
 the uttermost farthing." 
 
 " That sounds well," replied old John, 
 chuckling with inward laughter. " To hear 
 of the uttermost farthing, rings like the 
 true metal." 
 
 ''Without delay," observed his compa- 
 nion, " I shall bring several of the farms
 
 OUR COUNTY. 95 
 
 to the hammer, and with the proceeds get 
 rid of the overwhelming incumbrance." 
 
 " Good !" shortly chimed in old John. 
 " I shall like to see the good hard money 
 again. It should never remain too long 
 in one place. Turn it, I say ; turn it, turn 
 it." 
 
 " So do I," hallooed a voice, and at the 
 same moment ' the scion of the noble stock 
 of Eacket' burst unceremoniously into 
 the room. " Heads or tails," said he, spin- 
 ning a sixpence in the air. Turn it, turn 
 it. Heads, I win; tails you lose. That's 
 your time o' day. Chink- wink 'em along." 
 
 "What a boy it is!" exclaimed old 
 John, regarding his son with no small 
 degree of pride, as that noble youth threw 
 himself into a sparring attitude, and 
 begged to be informed, " How his respected 
 parent would relish an upper-cut on the 
 conk?" 
 
 " He 's a wild lad," said old John, turning 
 to the lawyer, " a wild lad, and a spend-
 
 96 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 thrift too. Twenty times and more, I 've 
 made up my mind to cut him off with a 
 shilling. And yet he gets the better of 
 me ; yes, he gets the better of me, his old 
 weak father." 
 
 " Get the better o' you ! " returned Jack 
 Eacket. " Ho, ho, ho — haw, haw, haw ! 
 Why, you're as deep as a well; up and 
 down to every move; from pitch-an'-toss, 
 to skinning Christians." 
 
 " You hear him," observed old John, 
 who was now in one of his best of hu- 
 mours, and appeared quite flattered at the 
 compliment. " You hear him." 
 
 " To be sure he does," rejoined his son ; 
 "or if he didn't, damn me, but he'll hear 
 this ; " and putting a fore-finger to his left 
 ear, he gave a screeching *' who- whoop," 
 which made the very windows chatter. 
 
 At the termination of this exhibition of 
 the healthy state of his lungs, Mr. Sharp 
 took his departure, probably hastened by 
 a msh to avoid a second infliction upon his
 
 OUR COUNTY. 97 
 
 nerves, and which seemed not unlikely to 
 take place, from the present boisterous 
 condition of Jack Racket's animal spirits. 
 
 When the lawyer was gone, old John 
 besought his son to sit quietly by his side, 
 for he had something most important to 
 communicate. 
 
 "Is it a wrinkle?" asked Jack Racket, 
 conforming to his father's wishes for once 
 in his life, without evincing a strong and 
 powerful opposition to them. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 98 OUE COUHTY. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 " Now the bright morDing star, day's harbinger, 
 Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her 
 The flowery May, that from her green laps throws 
 T-he yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose. 
 Hail, bounteous May ! " 
 
 Dame Stockley was a thorough English 
 farmer's wife. With a portly person, she 
 possessed great activity of limb, and now 
 and then, a corresponding nimbleness of 
 tongue, which might be heard at remote 
 distances. And yet, a more kindly dis- 
 posed, good-natured, merry heart, never 
 beat within as capacious a bosom. At all 
 times and seasons; in the kitchen, dairy, 
 cheese-room, here, there, everywhere, from 
 sunrise to sunset, her laugh and snatch of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 99 
 
 some old ballad might be heard with al- 
 most the same constancy as the chirrup of 
 the cricket on her hearth at Christmas. 
 Although many a summer had gone since 
 Dame Stockley had been wooed and won, 
 she still possessed no insignificant share of 
 those personal attractions, when she was 
 called, and with good reason too, the vil- 
 lage pride. Round, smooth, and flushed 
 with health, her countenance betokened the 
 perfect contentment reigning within, and 
 her large laughing blue eyes, and rows of 
 even white teeth, had lost none of their 
 pristine allurements. 
 
 Not the highest-born lady in all our 
 county was more particular or studious in 
 her toilet, than dame Stockley ; albeit, she 
 was never dressed above her station. But 
 then, the chronicle of truth must declare 
 her very neatness of attire possessed as 
 much of the vanity of effect, as that lack- 
 brained, fantastical Miss Sally Beans, the 
 miller's daughter, tricked in ribands fine, 
 
 F 2
 
 100 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 and bound for market, church, or fair. 
 And here it may be as well to observe, that 
 between dame Stockley and this said Sally 
 Beans, the miller's daughter, a feud had 
 continued, of long standing. How it ori- 
 ginated no one knew, and why it remained 
 was involved in mystery; but although 
 near neighbours, the shadow of neither 
 crossed the threshold of the other's door. 
 When they chanced to meet, indeed, a stiff 
 bow of recognition was given and returned; 
 but this was the full extent of the acknow- 
 ledgment of bare acquaintanceship. It 
 might be their extreme opposite tastes, dis- 
 positions, and affections, which led to this 
 result; for certainly the poles were not 
 further asunder than the nature of dame 
 Stockley and Miss Sally Beans. The latter 
 was a stiff, lank, and lean virgin, of an 
 uncertain age, in full pursuit of a husband 
 since the sweet era of seventeen. Whether 
 the countless " slips between the cup and 
 the lip," had induced a decided inclination
 
 OUR COUNTY. 101 
 
 for stimulants, cannot be said with any 
 degree of certainty ; but reports were rife 
 concerning Miss Beans being addicted to 
 drams, snuff, and green tea. In confirma- 
 tion of these, the tip of her slightly turned- 
 up nose was certainly a bright scarlet, and, 
 if the whole truth be spoken, her cheeks 
 were pimply. If not unshed tears, there 
 was always a sort of moisture swimming 
 in her small ferretty eyes, and, possessing a 
 superabundance of mouth, with a long thin 
 wiry neck. Miss Beans* attractions cannot 
 be described as of the highest order. But 
 then, she endeavoured to supply by art 
 that which had been denied to her by na- 
 ture. To see Miss Beans in her best was, 
 at least, a sight of no ordinary kind. The 
 eye would turn and involuntarily settle 
 upon her, as upon a lighted candle, or 
 anything else most bright and dazzling. 
 Not of the choicest, but of the gayest 
 stuff, were bonnet, gown, and mantle. 
 With little regard, perhaps, to the order
 
 102 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 and blending of colours, the total design 
 might be compared to the gaudy tulip, 
 and not dissimilar to that scentless flower, 
 Miss Beans' charms found no bees nor 
 butterflies to rifle them. 
 
 The sun was up, and 'twas a bright May 
 morning. Farmer Stockley had gone to 
 brush the early dew from the grass in his 
 rounds to inspect his cattle and herds, and 
 his dame, with high chequered apron and 
 dress looped through the pocket hole, was 
 calling legions of poultry around her. 
 From a large sieve she scattered the grain 
 to the noisy, greedy, fighting set, and 
 exerted her generalship to secure the best 
 share to the needy. Dame Stockley hated 
 tyranny, and the repeated conduct of one 
 old hen in pecking everything in her way 
 with a most spiteful and malicious intent, at 
 length so far roused her ire, that she flung 
 the empty sieve at her head, and openly 
 avowed, ^' she was a second Sally Beans." 
 
 It was called the kitchen, and a part of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 103 
 
 the large rambling room so termed, in far- 
 mer Stockley's house, was devoted to culinary 
 purposes ; but that was only the yawning 
 hearth on which a log or faggot blazed and 
 cracked, or embers always smouldered. 
 But in so far as the uses were concerned, 
 it might have borne several other titles ; 
 for here it was that the choicest stores of 
 hams, cheeks, flitches of bacon, and other 
 prepared and palatable dainties were hung in 
 rows along the white-washed beams, stretch- 
 ing themselves across the ceiling. Here it 
 was that the farmer and the members of his 
 household partook of their daily meals at 
 the same time, and of the same fare. At 
 the same polished oaken board they sat, and 
 the only stringent rule indispensable for 
 each to observe was, a strict regard to those 
 timely ablutions which toil and labour 
 render necessary. 
 
 A breakfast at the farm, like every other 
 meal, was not a mere shadow of a reality. 
 There was no fiction about that juicy ham,
 
 104 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 just cut, to wet the appetite with a glimpse 
 of its secret virtues. The silvery round of 
 beef, too, speckled with youDg sprigs of 
 parsley, and the roll of butter ornamented 
 with the same verdant herb, gave a freshness 
 to the effect which, to be appreciated, must 
 have been witnessed. The huge brown loaf 
 on the white wooden platter even was not 
 devoid of the homely and substantial style, 
 and the jug of foaming beer, holding a fair 
 and honest stoup, and standing in the centre 
 of some half-dozen silver-tipped drinking 
 horns, looked qualified in every particular 
 for the place of honour it occupied on the 
 board. 
 
 The clock in the corner — as ricketty an 
 old time keeper as ever tick-tacked — 
 bur-r-r'd and whizzed, and at last struck 
 silver shrill ear-piercing strokes, and then a 
 solemn-looking wooden representative of a 
 bird began to have a game of see-saw above 
 the dial, and croak ^' cuckoo " in a most 
 dismal note.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 105 
 
 Before the head and tail had ceased to 
 give its last measured wag, the farmer and 
 his family entered, and placed themselves at 
 the table without much ceremony, but with 
 a strict observance of order and decorum. 
 Dame Stockley looked a perfect queen as she 
 sat in a quaint, high-backed carved seat, 
 surveying her household with her sunny 
 visage, and looking as if she had never 
 scolded one of them in her life: but she 
 had, as that light-haired cowboy, Bill Tittle, 
 well knew when he was caught kissing the 
 dairy-maid — ay, in the very fact. — Poor 
 Polly ! Her blushes were settled and fixed 
 in her cheeks for a month afterwards, and 
 if Bill Tittle proffered in perfect innocence 
 a trifling politeness or attention, Polly's 
 warning finger would be raised on the instant, 
 and she " begged him to understand, once 
 for all, to keep himself to himself." 
 
 Amid the jingling of industriously em- 
 ployed knives and forks, and while in the 
 act of shaving a thin, delicate slice from the 
 
 F 3
 
 106 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 silvery round of beef, farmer Stockley said, 
 " How old is Miss Maud, dame?" 
 
 " Well now ! " replied his wife, dropping 
 a tea-spoon, and turning her eyes towards 
 that sj)ot of ceiling directly above her head, 
 as if the information might be gained from 
 that quarter without loss of time. " Well 
 now !" repeated she, '^ years get on at such 
 a pace that a body must think. Let me 
 see. Miss Maud can't be less, and she may 
 be turned o' fifteen last Martinmas." 
 
 " Adzooks ! " ejaculated the farmer. " But 
 the child of yesterday seems the woman of 
 to-morrow." 
 
 " In good truth you may well say so," 
 replied dame Stockley. " But what put that 
 question on your tongue ? " 
 
 "A reason of my own, wife," rejoined 
 her husband, in one of those mysterious 
 manners most likely to provoke the curiosity 
 of any woman in possession of the smallest 
 desire to learn the " why " and the " where- 
 fore " in bossession of another.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 107 
 
 " A reason of your own ! " slowly re- 
 peated the good dame, folding her arms and 
 regarding her husband with a steady, in- 
 quiring gaze. " A reason of your own, 
 Harry !" 
 
 " And may not a man have his reason," 
 returned the farmer, " as well as a wo- 
 man? " 
 
 " To be sure he may," rejoined his wife, 
 somewhat quickly. '' But I do think when 
 that man," continued she, in a reproving 
 tone, " is in possession of a partner of his 
 bosom, he should have no reasons of his oivn. 
 but share with that partner all kinds of 
 reasons, be they for good or be they for 
 evil." 
 
 "It 's no longer a secret," added that 
 provoking Harry, helping himself to a well- 
 matched piece of fat and lean, " when a 
 woman 's made acquainted with it." 
 
 " Exactly so," said dame Stockley, with a 
 toss of her head. " Exactly so. That 's the 
 way with all you men ; running down the
 
 108 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 partners of your bosoms like dirt under your 
 feet. You ought to be ashamed o' your- 
 selves." 
 
 This reproof, however, appeared to be 
 quite thrown away upon the obdurate Harry, 
 for he proceeded with his breakfast in per- 
 fect silence, with the exception of a few 
 occasional loud smacks of the lips, con- 
 veying an idea that the silvery round was 
 quite as good as it looked. 
 
 It may be as well to embrace this op- 
 portunity of saying that among dame 
 Stockley's eccentricities of character, was 
 an invariable rule to throw a slight cloud 
 upon all statements of facts related by her 
 husband. As if she entertained a strong 
 belief that his senses were always in a 
 decided condition of "muddle," she never 
 permitted a simple relation to pass without 
 a more or less rigid scrutiny. For example, 
 if he chanced to remark that he saw lawyer 
 Sharp in his rounds that morning, she 
 would immediately join issue and ask, " if
 
 OUR COUNTY. 109 
 
 he were sure it wasn't Doctor Clutter- 
 buck ?" Or, if upon his return from 
 market he informed her the ordinary con- 
 sisted of a haunch of mutton and parsnips, 
 she would be certain to inquire, " if he were 
 positive it wasn't ribs of beef and mashed 
 turnips ? " With all this spirit of contra- 
 diction, however, there were few happier 
 couples than farmer and dame Stockley. 
 When the agricultural and domestic re- 
 tainers — a very different class to the 
 Baronial ones spoken of in the days of old 
 — had finished their matin meal, and the 
 farmer and his wife were left alone, he bent 
 his head towards his wife, and, after peering 
 cautiously round the room at least three 
 times, placed his forefinger perpendicularly 
 upon his lips. 
 
 It was enough to drive a woman wild — 
 that it was. But *' the more haste the less 
 speed," thought the prudent dame, and al- 
 though pins and needles were running in all 
 over her, and her very fingers tingled to seize
 
 110 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 him by the ears and make him divulge at 
 once what he had to say, she maintained a 
 steady check upon her impulse, and ob- 
 served a patience if she possessed it not. 
 
 "I'm not a Bo-peep, am I wife?" said 
 the farmer. 
 
 " A Bo what?" she rejoined. 
 
 "Peep," added he looking as if he had 
 said a good thing, and deserved to be told so. 
 
 " Lor' I dont know," returned the dame 
 pettishly. " Go on." 
 
 " All in good time," rejoined the farmer, 
 " all in good time. Well ! as I was going 
 this morning down by the side of Dysop's 
 spinny, I thought I heard a twig or two 
 crack, and listening for a minute or two 
 longer, I was certain I heard the rustling of 
 leaves. Ho, ho ! said I to myself — " 
 
 " Never mind what you said to yourself," 
 interrupted dame Stockley, worked to the 
 highest pitch of impatience. " Go on." 
 
 " All in good time," repeated her imper- 
 turbable husband. " I must tell my story my
 
 OUR COUNTY. HI 
 
 own way, or I shall never get through it. 
 Where was I?" 
 
 '' At ho, ho ! said I to myself," replied the 
 dame. " Go on." 
 
 " There must be somebody here," resumed 
 the farmer, taking up the thread of his nar- 
 rative, " and I ^11 see who it is. For Sir Ed- 
 ward told me himself, never to let man, boy, 
 woman, or child, ever set foot in that 
 cover. For, as he said, the little game that 
 was there he should like to remain undis- 
 turbed. With this I crept through the un- 
 derwood with the footfall of a mouse, and 
 close to the trunk of the old hollow elm, 
 which was struck by lightning some ^ve- 
 and-twenty years ago, I saw — who do you 
 think?" 
 
 " Never mind what I think," gasped dame 
 Stockley. " Go on." 
 
 '' Miss Maud Sharp," returned the farmer. 
 
 "Are you sure it wasn't Sally Beans?" 
 asked his wife. 
 
 " Sally Beans!" repeated he, with a con-
 
 112 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 temptuous sneer and not deigning to give 
 an assurance of the identity. " But who do 
 you think was standing by her side with his 
 arm round her waist ? " 
 
 "Heaven help us and pardon our sins!^' 
 quickly ejaculated the dame. "Go on." 
 
 Farmer Stockley dropped his voice to a 
 clear whisper, and said, pointing in the di- 
 rection of the Grange, " Sir Edward War- 
 ren." 
 
 No sooner were these words uttered than 
 his wife brought her hands together with a 
 loud crack, so loud that the palms must have 
 tingled again, and a smothered " Never ! " 
 burst from her lips. 
 
 "It's true," observed her husband. 
 " Take my word for it." 
 
 " You 're not trifling with my feelings, 
 Harry? " said she, raising the comer of her 
 apron to her eyes. 
 
 " Trifling with your feelings, Lucy," re- 
 turned he, reproachfully. " Did I ever 
 trifle with your feelings, lass? "
 
 OUR COUNTY. 113 
 
 " No, no," rejoined the dame. " You never 
 did. But tell me what more passed?" 
 
 " I stole back," returned he, *' as quietly 
 as I went, and both were so engaged with 
 each other, that neither of them saw me." 
 
 " Deary me !" exclaimed his wife. " How 
 true the saying is, that true love never did 
 run smooth. There's lawyer Sharp and Sir 
 Edward don't speak when they meet, do 
 they?" 
 
 '' No," replied farmer Stockley. " Or if 
 they do, it 's with no good will." 
 
 " Eeports of all kinds were rife enough," 
 rejoined the dame. '' But what was the 
 real cause of the quarrel? " 
 
 " We all know," he returned, " that Sir 
 Edward won't brook to be checked. None 
 o' the family ever would, as far as I 've 
 known. And it is said the lawyer, as his 
 guardian and trustee, toik him sharply to 
 task one day about money matters, and Sir 
 Edward retorted in fierce language. From 
 that hour to this, four years ago, they
 
 114 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 have neither exchanged friendly look nor 
 words." 
 
 *' 'Tis not for us to meddle with the con- 
 cerns of our betters," remarked dame 
 Stockley. " But I do think, between our- 
 selves, Harry, that it 's a pity Sir Edward 
 should have taken up with young Squire 
 Racket." 
 
 " Don't Squire him, Lucy," said her hus- 
 band, almost savagely. " A swaggering 
 upstart, fit only for the counter ; from behind 
 which he sprung like a toadstool upon a 
 dunghill. He a Squire!" and the farmer's 
 upper lip curled with perfect disdain at the 
 thought. 
 
 '' Nay, nay, Harry," replied dame 
 Stockley, '' be just even to your enemies. 
 Young Mister Racket was never behind a 
 counter." 
 
 " His father was in my time," rejoined 
 her husband. " And although no man's 
 business can disgrace him, provided it be an 
 honest one, yet, who does not know in these
 
 OUR COUNTY. 115 
 
 parts how he got his money ? It wasn't by 
 fair trade ; but by usury, and taking undue 
 advantage of his less prosperous neigh- 
 bours." 
 
 '' Well, well!" returned his wife, " that 
 may be true enough ; and as I was saying, 
 I'm sorry Sir Edward should be seen so 
 much in the company of his son." 
 
 *' No good can come of it," added the 
 farmer, shaking his head. ^' No good can 
 come of it." 
 
 " But let us hope no harm will come of 
 it," said dame Stockley. 
 
 " With all my heart," replied her husband. 
 " Hope on, hope ever, I say." 
 
 " Dost think, Harry, lawyer Sharp knows 
 anything of what you saw this morning ? " 
 asked his wife. 
 
 " No one can answer that, I suspect, but 
 himself," replied her husband. 
 
 *' And how do ye say he would take it, 
 kindly or not?" inquired dame Stockley. 
 
 " That depends upon what he knows,"
 
 116 OUR COUNTY, 
 
 rejoined he, "and what we know nothing 
 about/' 
 
 " He must at least feel proud at the con- 
 nection," returned she. 
 
 ^' Not if it was an Earldom," rejoined the 
 farmer, significantly, '*and it was shorn of 
 money."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 117 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 •• So the gods bless me, 
 When all our offices have been oppress'd 
 With riotous feeders ; when our vaults have wept 
 With drunken spilth of wine ; when every room 
 Hath blaz'd with lights and bray'd with minstrelsy ; 
 I have retir'd me to a wasteful cock, 
 And set mine eyes at flow." 
 
 A FEW seasons had come and gone, and 
 yet for aught of any seeming change it 
 miorht have been the selfsame time as that 
 when Tom Piper was discovered on the 
 threshold of his cottage door " a-thinking." 
 There the hale old man sat in the deepening 
 twilight of an autumnal eve, with nothing to 
 break the stillness of the scene but the
 
 118 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 chur-r of the goatsucker, and the drowsy 
 hum of the shard-borne beetle. A fleet- 
 winged bat whirled in rapid circles above 
 his head, darting among the thickening 
 shades of the trees, and, ever and anon, 
 appearing again in the spaces of light still 
 unconcealed by the dusky veil falling 
 around. 
 
 " I deserve it, no doubt," said he, aloud, 
 "" and a great deal worse, but I won't court 
 a fit of the ague, I won't go quite so far as 
 that," and with this prudent resolve Tom 
 Piper rose from his seat and entered his 
 cottage. 
 
 And if the outward effect had so little 
 appearance of alteration, the inward, at least, 
 bore a corresponding one to it. There was 
 the patriarchal lark, as usual, moping on his 
 perch, and the sleek tabby Tom curled in 
 the most cozy of positions on the sheep- 
 skin before the hearth. Toby Philpot, too, 
 had stood the test of time like a hero, and 
 was grinning away on his accustomed shelf
 
 OUR COUNTY. 119 
 
 in the snug little cupboard, in one of his 
 best imaginable good humours. 
 
 From the preparations which Tom Piper 
 began, it was obvious he expected somebody 
 whom he was determined to render as 
 comfortable as his circumstances would 
 permit. And taking into lenient considera- 
 tion that his entire household duties fell 
 upon himself, they were such as to merit no 
 insignificant approbation. In the first place, 
 he set fire to a heap of wood and shavings 
 in the grate, and placed as highly-polished 
 a kettle as ever came from the hands of 
 housewife on the kindled flames. Glasses 
 as bright as crystal were taken from the 
 closet and carefully examined to see that 
 they were devoid of speck and smear, and 
 then put in systematic order upon the table. 
 Two large and fragrant lemons then under- 
 went the process of a dry rub, and a china 
 bowl, looking as if it might have been one 
 of the first manufactured, received them 
 respectively in its depths upon the finishing
 
 120 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 touch being given. A silvered bowl ladle 
 then formed an addition to the previous 
 measures; but this demands an especial 
 notice. It was a present to Tom Piper from 
 his old master, and the family arms — on 
 which Tom ever looked with an eye of great 
 reverence — were emblazoned on the handle. 
 This was the most precious possession 
 belonging to Tom Piper. 
 
 " There/' said he, surveying his own 
 arrangements with the utmost complacency, 
 " I think that will do, Frank, to make you 
 and I pass a social hour together." 
 
 Scarcely had he arrived at the completion 
 of this remark, when approaching footsteps 
 were heard. 
 
 " As I thought," soliloquized Tom, throw- 
 ing back the outward door upon its hinges. 
 '* Frank Martin is a good timekeeper," con- 
 tinued he, in a loud voice. 
 
 " Ay, ay, Tom," returned a voice. " Sun- 
 set, you said, and sun-set it is." 
 
 " Come in, lad," rejoined Tom, exchanging
 
 OUR COUNTY. 121 
 
 a hearty grasp with the new comer. " Come 
 in, and sit ye down." 
 
 "Thank ye kindly, Tom," rejoined the 
 stranger, obeying the behest by dropping 
 himself into a seat without further cere- 
 mony. 
 
 Tabby Tom rose from his recumbent 
 posture, and with a purring welcome, and 
 uplifted tail, rubbed his sleek sides against 
 Frank Martin's legs, and the ancient lark, 
 as if determined not to be out-done in 
 hospitality, drew his beak sharply across 
 the wires of his prison, and essayed a 
 feeble chirp of recognition. 
 
 "They know me," said Frank Martin, 
 patting tabby Tom, and returning the 
 antique songster's chirrup by a correspond- 
 ing sound from his lips. " They both 
 know me, well enough." 
 
 " Know ye ! " replied Tom Piper, at the 
 same time employed in gurghng Toby 
 Philpot to the brim ; "in course they know 
 ye. Who don't in these parts? " 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 122 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 Tom Piper might well put that question, 
 Who did not know Frank Martin ? He was 
 an oracle in the mouth of everybody. 
 There was no admitted possibility but what 
 Frank Martin was supposed capable of per- 
 forming, and when the multifarious accom- 
 plishments and occupations of which he 
 avowed himself a professor, are taken into 
 consideration, little shall be the wonder that 
 his talents were deemed of the order uni- 
 versal. At the Smithy, he read Burns and 
 spouted Shakspeare to the profound delight 
 of the idling throng generally to be seen in 
 and about the forge. The Chequers was 
 not itself of a Saturday night unless Frank 
 was in the chair settling the affairs of the 
 nation. No wedding, dance, or merry 
 meeting of any kind within miles around, 
 but to which Frank was invited for his 
 social qualities generally, and more particu- 
 larly for the talismanic way in which he 
 could set hearts and heels a-going with his 
 fiddle. He was village schoolmaster and
 
 OUR COUNTY. 123 
 
 parish clerk, herb doctor, and man midwife. 
 He bled and physicked horses and dogs, 
 drew teeth, and made cricket balls. He was 
 the best wrestler, fastest runner, and finest 
 singer in all our county — that everybody 
 said. And if any one had been found bold 
 enough to dispute either of these points 
 with Frank Martin, when long past the hey- 
 day of fiery youth, he would have found his 
 work cut out, and may be, a trifle more than 
 could be accomplished. 
 
 And Tom Piper and Frank Martin were 
 remarkably good friends; for Tom, as he 
 said, " admired talent. There was some- 
 thing worth listening to when Frank spoke, 
 and that vv-as much more than could be said 
 of most folks." 
 
 Many is the pleasant evening that these 
 old fellows spent together, and, perhaps, on 
 no previous occasion did there appear a 
 greater likelihood of enjoyment than that 
 which they were now prepared to pass. 
 
 ^' By way of laying the dust," said Tom 
 
 G 2
 
 124 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 Piper, offering the snowy-crested Toby, 
 " take a pull at him." 
 
 "We have met before," replied Frank, 
 smiling, as he took the jug and raised it to 
 his lips. 
 
 " Years agone," rejoined Tom. 
 
 Frank Martin was a bachelor ; but how 
 he could have remained so for just half a 
 century is a puzzle which never can be 
 solved. Once athletic, young and handsome, 
 he netted hearts by the dozen ; and yet day 
 by day went by, and Frank — in answer to 
 many a rallying question on the point — 
 said, "he would think about it," and, per- 
 haps, when that day for reflection arrived, he 
 found — as many a wise man has done — it 
 was too late. 
 
 Too late ! Oh that this was engraven on 
 our hearts and memories lono^ ere the knell 
 had rung from the solemn tongue of Time ! 
 Perished hopes which nothing can recal; 
 acts committed and duties unperformed; 
 and for which redemption there is none!
 
 OUR COUNTY. ■ 125 
 
 Too late! The finger points to the un- 
 heeded hours and the prodigal of Time feels 
 what might have been, and what can never 
 be. The triumph was his, but he lacked the 
 moment of securing it. The prize was 
 gained, but it slipped ere it was clutched. 
 Human hearts may, nay, must^ throb with 
 anguish, for such is the decree of Him who 
 gave life to dust. But how countless 
 are those who would cease to throe with 
 trouble were but His warning remem- 
 bered : " there is a time for all things,'* and 
 when that time is passed, it is — too late! 
 
 With the liberty of the historian, a de- 
 scription of Frank Martin's person shall be 
 given previous to a continuation of events, 
 which arose antecedent to his introduction 
 to these pages. 
 
 His figure may be conceived by the 
 graphic word, '* squabby;" for Frank was 
 short, thick- set, and almost as round as one 
 of his own cricket balls, and yet he was far 
 from being of obese habit. It was merely
 
 126 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 the peculiarity of mould which gave a ro- 
 tundity to his figure. A circular face, ra- 
 diant with good humour, betokened health 
 and contentment, and his large, dark, glis- 
 tening eyes looked as if they could penetrate 
 beneath the surface of things as deep, if not 
 deeper, than the majority of his neighbours. 
 Excepting a slight fringe or border of 
 grizzly hair round the extreme back part of 
 Frank's head, it appeared as if that article 
 of warmth and ornament had been denied 
 him altogether; for his lofty forehead and 
 skull generally, were as smooth and highly 
 polished as a pebble. In appearance, the 
 professor of many callings was remarkably 
 particular. For unless peeled — as he termed 
 his undress — for some especial event, he 
 was invariably in the full costume of an un- 
 dertaker, from foot to chin. But here the 
 similitude stopped; for that jovial double 
 chin, folding over the white and stiffly- 
 starched cravat in three distinct layers, was 
 never designed to elongate with sorrow as-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 127 
 
 sumed. It was far better adapted to wag 
 with a hearty roar of honest mirth; 
 albeit, Frank could be serious when occa- 
 sions demanded. 
 
 *' Any news? " inquired Tom Piper, set- 
 ting Toby aside (since he was done with) to 
 enjoy his old stale joke by himself in the 
 cupboard. " Any news?" repeated he. 
 
 " Umph ! " returned Frank, raising his 
 eyebrows, drawing down his lips, and 
 scratching the back part of his head with 
 a fore finger. " Why no — I think not." 
 
 " Glad of it," rejoined Tom, in the act of 
 peeling a lemon in preparation for stronger 
 stimulants. " News, now-a-days, makes me 
 all in a twitter, like a Michaelmas flea. I 
 hate news." 
 
 " It depends upon the nature of it," 
 said Frank, '* as far as my liking goes." 
 
 " Good ! " briefly remarked Tom, pouring 
 into the bowl some liquids from a couple of 
 long-necked black bottles, and adding boiling 
 water from the hissing kettle, sugar, and a
 
 128 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 dash of what he called ' his own particular ' 
 from a small spice box at hand. " Good ! '' 
 said Tom Piper, for the second time, whiffing 
 the fragrant steam as it ascended gratefully 
 to his nostrils ; but whether the remark ap- 
 plied to his friend's reply, or to his own 
 mingled ingredients, did not appear. 
 
 With a few stirs, which only a practised 
 hand could have given, Tom completed his 
 sweet-smelling mixture, and filling a glass 
 he proffered it to his companion. 
 
 Frank drew it slowly under his nose; 
 gave a look of admiration to the concocter, 
 placed it gradually to his lips, hesitated, 
 and then drained the last running drop. 
 
 " The old sort," said he. 
 
 Tom Piper winked a silent affirmative 
 over the brim of his glass, and soon afterwards 
 setting it emptied upon the table with an 
 emphatic action, gasped, '' Amen ! " 
 
 " There 's not a man for leagues," observed 
 Frank Martin, "who can mix a bowl of 
 punch with you, Tom."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 129 
 
 " I Ve had some practice in my time d'ye 
 see," replied Tom Piper, seating himself op- 
 posite his friend. 
 
 " That you have," rejoined Frank. 
 
 " And yet many a bowl," returned Tom 
 Piper, leaning forwards in his chair and 
 speaking in a measured, deliberate tone, 
 " have I since wished had been poison." 
 
 "Poison!" ejaculated his companion. 
 
 " Ay," added Tom Piper, *' poison. In 
 my old master's time, scores and scores 
 drunk from this," said he, pointing to the 
 china bowl, " and the liquor was made by 
 these hands. I thought them his friends, and 
 he called them so, spoke of them so, and — 
 gentleman as he was — treated them so. God 
 help him !" 
 
 " I see your drift," remarked Frank. 
 
 " It wants no such head as yours," replied 
 old Tom, "to do that. They were the 
 rats to our house, and the most sparing 
 of life pay little regard to vermin o' that 
 tribe." 
 
 G 3
 
 130 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 Frank Martin agreed in this sentiment, 
 and said, " True enough." 
 
 " And like rats," continued Tom Piper, 
 still dwelling on his theme, " when they 
 saw the house totter from their own mining 
 they left it one and all." 
 
 " I wish, neighbour, the clearance had been 
 as you say," replied Frank : "one still 
 hangs about it." 
 
 "Ah!" sighed Tom, gravely shaking his 
 head; " and he will be to the son what the 
 father was to the father. Nothing that lean 
 see will prevent it." 
 
 " Old Racket lent—" 
 "Robbed !" fiercely interrupted Tom Piper, 
 " my old master from the day he fell into 
 his hands to the last one of his life. And his 
 son is serving my young master in the like 
 way. Oh, but they^re a nice pair of vultures !" 
 exclaimed he, striking the arm of his chair 
 roughly," and I should like the treeing of 
 
 'em." 
 
 You 'd nail them — '
 
 OUR COUNTY. 131 
 
 " Through their hearts, to gibbets," added 
 Tom, with quivering lip and flashing eyes, 
 " if nails would go through flints." 
 
 " You speak as though there was some 
 fresh cause to anger ye, Tom," remarked his 
 friend. 
 
 " Fresh cause !" repeated the old man, draw- 
 ing his breath heavily. "Is it not enough to 
 see day by day some wanton waste or other 
 committed — drinking, feasting, rioting — and 
 that devil by hirf side, like his shadow, urging 
 him on in all his whims and fancies, while 
 the estate is dwindling down like a heap of 
 snow in the sunshine?" 
 
 " The Weald farm goes next, I hear," ob- 
 served Frank. 
 
 " All will go in the end," groaned Tom; 
 " but I hope," said he, fervently clasping his 
 hands, " that I shall not be alive to see that 
 day." 
 
 '* No one seems to have any power over 
 him," said Frank, " in checking his headlong 
 course."
 
 132 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " The will of a Warren," rejoined Tom 
 Piper, " nothing mortal can check. Head- 
 strong obstinacy is in the blood, and is as 
 natural to it as the colour in their veins. But 
 see here," he continued, going to a drawer 
 and taking from it a new scarlet coat, " I 'm 
 to mount this livery next season. All our 
 trencher-fed hounds are to be given up and a 
 regular pack of fox-hounds is to be kenneled 
 at the grove, as in the old Sir Edward's 
 day." 
 
 " This is another faggot to the fire," re- 
 marked his companion. 
 
 " You may well say that," replied Tom. 
 " And when I had my orders my tongue al- 
 most refused to obey them. But a Piper," 
 continued the old man proudly, " never yet 
 said no to his master, and I won't break 
 through the rule come what may." 
 
 " And right, too," added his friend. '' But 
 black as the clouds look, we '11 hope for sun- 
 nier times, Tom, and to this sentiment let 's 
 drain a bumper."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 133 
 
 " Such a one deserves two," rejoined his 
 companion, regaining some of his wonted 
 cheerfulness. 
 
 An hour might have passed, and the bowl 
 began to exhibit signs of exhaustion ; but 
 the twain still hob-an' -nobbed, and toasts of 
 many descriptions were given with befitting 
 earnestness and enthusiasm, when Mr. Piper 
 observed, with a very slight tendency to a 
 hiccup, " That among Master Ned's — or Sir 
 Edward as it was more respectful to call him 
 now as he was no longer a boy, although a 
 very young man — that among Master Ned's 
 useless establishment was that scapegrace 
 Pug, who he should like to draft at a mo- 
 ment's warning or something less." 
 
 " I saw him in my way here to-night," 
 replied Frank Martin, with an unaccountable 
 thickness of speech. " There 's very little 
 o ' that flam talked about Pug which I beheve ; 
 but really — I say really — one can't make out 
 exactly what he is."
 
 134 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " Oh ! yes one can," replied Tom Piper. 
 " Nothing easier ; " and then lowering his 
 voice to a mysterious whisper, he added, 
 '' Pug is a chip — a thin shaving — of the 
 devil himself." 
 
 "So all the old women say," rejoined his 
 friend. 
 
 " And permit me to add, sir," returned 
 Tom, thumping his breast and assuming the 
 wisdom of a sage, " so does Thomas 
 Piper." 
 
 " And when he speaks," said a third voice, 
 " let no sheep's bell tinkle," and at the same 
 moment Pug's head was thrust in at the 
 window, and there he stood wagging it to 
 and fro with a grin so broad that his teeth 
 might be seen from ear to ear. 
 
 Tom Piper and Frank Martin looked 
 aghast. With open mouths and fixed gaze, 
 they regarded the interloper's visage as if 
 in doubt of the correctness of their own 
 senses.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 135 
 
 ** What silent, sirs? " said Pug, his eyes 
 sparkling with delight at the consternation 
 he had occasioned. "' I thought I heard my 
 name mentioned," continued he, folding his 
 arms deliberately upon the window sill, 
 " and if one knows oneself, who shall give 
 a better account of himself than him- 
 self ? " 
 
 " We can dispense," replied Tom Piper, 
 recovering a small portion of his self posses- 
 sion and waving a hand, " we can dispense 
 with the latest intelligence." 
 
 "Pardon me. Mister Piper," rejoined Pug, 
 " but it's a good plan, take my word for it, 
 to refuse nothing that costs nothing, and 
 may produce something." 
 
 " Xot always," added Tom, " as I can 
 prove. For instance ; there 's a nice piece of 
 favoured ash in that corner," continued he, 
 pointing to the stick, " and if I were to offer 
 to cudgel your back withal, by way of serv- 
 ing ye right for pushing your nose where it 's 
 not wanted, and it wasn't expected, and
 
 136 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 thereby interrupting the har — " Tom was 
 slightly interrupted by a check in his breath 
 — " mony of this assembly, I dare say 
 you'd—" 
 
 " Say that which we are told in a better 
 place," added Pug. '' ' Do unto others as 
 you would they should do unto you,' Mister 
 Piper." 
 
 Frank Martin smiled at this apt retort of 
 Pug's, and Tom looked as if he had met with 
 a little the worst of it. " I don't want to 
 have any more words with you," said he, 
 '' so be off and shut the window." 
 
 *' Thank you, sir," responded Pug, in a 
 bantering tone. "But before I obey this 
 order, may I ask if there are any more. 
 Perhaps you 'd like me to taste your punch 
 first, and give an opinion as to its quality." 
 
 The cool impudence of Pug quite muffled 
 Mr. Piper's organ of speech. 
 
 " If report speak truth," resumed he, " it 's 
 stuff fit for the lips of princes. I am quite 
 willing to believe such to be the fact ; but
 
 OUR COUNTY. 137 
 
 still, Mister Piper, one's faith might be 
 strengthened by a very simple bit of evi- 
 dence within your power to give." 
 
 Pug had laid siege to the most vulnerable 
 point in Tom Piper's affections, particularly 
 in their present condition. He was at once 
 softened towards the object of his dislike 
 and suspicions, and with a countenance ex- 
 pressive of regained good humour, he said, 
 '' Did ye never taste a drop of my punch, 
 Pug?" 
 
 Pug saw his vantage and quickly following 
 it up said, with something like emotion? 
 "Never, Mister Thomas Piper. Never, 
 sir." 
 
 " The door 's unfastened," replied Tom, 
 seizing the ladle. " Come in." 
 
 " Thank ye kindly, sir," rejoined Pug. 
 '• But like a snake or an eel, wherever I get 
 my head I can always bring my tail," and 
 dropping gently forwards he fell upon his 
 hands on the floor, and throwing his legs 
 backwards over his head he sprung lightly
 
 138 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 in an upright position between the aston- 
 ished Frank Martin and Tom Piper. 
 
 Scarcely was he upon his feet when a short- 
 limbed, long-backed wiry cur leaped through 
 the window into the room, and squatting 
 upon its haunches began without further 
 notice to beg with its fore paws in an ener- 
 getic manner, and to issue forth a most dole- 
 fal whine. 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha ! " laughed Tom Piper, looking 
 first at one of his abrupt visitors and then 
 at the other. " Ha, ha, ha ! Like master 
 like dog, eh ? Pug and Nip, you 're a brace 
 of unaccountables." 
 
 " You 're kind enough to say so, Mister 
 Piper," replied Pug, *' and if we are, sir, a 
 little on the shady side of public opinion, it 's 
 no more than " 
 
 " Drink that," interrupted Tom, proffering 
 a well-filled glass of the fragrant beverage, 
 "and don't be in a hurry. Let it gently 
 slide along the tongue in its way downwards, 
 and stretch your throat as long as a heron's.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 139 
 
 If," continued he, '4t were a mile long and 
 every inch a palate, you 'd wish, Pug — I say 
 you 'd wish, it was consid — e-r-r-r-r — ably 
 longer." 
 
 Pug took the glass and raising it to his 
 lips, said, " Your health, sirs." 
 
 Nip — who appeared by this time to have 
 arrived at the conclusion that there was 
 nothing to be got by begging — suddenly 
 changed his character from the supplicant 
 to that of the assailant by making a sudden 
 dash at tabby Tom. Away flew the cat 
 under the table, over the chairs, round and 
 round they rushed. Tom hastened to the 
 rescue. Poker in hand he aimed a blow at 
 the devoted Nip, but missing his aim he 
 caught poor Frank with stinging force across 
 the shins and sent him staggering on his 
 back. Eound again. Now here, now there. 
 Crash among the plates and crockery. 
 
 '' Ha, ha, ha ! " roared Pug. " Ha, ha, ha !" 
 
 " Stop him! kill him! d— n him! " hal- 
 looed Tom.
 
 140 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 '' Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Pug. "Ha, ha, 
 ha!" 
 
 Squalling, howling, clawing, biting, over 
 and over tabby Tom rolled. 
 
 " Imps of hell ! " thundered Tom Piper, 
 making a clutch at his favourite, and receiv- 
 ing a couple of Nip's teeth through the ball 
 of his thumb. 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha!" again laughed Pug. " Ha, 
 ha, ha!" 
 
 Worked to a pitch of frenzy, Tom Piper 
 turned from his attempt to rescue tabby Tom 
 from the fangs of his enemy to wreak his 
 vengeance upon the supposed author of the 
 mischief. "With an imprecation both loud 
 and deep, he whirled the poker high above 
 his head and brought it with gigantic force 
 towards the object of his anger. As impo- 
 tent as if directed against a shadow it fell 
 harmlessly in the air, and the next moment 
 he found himself alone with Frank Martin 
 sprawling on the floor, wrapped in the 
 " honey heavy dew of sleep."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 141 
 
 " That 's very queer," soliloquized Tom, 
 going to the open window, " very queer 
 indeed." 
 
 Leaning from the casement, the cool fresh 
 breath of early morning fanned his heated 
 brow, and a watchful cock threw his bold 
 challenge on the breeze as the first streak 
 of light tinged the east. 
 
 At this moment, and far away, he thought 
 he heard, " Ha, ha, ha !"
 
 142 oxm COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 '• Low in a grassy dingle he was laid, 
 With wild wood primroses befreckled ; 
 Over his head the wanton shadows played 
 Of a young olive, that her boughs so spread, 
 As with her leaves she seemed to crown his head." 
 
 " It 's a rare nest to take, Sir Edward," 
 said Robin the molecatcher, doffing his cap 
 as he presented himself before the open 
 casement of the breakfast-room window at 
 the Grange. " A kingfisher's nest is not 
 very often handled," and as he spoke he 
 withdrew a handkerchief and exposed to 
 view five partly-fledged birds with large 
 heads and wide distended beaks. 
 
 "I never saw one before," replied our
 
 OUE COUNTY. 143 
 
 hero, approaching the window and making 
 a closer examination of the curiosity 
 presented. 
 
 " Few have, sir," rejoined Robin, " and it 
 puzzled me sorely to take it; for the hole 
 was several inches below the edge of the 
 water, and if I hadn't been careful with the 
 spade, I should have flooded 'em." 
 
 " But you can't rear them," remarked Sir 
 Edward. 
 
 '' Oh yes, sir !" returned the molecatcher ; 
 " you '11 see all in full plumage when I give 
 them to Miss Rose." 
 
 "And you know what my sister will 
 do?" 
 
 "Let them fly," rejoined Robin, smiling, 
 " as she does scores of my rearing and 
 taking. But so long as it pleases her, sir, 
 it pleases me." 
 
 " Particularly as your profits are not 
 lessened by the indulgence." 
 
 " It may be that that, Sir Edward," 
 added Robin, "has no little share in the
 
 144 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 matter, so far as I 'm concerned. But I 've 
 come," continued he, " to speak of another 
 curiosity, which is likely to prove of more 
 interest." 
 
 " And what is that ? " 
 
 " It was my hope to find you thus early 
 i' the day," resumed the molecatcher, " and 
 when few have stirred, save those who rise 
 at cockcrow." 
 
 " Why, what game 's afoot now, Robin? " 
 
 ''A noble one, sir," replied he, "as 
 you '11 say when known. How long may it 
 be since," continued Robin, speaking slowly, 
 " that you heard of King Hal, the last of the 
 herd ?" 
 
 " What, the sprite stag? " asked our hero, 
 laughing. 
 
 " Ay," replied the molecatcher. " The 
 sprite stag." 
 
 ** That was my favourite nursery story," 
 rejoined Sir Edward, '' and one with which 
 my mother could engage 'my ears for 
 hours."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 145 
 
 '^ Not unlikely," said Robin. " In years 
 gone by it was on everybody's tongue. The 
 child could lisp how King Hal, after seeing 
 two-score of his companions shot around 
 him, led a favourite hind to a corner of the 
 deer park, and clearing the fence at a bound, 
 tried to lure her to the leap. Finding she 
 did not follow him, he turned and jumped 
 again to her side, and rubbing his branches 
 against her neck, once more sprang across 
 the barrier. With a cry of fear the hind 
 rose at the leap, but, falling helplessly back- 
 wards, received at this moment a bullet 
 through her brain. In an instant the 
 gallant stag rebounded into the park, and 
 standing over the dead body of the hind, 
 tossed his antlers in the air, and, with eye- 
 balls glaring upon his foes, stood as if 
 carved from stone, to await the like doom. 
 Those hearts were not over tender engaged 
 in the cold slaughter of that penned-up 
 herd ; but there was not one flinty enough 
 to pull a trigger at King Hal. Thus the 
 
 VOL. I. IJ
 
 146 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 last of the herd was spared, and abandoning 
 the pasture where he had roamed from a 
 fawn, he took to the woods and became a 
 subject for song and story." 
 
 " You have it pat enough, Robin," ob- 
 served his hearer. 
 
 " Since then," resumed the molecatcher, 
 " poacher and gipsy have had many a crack 
 at King Hal ; but so wary has he been for 
 many a long year past, that few eyes have 
 caught even a glimpse of his whereabouts. 
 He seems to take care no ken shall view his 
 slot, and treads only where no trace is 
 left." 
 
 " But surely you don't think he lives? " 
 
 *' As certain as you and I, sir, live," re- 
 plied Robin. 
 
 *' What, the sprite stag? " 
 
 " He may be so called," rejoined the 
 molecatcher. " But the outlying deer 
 forming the subject of what I 've just 
 spoken of, I saw enter Birchwood copse not 
 two hours ago."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 147 
 
 "Pshaw!" returned our hero. "That 
 there may be an outlying deer and you have 
 seen it, Robin, I admit; but as to the re- 
 doubted King Hal being in Birchwood 
 copse, I might as well be told the dead hind 
 you speak of was also in his sovereign 
 company." 
 
 " I was prepared for this want of belief, 
 Sir Edward," added Robin. " But my eyes 
 are none o^ the worst, and you never yet 
 had cause to doubt the truth of what 
 they saw." 
 
 " But what is the proof of its being this 
 famed an tier' d hart? " 
 
 " That which none other possessed that 
 I ever saw," rejoined Robin. " Besides 
 being much above the usual size," con- 
 tinued he, " his color is silvery gray, and 
 from his throat downwards there is a 
 thin dark streak which forms a perfect 
 cross upon his chest." 
 
 " And did you see this ? " asked his 
 hearer. 
 
 II 2
 
 148 OUR COUNTY, 
 
 " As plainly as I now see you, sir," 
 replied Robin. " With his branches thrown 
 back, and head erect, he came to windward 
 of the brook where I was digging, and 
 stopping in my work, he passed within 
 some fifty yards at a slow walk." 
 
 "Egad!" exclaimed our hero, flushing 
 with what he heard, " I begin to have some 
 faith in this." 
 
 " You may depend upon what I say, 
 sir," returned the molecatcher. " The 
 sprite stag of Monkwood is harboured 
 there," continued he, pointing to a thick belt 
 of covers in the distance. 
 
 "Then by the rood!" ejaculated Sir 
 Edward, laughing, " I '11 rouse him from 
 his lair. We 11 try if he be bone and 
 blood, or a thing through which the moon 
 shines, as gossips sing and say." 
 
 "'Twill be somewhat hot by-an'-bye," 
 observed Robin, " and to be on terms with 
 him, not an hour should be lost." 
 
 " Right," replied Sir Edward. " Within
 
 OUR COUNTY. 149 
 
 half, he '11 have such music in his ears that 
 shall charm him to his best speed — sprite or 
 flesh." 
 
 " 'Tis no little boast with such game 
 afoot," observed Kobin. 
 
 " Not if a little be true that 's said of 
 his prowess," returned our hero. "But 
 if this be the renowned King Hal, how old 
 must he be?" 
 
 " Not less than thirty-five years," replied 
 the molecatcher, " and I think some two or 
 three more might be added, if my memory 
 serve me rightly." 
 
 "Were I sure," remarked the other, 
 hesitating in his purpose, ^' that this was the 
 gallant old stag you name, I think I 'd let 
 him rest." 
 
 " Draw for him, at least, sir," rejoined 
 Robin, who possessed little consideration 
 for the hunting or capturing of anything. 
 " You can then view him away and stop 
 the hounds if you think proper." 
 
 " And I will do so," returned Sir Edward.
 
 150 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " He shall never be haunched by hound of 
 mine." 
 
 With impatient orders, as quickly obeyed 
 as given, the pack, now consisting of twenty- 
 live couples of well-seasoned hounds, was 
 unkenneled, and led by Tom Piper, mounted, 
 capped, booted, and spurred, at a fast trot 
 across the park. Being joined by their 
 master, whose impetuous horse reared 
 straight in the air with fiery pleasure the 
 moment he saw the hounds, directions were 
 given to throw them into cover without the 
 loss of a moment. 
 
 " Throw them in gently, Tom," said his 
 young master, " at the upper end of the 
 Avood, so as not to scare even a pigeon from 
 a twig, and I '11 place myself at the lower 
 end." 
 
 " Just so, sir," replied Mr. Piper, re- 
 spectfully touching the peak of his cap ; for 
 Tom had sunk much of the familiarity 
 existing between his master and himself, in 
 the lapse of time, although not a spark of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 151 
 
 that kindly feeling existing between them 
 from early days had been extinguished. 
 
 Scarcely was the signal " cover hoik " 
 given, than with a dash the hounds rushed 
 in a body into the copse, making brake and 
 bramble crack and snap as they swept 
 through them. Chattering jays flew from 
 branch and bough, and the wary wood- 
 pigeon flapped her wings swiftly from her 
 roost. Now a startled rabbit skipped 
 across a path and dived deeply into its 
 burrow. With a loud chuck, a pheasant 
 rose from the ground, and his rainbow 
 plumage glittered in the sun's early rays 
 as he alighted on the topmost branch of 
 an ash, and stood with his long neck out- 
 stretched, peering at his disturbers beneath. 
 Hares sprung from their forms, and every 
 denizen of the wild hastened from the 
 scene of its fear. 
 
 Hark! There was no mistaking that 
 sound. Through the dark deep wood it 
 echoed, and rung, and spread o'er hill
 
 152 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 and dale. Each under each the cry was 
 thrown more musical than bells at eventide. 
 The game was roused. 
 
 " Have at him ! " hallooed Tom Piper, 
 spurring along the side of the cover towards 
 his master. " Have at him — Yo — dooit. 
 Ploik, together, hoik ! " 
 
 At this moment our hero raised his hat 
 in silence above his head, and the next, out 
 leaped a splendid stag from the wood. In 
 size he was little less than that of a horse, 
 and as for a brief second he stood, as if un- 
 decided upon the course he would take, the 
 strange mark, described by Robin, was 
 clearly visible across his chest. 
 
 " The sprite stag of Monkwood by the 
 mass ! " shouted Sir Edward, pointing with 
 his whip to the noble animal as he now 
 bounded forwards, and stretching his body 
 almost to the ground, seemed to possess 
 wino^s for his flio^ht. 
 
 " Tally-ho! " hallooed Tom Piper, '' tally- 
 ho ! We '11 give him a dusting," and then
 
 OUR COUNTY. 153 
 
 lifting his horn, he caused the welkin to ring 
 with as hearty a wind as ever came from 
 huntsman's lips. 
 
 " Remember, Tom," said his master, 
 galloping to his side, " I '11 not have him 
 taken. We '11 run him for a few miles and 
 then whip off." 
 
 " As you please, sir," returned Tom, 
 with some secret misgivings concerning the 
 probable fulfilment of this resolution. 
 
 In a line — with heads up and sterns 
 down — the hounds settled to their game, and 
 began, at the burst, to race like greyhounds 
 from the slips. Over large open meads, 
 deep ploughs, hill, slope, and level, they 
 swept with the speed of light ; topping 
 walls, and crashing through thick fences — 
 now scaring flocks and herds, and then 
 away o'er common and waste, where the 
 lapwing rose with cries of fear. 
 
 ^' Without a check we shall never get 
 to their heads to-day," hallooed Sir 
 Edward. 
 
 H 3
 
 154 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " The scent 's too good for that," re- 
 turned Tom. ^'Nothing but a hawk," 
 continued he, " or something of that sort, 
 would reach them this morning." 
 
 " Then he '11 be run into," added his 
 master. 
 
 "As sure as my name 's Thomas Piper," 
 added he, in a tone which carried full reli- 
 ance in his own prediction. 
 
 "He must be saved," rejoined Sir Edward, 
 pricking his horse across a wide even brook. 
 " I would not have him touched for any 
 earthly consideration." 
 
 " Be not afeard," returned Tom. " When 
 he 's had enough of it, he '11 give 'em his 
 head to front instead of his haunch, and 
 they 're too chary of their own lives to be in 
 a hurry to rush on such spikes as he's got." 
 
 An hour waned and yet the chase went 
 on. The team, just beginning the daily toil, 
 was stayed, and the driver, with strained 
 and shaded gaze, marked the line in silence, 
 and then when all had passed, hallooed with
 
 OUR COUNTY. 155 
 
 stentorian lungs, and felt inclined to mount 
 white-faced Bell and join the sport. Maid 
 and matron, still with weighed-down heavy- 
 eyelids, were awakened, and ere their 
 murky senses could comprehend the cause, 
 it had gone, and left them amazed and won- 
 dering. Children with ruddy, staring faces, 
 threw back cottage door and window, and, 
 seeing the hunt, began to clap their hands 
 and shriek with pleasure. 
 
 Many a mile had been scoured and many 
 a bold leap taken ; but the pace never lacked. 
 Foam flew from the reaking horses, and 
 they breathed heavily at every stride; but 
 still answering to the call of whip and spur, 
 they carried their riders straight in the 
 course as arrows winged from yew bows. 
 
 "He'll go till sunset," observed Sir 
 Edward. 
 
 '* An' may be later," replied Tom, ''if it 
 be old King Hal." 
 
 "That I've no doubt of," rejoined his 
 master.
 
 156 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " Then it 's a toss up," returned Mr. 
 Piper; "but we might as well hunt a willo' 
 the wisp." 
 
 " What, do you believe him to be the 
 sprite stag, Tom? " asked his master, laugh- 
 ing. 
 
 " He must be something more than com- 
 mon to stand before hounds for an hour and 
 forty minutes at this pace," replied Tom. " I 
 thought him nothing but an outlying deer 
 from Dulverton park," he continued, " when 
 I first viewed him ; but he 's not that 
 or they would have run into him long 
 ago." 
 
 " Then you gave no credence to his being 
 King Hal?" 
 
 " Not in the least, sir," rejoined Tom ; " I 
 thought that venison long since hashed." 
 
 " And what say ye now? " inquired his 
 master. 
 
 " That we 've got the devil before us," 
 returned Mr. Piper, " or a close relation to 
 him."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 157 
 
 "No matter what," added Sir Edward. 
 " Ride on." 
 
 A halloo was now heard in the distance. 
 
 "Hark, Tom!" shouted Sir Edward, 
 driving his rowels into his horse's flanks. 
 "From scent to view!" and as he spoke he 
 pointed to a magpie rising and darting from 
 mid air to the ground. 
 
 " Ajf sir," said Tom, with glistening 
 eyes, " that pie tells us he 's a beaten one. 
 How they love to mob the falling game." 
 
 Upon dipping over the brow of a steep 
 hill, they saw the hounds pointing in a cir- 
 cuitous line for a thick coppice at the bot- 
 tom of a valley, through which a swift 
 stream glided. 
 
 " He 's gone to soil under that belt," said 
 Tom, pointing to the cover. 
 
 Turning short to the left. Sir Edward 
 urged his jaded horse to his utmost speed, 
 and managed to stop the hounds just before 
 they reached the coppice. Cracking his 
 heavy double thong at their heads, and hal-
 
 158 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 looing them back, not one effected an en- 
 trance, although many tried to make a dash 
 for the place where they knew the game 
 was sheltered. Fear, however, confronted 
 their duty, and in a few moments they were 
 led some distance from the spot, without 
 having touched their victim, with keen and 
 whetted fangs. Entire obedience having 
 been obtained, Sir Edward dismounted, and 
 giving the rein of his horse to Tom, said, 
 " I '11 go and have a glimpse of King Hal 
 before turning homewards." 
 
 "You'll find him," replied Mr. Piper, 
 " with his haunch against the trunk o' that 
 pollard oak in the centre of the cover, and 
 his dog horns ready for mischief," continued 
 he. " Have a care, sir. He 's not in a play- 
 ful mood with such a dusting as this." 
 
 Upon entering the cover. Sir Edward's 
 keen eye at once fell upon the prostrate form 
 of the stag. 'Neath the shade of a widely- 
 spreading tree, and upon a bed of violets and 
 primroses, the noble stag lay stretched with
 
 OUR COUNTY. 159 
 
 his tongue hanging from his jaws, and the 
 film of death already dimming the lustre of 
 his eye. 
 
 Scarcely believing the evidence of his 
 senses, Sir Edward stood motionless for a 
 few seconds ; but finding the last fluttering 
 pulse had ceased, he gave a loud death halloo, 
 and Tom hastened to the spot with the 
 eager pack. 
 
 " See," said his master, " the bolt of his 
 Hfe is shot from the speed alone." 
 
 It was some time before Mr. Piper es- 
 sayed to make a remark upon what he saw. 
 At length he said, " His time was come, sir, 
 and he knew it. And like a gallant fellow 
 as he was, he determined to die as he had 
 lived — nobly. Hound and horn followed 
 him to his end ; and there lies what till now 
 I thought a fable — Old King Hal, the last 
 of the herd.
 
 160 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 " The miserable have no other medicine, 
 But only hope." 
 
 PooE Simon Slip ! There he sat, as had 
 been his wont since a thin, tall, and lank- 
 jawed lad. Upon the self-same long-legged, 
 hay-stuffed, time-worn stool, he dangled 
 his spindle limbs to and fro, driving a 
 quill rapidly across a skin of stiff and creak- 
 ing parchment. Now and then, he stopped 
 to smear the instrument with a white pow- 
 der, so as to render it more susceptible of the 
 ink he was spreading upon its surface, and 
 then, on he proceeded mth his labour, with- 
 out being in the remotest degree conscious
 
 OUR COUNTY. 161 
 
 that a pair of beautiful bright eyes were 
 watching every movement of his pen. It was 
 strange, too, that such should be the fact ; 
 for " the office," as the small, dark, and 
 dingy room was called, which Simon oc- 
 cupied, certainly became many degrees 
 brighter, as Maud Sharp noiselessly turned 
 the handle of the door, and made her face 
 visible within. The old county map sus- 
 pended against the wall behind Simon Slip's 
 back, lost some of its mouldy looks, and the 
 engravings of a few learned pillars of the 
 law, with amazingly stern and severe as- 
 pects, appeared to melt into a little less 
 austere humour, as the sunny reflection fell 
 upon their dusty visages. And yet Simon 
 Slip nibbed and dipped and drove his pen 
 along, in perfect ignorance of all these 
 changes. How long he might have contin- 
 ued so, is a matter of the greatest uncer- 
 tainty, had not a soft and gentle voice 
 addressed him by the familiar name of 
 " Simon."
 
 162 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 Not a pin — not a darning-needle, ruth- 
 lessly thrust under Simon Slip's seat, 
 could have caused him to start more sud- 
 denly. 
 
 ^'Oh dear me, Miss Maud!" ejaculated 
 he, with a long-drawn breath, as if he had 
 been just soused in very cold water. " Is 
 that you?" 
 
 " Yes," replied Maud, coming forward, 
 and scarcely capable of controlling her 
 mirth at Simon's pourtrayed nervousness. 
 " I hope that I 've not frightened you." 
 
 "No, Miss," he returned, "not exactly 
 frightened me. But I was not a — ware of 
 your presence." 
 
 "Are you particularly engaged?" in- 
 quired his young mistress. 
 
 " Not if I can do any trifle for you. 
 Miss Maud," returned Simon Slip, deliber- 
 ately placing his pen behind an ear, with 
 the evident resolve to keep it there until fur- 
 ther notice. For to be employed — to have 
 one single little task set for him to execute,
 
 OUR COUNTY. 163 
 
 by Maud, was the very acme of his earthly 
 pleasures. 
 
 " I fear, Simon," she rejoined, approach- 
 ing close to the desk, before which he was 
 sitting, " that I may appear inquisitive, 
 and, indeed, prying into subjects most un- 
 becoming to me ; and yet, I must request 
 your answers to all the questions I am 
 going to ask, without hesitation on your 
 part. Will you do so?" and, as she spoke, 
 she raised her beautifully moulded arm, 
 and, pressing her taper fingers upon the 
 old man's shoulder, looked a persuasion, 
 which something more than mortal could 
 only have withstood. 
 
 " I will," was never more firmly spoken. 
 And Simon Slip meant what he said. 
 
 " In parting Avith Sir Edward Warren's 
 property," began Maud, looking gravely 
 into Simon's features, " which my father is 
 now continually doing, is it for his ultimate 
 relief from difiiculties, or to the mere ad- 
 vantage of others?"
 
 164 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 "It is simply to pay his debts," replied 
 Simon Slip. " Sir Edward having come of 
 age, and confirmed all claims created dur- 
 ing his minority, the estates must be sold 
 to meet them." 
 
 " But what do these claims, for the most 
 part, consist of ? " 
 
 '' Monies borrowed when under age," 
 replied Simon. 
 
 "Of whom?" 
 
 " Old Mister Kacket," rejoined Simon, 
 more puzzled at the object of this examina- 
 tion, than any confused, badgered, and 
 bothered witness could possibly be; but 
 still he maintained his compact. 
 
 *' Were the arrangements between Mister 
 Eacket and Sir Edward countenanced 
 or sanctioned by my father ? " inquired 
 Maud. 
 
 " The securities were prepared by us," 
 returned he. " This is one," pointing to 
 the parchment before him. 
 
 " And therefore must^'" resumed she,
 
 OUR COUNTY. 165 
 
 forcibly, " have met with your master's 
 assistance." 
 
 " I suppose so, Miss," added Simon Slip, 
 evasively. " But legal secrets mustn't be 
 talked about." 
 
 " Fear nothing from me," said his young 
 mistress ; " and yet you must tell me more. 
 In aiding Mister Racket to receive his 
 usurious loans, is it not ruinous to Sir 
 Edward Warren? " 
 
 " With his present goings-on," replied 
 he, " nothing but ruin stares him in the 
 face. But it all lies with himself. I heard 
 your papa tell Sir Edward, that he would 
 not lend him a shilling to be squandered in 
 extravagancies." 
 
 '' Having heard that," rejoined Maud, 
 significantly, " perhaps you can tell some- 
 thing more without questioning." 
 
 Simon Slip was at this moment troubled 
 with a dry cough. And then, after a slight 
 fit of abstraction, during which he slowly 
 chafed the tip of his nose with a highly-
 
 166 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 polislied ruler, said, " I don't know, Miss, 
 that I can say anything more upon the 
 subject; legal secrets mustn't be talked 
 about." 
 
 " Have you, by any chance," resumed 
 Maud, knitting her finely chiselled brow, 
 and regarding Simon Slip with a steady, 
 blinkless gaze, " have you by any chance," 
 she repeated, pointing to the door separat- 
 ing her father's room from that in which 
 they were, " found your ear close to that 
 keyhole during Mr. Racket's visits?" 
 
 Simon's jaw fell as she spoke, and he 
 looked like one caught in the very act of 
 dishonesty. The ruler fell from his hand, 
 clanking upon the floor, and raising his 
 hands supplicatingly, he gasped, " Oh Miss, 
 Maud ! ask me no more. I did listen, but 
 not for a bad purpose. I couldn't believe 
 my master — your father would — " and 
 then the old clerk buried his face in his 
 hands, and sobbed and cried convulsively. 
 
 " You know all, then," observed his
 
 OUR COUNTY. 167 
 
 young mistress, in a voice strained with 
 emotion. 
 
 " Yes, yes," he rejoined. "I know all. 
 That you often meet, and love one another, 
 and I pray nightly for both of ye. Miss, for 
 both of ye." 
 
 " Good, dear Simon ! " ejaculated Maud, 
 unable to check the tears which now 
 trembled in her own eyes, '' we have good 
 cause to pray ; and in the promise made to 
 those who ask with earnestness of faith, 
 we will hope our supplications may be 
 listened to." 
 
 " You '11 not let your father see that — " 
 
 " His child shudders to call him such ? " 
 interrupted Maud, with kindled fire flashing 
 in her eyes. "No, I '11 not do so. He who 
 has watched me day by day, and tended me 
 with fond and doating care for long, long 
 years, shall never see that. He is still my 
 father, Simon." 
 
 '' And may be not so much in fault as 
 he seems," returned Simon.
 
 168 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " All men must be judged by their acts," 
 added Maud. " Edward openly avows my 
 father's to be, and ever have been, fraught 
 with opposition and injury to him. What 
 say you ? " 
 
 '* Not always," replied he. 
 
 "But now?" 
 
 " They are." 
 
 " And the proof? " 
 
 " Lies within themselves," continued 
 Simon, pointing to the deed before him. 
 
 " And his own admission might be added, 
 I fear," observed Maud, sorrowfully, " if a 
 doubt hung upon a film, however slender." 
 
 Simon made no reply to this, but his 
 silence was a sufficient answer. After a 
 short pause, Maud said, " In a few words, 
 tell me all you know, and all you think 
 upon this matter. I now would learn the 
 worst ; for nothing can exceed my fears." 
 
 " It 's a thankless task, Miss," rejoined 
 Simon, and one which I could wish had 
 not fallen to my lot. But since, perhaps.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 169 
 
 the worst you know, it will be better that 
 the remainder should not be guessed at. 
 My memory is somewhat dull of late," con- 
 tinued he; "but I think it may be about 
 four years ago that Sir Edward Warren first 
 applied to your father for a loan. When 
 the purpose for which it was wanted was 
 asked, I think I hear him now proudly say, 
 ' I require this, Mr. Sharp, as a matter of 
 business, and as no favour. You have the 
 command of my property, and must be the 
 best judge whether I possess the right of 
 a compliance to my request.' There was 
 never much kindly feeling existing between 
 your father and Sir Edward, as you know, 
 Miss Maud, from his boyhood upwards; 
 but that is easily accounted for in the 
 attempts often made to check his extrava- 
 gant whims and fancies. However, no 
 sooner was this reply given, than your 
 father said, in an angry tone, ' Then permit 
 me to inform you, sir, that you have no 
 right. You are a minor, the estates are in 
 
 VOL. I. I
 
 170 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 trust, heavily mortgaged, and beset with 
 difficulties. And I '11 take the liberty of 
 adding further, that it will be much more 
 to the interests of yourself and family, to 
 think of retrenchment and economy, rather 
 than of loans and expenditure.' " 
 
 " That at least was friendly advice," re- 
 marked Maud. 
 
 ^' And meant as it was spoken," resumed 
 Simon. " But Sir Edward, with a lip 
 quivering with rage, turned slowly and 
 silently upon his heel, and never crossed the 
 threshold of the door again. How long it 
 may be after this I cannot tell, but within 
 a short time, old Mister Racket came here 
 almost daily, and was closeted with my 
 master for hours together. Deeds and 
 bonds were prepared — which I copied — 
 making Sir Edward a heavy debtor to 
 Mister Racket, and thousands were added 
 to thousands. These securities were always 
 taken away by the old usurer, and brought 
 back signed by Sir Edward Warren, and then
 
 OUK COUNTY. 171 
 
 he would rub his hands and chuckle, * nothing 
 venture, friend Sharp, nothing win. Little 
 risks for great gains, eh? What better 
 speculation? We know, well enough, an 
 infant can't sign with effect ; but a baby of 
 nineteen, with high notions of honour, and 
 all that glitter and gingerbread, may be 
 trusted. Yes, yes, never fear. He '11 
 flourish his signature when wanted.' " 
 
 "You overheard this?" said Maud, 
 listening with profound attention. 
 
 " I did," replied he, " and your father 
 added, ' He was sure of that, for his pride 
 and sensitive feelings were a surety against 
 taking the smallest advantage unbefitting 
 the character of a gentleman.' " 
 
 ''Did my father say that?" inquired 
 Maud. 
 
 " Those were his precise words," returned 
 Simon. 
 
 "And what followed?" 
 
 " Mister Eacket said, ' it was music to 
 hear him say so; for we,' he continued, 
 
 I 2
 
 172 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 'may as well, friend Sharp, benefit our- 
 selves by that which others would be sure 
 to take. It 's worse than stupid — I may 
 say it 's sinful — to throw away opportunities. 
 We are not to blame for the young man's 
 being careless and lavish with his means, 
 eh, friend Sharp? ' 
 
 " ' Certainly not,' replied your father. 
 ' For what may come, no responsibility rests 
 with me.' 
 
 *' ' Nor with me,' rejoined Mister Racket. 
 ' I can't be held responsible for my son 
 Jack's bringing me his bills and bonds to 
 be turned into money at a moment's notice. 
 Oh! but they 're a pair of wild, harum- 
 scarum dogs 1 ' 
 
 "'Do they gamble?' inquired your 
 father. 
 
 " ' Always at it,' returned the other, 
 ' always at it ; cards and dice, dice and 
 cards. Betting on everything. They 
 pulled straws from a stack the other day
 
 OUR COUNTY. 173 
 
 for twenty pounds a time, seeing which 
 could pull the longest.* 
 
 " * Then he 's lost,' exclaimed your father, 
 and he spoke as if in the deepest sorrow. 
 
 *' ' But one man's loss is another man's 
 gain, friend Sharp,' observed Mister 
 Racket. 
 
 " ' True, and henceforth we will think of 
 the gains,' said your father, 'and not of 
 losses. Proceed as you 've commenced, and 
 leave the rest to me.' 
 
 " Since then. Sir Edward, as I remarked 
 before, has confirmed all these liabilities 
 created during his minority, and acre after 
 acre is being sold to discharge them. I 
 believe. Miss Maud," continued Simon Slip, 
 " I have now told you shortly the precise 
 state of the case in point." 
 
 " And a truly shocking one it is," re- 
 turned Maud, despondingly. "For my 
 father — he whom I regarded once as fault- 
 less as the mirror in which honor itself was 
 reflected — to connive, nay, to assist and
 
 174 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 share in the ill-gotten gains from the 
 planned ruin of his ward. 'Tis too horrible 
 for thought ! " and as she spoke, a flood of 
 tears burst from her eyes, and rolled down 
 her grief-lined cheeks.
 
 OUB COUNTY. 175 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 " To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 
 Creeps in this petty pace from day-to-day." 
 
 A FEW years — and but a few — had worked 
 great and sad changes in the appearance of 
 Sir Edward Warren. As he lounged upon 
 a sofa in an elegantly furnished room, in 
 the West-end of the metropolis, and the day 
 far advanced, none would have recognised 
 in the pale, wan face, Master Ned, with his 
 trencher-fed pack, buoyant with health and 
 spirits, scarcely six years since. The ex- 
 pression on his features was that of the 
 deepest dejection, and as he lay stretched
 
 176 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 at full length, dressed in a loose morning 
 wrapper, he turned restlessly from side to 
 side, and pressed his hands, from time to 
 time, upon his temples, throbbing with 
 feverish pain. 
 
 Albeit, the furniture of the apartment 
 was costly, it exhibited a scene of the ut- 
 most confusion. A pack of cards was scat- 
 tered upon the floor, and some empty wine 
 bottles stood upon a table, over which the 
 candles had been left to gutter in streams. 
 The remains of a supper, consisting of lob- 
 ster shells and other fragments, were strewn 
 here and there, as if a couple of belligerents 
 had used them in some pelting match. The 
 ashes and ends of cigars, in considerable 
 quantities, contributed to the general deso- 
 late effect; and if the picture required a 
 finish, the bright and sultry rays of a July 
 sun streaking through the windows, may be 
 said to have afforded it to the fullest ex- 
 tent. 
 
 Without any intimation or announce-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 177 
 
 raent, the door of the room was thrown vio- 
 lently back, and in swaggered " the scion of 
 the noble stock of Racket." 
 
 " What my young p^^^-nomenon — my 
 out-an'-out, right and left, give-it-'em- 
 straight, Bricksy-wicksy ! " exclaimed he, 
 glancing around. " Not mopped out yet ? " 
 
 " I 've not left the room," replied Sir 
 Edward. 
 
 " What not to have a shake down?" re- 
 joined Jack Racket. 
 
 " No," shortly added his companion, with 
 a gesture of petfulness. 
 
 " Strike me lucky ! " ejaculated the other, 
 approaching the sofa, " but I see what 's the 
 screw loose with my young pA^^-nomenon ! 
 You Ve a cup too low — pint when you 
 should be pot. Pooh ! keep his head straight, 
 give him a shake, cram in the gafts, hie- 
 over, and whiz-z-z you go like a bullet. 
 That 's your time o' day, Chink-wink 'em 
 along!" 
 
 "Excuse me, Racket," returned Sir 
 
 I 3
 
 178 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 Edward, rising in a sitting posture; " but I 
 am in no humour for this," and as he spoke 
 his looks betokened the sincerity of his 
 words. 
 
 " Never say die," added Jack. " What 's 
 the matter? " 
 
 "If nothing else," replied Sir Edward, 
 pointing to the scattered cards, " the money 
 lost last night alone — " 
 
 " Money lost," interrupted Jack Racket, 
 '' is money lent. Luck must turn. Take a 
 suck at the lemon, and at him again ! " 
 
 " So you 've always said." 
 
 " To be sure I have, and always will." 
 
 "But there is no change," rejoined Sir 
 Edward, angrily. " I continue, as I began, 
 to lose at everything. If I back a horse he 
 loses; if against one, he wins. I can't 
 throw a main if I back my hand in, and if 
 I try to throw one out, there are nothing 
 but nicks. At cards I don't win a stake in 
 twenty, and the result is, I find myself on 
 the high road to ruin."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 179 
 
 " So you croaked three years ago," added 
 Jack, **when you dropped your first thou- 
 sand on Molly Bawn by Porridge, My Mary's 
 dam by Turnspit, dam Lady Here-we-are, 
 by There-you-go-with-your-nose-awry-and- 
 your-knees-a-little-blemished." 
 
 " It was an evil day for me," returned 
 the young man, bitterly, " when I yielded to 
 the temptation." 
 
 " A devilish pretty girl made a similar re- 
 mark to me not long since,'' said Jack, with 
 a knowing wink, and pitching his hat on 
 one side he burst into a loud peal of laugh- 
 ter, and swaggered in long irregular strides 
 about the room. 
 
 " I can't bear this," ejaculated his com- 
 panion, rising hastily from his seat. *' We 
 shall meet by-an'-bye — to-morrow — any time 
 but now." 
 
 " Better we shouldn't part," replied Jack, 
 coolly taking a seat. " I 'm going to astonish 
 ye." 
 
 "That's impossible," rejoined Sir Edward,
 
 ISO OUR COUNTY. 
 
 "My present humour admits of no such 
 
 V 
 
 im2:)ression 
 
 " I said as much when a man told me one 
 day, he 'd astonish 7ne if I didn't walk out of 
 his house within three seconds," added Jack 
 Racket, " and to try him, I refused point 
 blank." 
 
 "And what did he do?" 
 
 " Flung me out of the window," re- 
 pHed Jack, " neck and crop into a water 
 butt." 
 
 The account of this adventure caused 
 the extreme gravity of Sir Edward's fea- 
 tures to relax, and his wily companion 
 perceiving the advantage gained, followed it 
 up by saying, " never liked water from that 
 moment much better than a mad dog. Too 
 much of anything 's bad, 'cept brandy. And 
 if I were asked what was enough 'o that, I 'd 
 say, more than ever I shall drink, and 
 that 's as much as I can get." 
 
 " You 're a strange fellow. Racket ! " re- 
 marked Sir Edward, smiling.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 181 
 
 '* To be sure I am," replied Jack, and 
 that's the reason I 'm so very popular. 
 People now o' days, admire strange fel- 
 lows; and there lies the cause of dwarfs, 
 giants, Indians, mummies, and mermaids 
 being so run after at a shilling a show. 
 Now, I suppose, you know what they call 
 me?" 
 
 *^ Not exactly." 
 
 " A gent," continued Jack, with un- 
 reserved frankness. "A sportin* gent. 
 But as I was going to say," resumed he, 
 perceiving that a favorable change had taken 
 place in Sir Edward's temper, and without 
 which even he, with all his coolness, would 
 not have ventured to have pressed his re- 
 marks — " I 'm going to astonish ye." 
 
 " Proceed." 
 
 '' I 'm in love." 
 
 " In love? " repeated his companion, with 
 something like indifference. 
 
 " Yes," continued Jack, " browned as a 
 toasted muffin."
 
 182 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " May I ask the object of your affection?" 
 inquired Sir Edward. 
 
 " As nice a little filly," replied Jack, pull- 
 ing up his shirt collar, "as ever looked 
 through a bridle." 
 
 " Oh ! a horse you mean? " 
 
 " A horse ! " repeated Jack, curling his 
 upper lip. " No, a fee-male is what I mean." 
 
 " Indeed ! " observed Sir Edward, evinc- 
 ing but little amount of interest in the 
 communication. 
 
 " Why, I thought you 'd be short up in 
 your stirrups when you heard me say 
 this," rejoined Jack — '^ all froth, pop, and 
 bang, like uncorked ginger beer. But in- 
 stead of that," continued he, with an air of 
 mortification, " you 're as flat as water 
 gruel." 
 
 " I told you before," returned Sir 
 Edward, "that I was incapable of being 
 astonished, this morning." 
 
 " Well, well ! " exclaimed the other, 
 " what with being up all night, and the
 
 OUK COUNTY. 183 
 
 boot on the wrong leg, to the tune of a 
 hatful of ponies, I mustn^t expect much. 
 But who do you think the fee-male is who 
 has clapped the snaffle in Jack Racket^s 
 mouth? " 
 
 " Can^t conjecture." 
 
 " Maud Sharp!" hallooed he, kicking his 
 chair from under him in the exuberance 
 of his spirits, and throwing himself into 
 an attitude of self-defence, began squaring 
 in the looking-glass over the mantel-sheK. 
 
 Scarcely was this announcement made, 
 when Sir Edward leaped upon his feet, and 
 placed himself between the looking-glass and 
 Jack Racket, greatly to that individual's 
 surprise. 
 
 " Tell me," began he, and drops of per- 
 spiration stood upon his lip and forehead as 
 he spoke, and a flush of anger spread from 
 cheek to brow, " by what right do you 
 couple that name with your own? " 
 
 " Eh ? " replied Jack, dropping his lower 
 jaw and elevating his eyebrows.
 
 184 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 "I say," rejoined Sir Edward, passion- 
 ately, " how dare you speak of that young 
 lady in the terms and manner which you 
 have taken the great and gross liberty of 
 doing, and that, too, in my, presence, 
 sir?" 
 
 The surprise which had taken absolute 
 possession of Jack Racket's countenance 
 upon being thus unexpectedly interrogated 
 gradually quitted it, after regarding his 
 companion's features for a few moments. 
 Drawing in his breath with a shrill whistle, 
 he brought his hands together with a loud 
 crack, and ejaculated, " Both on the same 
 drag by all that 's choking ! Ha, ha, ha ! Tip 
 us your feeler," said he, extending a capa- 
 cious palm. " I '11 whip off." 
 
 " Stay," returned his companion, who 
 seemed indisposed to arrive at such an 
 abrupt arrangement. '' Have you made any 
 — any communication of your feelings or 
 intentions upon this subject? " 
 
 " Not to the fee-male herself." replied
 
 OUR COUNTY. 185 
 
 Jack ; but had he seen the wince which his 
 words occasioned, he would have softened 
 the harshness of their vulgar tone. " I 
 told the old buffer, once or twice, that I 
 thought of entering myself for the trial 
 stakes." 
 
 " And may I ask what reply he gave? '' 
 
 " Said something about a young heart 
 being a tender thing to meddle with," re- 
 plied Jack. " But, said I, that ^s all chaff. 
 People often talk of broken hearts; but 
 damn me if they a^n't more like pewter 
 than crockery." 
 
 '' Was anything more said? " inquired Sir 
 Edward." 
 
 " Not that I remember," returned Jack. 
 " However, to a blind-un, a nod 's as good 
 as a wink, and I 'm bowled out. My stumps 
 are down, and the score 's nix." 
 
 " On this particular subject then," added 
 his companion, in a serious tone and manner, 
 " let never again a word be exchanged be-
 
 186 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 tween us. Neither in jest nor in earnest 
 speak to me, or of me, in connexion with 
 Maud Sharp. I would have it as a thing 
 without existence." 
 
 "You shall be accommodated," said Jack, 
 " I '11 be as mum as a mummy." 
 
 " Where can I meet you within an hour 
 or two?" asked his companion. 
 
 '* Put a couple more to 'em," added Jack, 
 considerately, "and take a shake down and 
 a doze. There 's as pretty a lot of flats," con- 
 tinued he, "to be picked up to-night, as ever 
 cut a pack or rattled a box. You shall have 
 your revenge." 
 
 " Pshaw! " ejaculated Sir Edward, "this 
 revenge, as you call it, always comes in 
 the shape of additional losses. I never meet 
 with a favorable turn." 
 
 "It must come, and it will," returned 
 Jack, with vehemence. " Only stick to for- 
 tune long enough, and she 's sure to smooth 
 your hackles down after rubbing 'em
 
 OUR COUNTY. 187 
 
 up the wrong way — never knew it other- 
 wise." 
 
 " Who are these that I 'm to meet? '^ 
 
 " A tidy lot belonging to the universal 
 family of Flatman," facetiously rejoined 
 Jack. " They '11 play anything for any 
 stakes with anyone. Green, verdant — fresh 
 as mackerel in the trammel." 
 
 " They can scarcely be less so than my- 
 self," said Sir Edward, " if the result of my 
 speculations be any proof." 
 
 " None in the least," added Jack; *' every- 
 thing you do, you do well. But the fact is, 
 you've been overmatched now and then, 
 and luck hasn't stood in with ye. However, 
 'tis a horse to a hayseed but the pull will be 
 the other way now." 
 
 " Meet me then here," said his com- 
 panion, " at night-fall, and I '11 endea- 
 vour to gain a little repose in the mean 
 time." 
 
 *' That 's your time o' day — Chink-wink 
 'em along ! " exclaimed Jack. " Off to New-
 
 188 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 market next week, remember. We '11 put 
 the pot on. Cross him and wind him! 
 Never say die," and with a request that Sir 
 Edward would " tip him his daddle," he 
 made as abrupt an exit as he had an en- 
 trance.
 
 OUB COUNTY. 189 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 " When eve is purpling cliff and cave, 
 Thoughts of the heart how swift ye flow ! 
 Not softer on the western wave, 
 The golden lines of sunset glow." 
 
 The last rays of the sinking sun ^threw 
 long and gaunt shadows upon the earth, 
 and dazzled the eyes of as interested 
 a set of cricketers as ever handled bat or 
 ball on village green, heath, field, or wold. 
 No opposition could be stronger. The 
 match was between two rival clubs, in two 
 neighbouring parishes, and if each had been 
 a nation distinguished from the other in Ian-
 
 190 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 guage, laws, religion, and customs, greater 
 competition in all local matters could not have 
 been excited ; but more particularly in their 
 annual game of cricket. The old — those 
 who had joined in the sport, when vigorous 
 health braced each thew and sinew — now 
 stood leaning on their staves, with decrepid 
 limbs, and backs crooked with age, to wit- 
 ness deeds of which they themselves were 
 once so proud and capable. At that time, 
 the present hallooing, sturdy throng were 
 helpless babies in their nurses' arms and 
 thus year succeeding year begets the changes 
 by which life is rounded. 
 
 At a short distance removed from the 
 scene of action, and on the gnarled and 
 knotted trunk of a pollard tree, felled by 
 the wind or time — for there it had laid for 
 seasons past — sat dame Stockley, in the 
 very height of enjoyment and satisfaction. 
 In holiday gear she was dressed, from the 
 neat silver-buckled shoe, to the well-pre- 
 served black satin bonnet, partaking of the
 
 OUR COUNTY. 191 
 
 shape of a coal scuttle, on her head. As to 
 the edges of the white laced cap, just per- 
 ceptible on either side of her smiling, rubi- 
 cund countenance, nothing could excel the 
 niceness of the "getting up.'^ And the 
 mantle, which fitted her well-developed, and 
 somewhat portly figure, was one of the 
 most coquettish and attractive pieces of 
 feminine garniture, that can well be con- 
 ceived by ordinary imaginations. By her 
 side sat the farmer, booted and gaitered as 
 for market or rent-day dinner, and many a 
 mile might be marched, without seeing a. 
 more comely specimen of an English yeoman 
 and his wife, than the couple presented. 
 
 " It 's many a day, lass," remarked he, 
 " since I made a score like that," and, as 
 he spoke, he pointed to the ball flying with 
 the swiftness of light. 
 
 " Ay," replied the dame "with admiration, 
 " but ye handled the bat deftly, Harry. '^ 
 
 " And could run, too," rejoined he, 
 pleased with the compliment.
 
 192 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " Like a roebuck." 
 
 "Do you remember, Lucy," added he, 
 warming on the subject, " my score o' 
 six?" 
 
 The good dame looked at her husband, 
 for one brief second, almost reproachfully, 
 then shook triflingly — just as may be seen 
 in agitated calf's foot jelly — with inward 
 laughter, and " wished to be informed, with- 
 out loss of time, whether that score was not 
 the subject of comment in a leading article in 
 the County Chronicle ? That was all." 
 
 It might have been accidental, but at 
 this juncture, the farmer's arm encircled 
 the waist of his wife, and he gave her a 
 slight squeeze on the sly. 
 
 *' The Grangeites," said he, " stand no 
 chance to-day. With Frank Martin against 
 'em, and Sir Edward not here, they might 
 as well have backed out, and saved their 
 credit." 
 
 " But there 's Mister Piper," rejoined the 
 dame.
 
 OUR C0UNT1\ 193 
 
 *' Ay," returned her husband, " Tom 
 was a wonder in his day ; but like mine, 
 lass, his joints and limbs have become stiff 
 with age. And yet that was a bold hit," 
 he continued, as the object of his remark 
 sent a ball wide and far above the heads of 
 the admiring throng. 
 
 Cheer above cheer greeted Tom as, 
 stripped of all superfluous garments, he 
 rushed with might and main to score three, 
 with time to spare, and, as the old man 
 stood leaning on his bat breathless, and 
 proud of his accomplishments, the Grange- 
 ites gave three hearty hurrahs, and a few 
 of the most ardent began to indulge in a 
 little speculation about what might be, per- 
 haps, if, &c. 
 
 *' Mister Piper is in Sir Edward's place, 
 isn't he?" inquired dame Stockley. 
 
 " Yes," returned the farmer. '' Until 
 this morning Sir Edward was expected to 
 play, and, indeed, he 's been looked for all 
 day to take his innings ; but something or 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 194 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 other, I suppose, has occurred to prevent 
 his coming." 
 
 At this moment, and within some two- 
 hundred yards, a spring-cart, drawn by a 
 long-legged, flea-bitten, grey horse, was seen 
 approaching the spot occupied by farmer 
 and dame Stockley. 
 
 ^' Why, here comes Joe Beans, the miller," 
 remarked he, *' and that sweet flower of a 
 daughter of his." 
 
 " Oh ! " ejaculated the dame, bridling her 
 chin, and looking as if she had suddenly 
 swallowed something strongly flavoured 
 with bitters and acids. " It ^s Miss Beans, 
 is it?" 
 
 " Say a civil word to her," replied her 
 husband, who invariably felt in an uncer- 
 tain state of what might happen next when 
 these chanced to meet. " Say a civil word 
 to her, lass, if it 's only for jolly Joe's 
 sake." 
 
 " Civil ! " repeated dame Stockley, with 
 great dignity. "Pray, Harry, when did
 
 OUR COUNTY. 195 
 
 the partner of your bosom forget herself, 
 she would like to be told ? Civil, indeed !" 
 
 With his head between his knees, and a 
 curved back-bone, or hogged as it is graphi- 
 cally called, the flea-bitten grey tugged at 
 his collar at a shambling pace, and by dint 
 of several pulls at the reins, a stentorian 
 " Get on wi' ye," and stamping of feet on 
 the part of his driver, came to a full stop 
 close to where the farmer and his wife were 
 sitting. 
 
 Now, it has been already stated that Joe 
 Beans, the miller, had obtained the expres- 
 sive appellation of "jolly," and if ever the 
 outward bearing drew an apposite and well- 
 deserved title, then Joe Beans had most 
 unquestionably the best that possibly could 
 be bestowed. As anti-angular as a pump- 
 kin, his round and ruddy face glowed with 
 health and good humour, and his light blue 
 eyes, so far as they were visible from the fat 
 which surrounded them, seemed to glisten 
 with mirth primed, and ready to go off at 
 the slightest touch. A very small variegated 
 
 K 2
 
 196 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 neckerchief — a sort of wisp — was tied 
 round a short apoplectic neck, and a well- 
 crushed, seedy, and floured hat, stuck 
 jauntily on one side, gave almost a rakish 
 appearance to jolly Joe. His high and 
 brawny shoulders were encased in a flannel 
 jacket, giving to view certain extensive 
 proportions of his figure, which, perhaps, 
 might have been secreted to some little 
 advantage. However, there Joe Beans sat, 
 smiling as was his wont, on his swinging 
 and cushioned seat, quite indifi'erent to the 
 world's opinion concerning this insignificant 
 particular, or, indeed, any other. 
 
 And by his side sat, or rather reclined, 
 for the position partook of both the graceful 
 aud easy, his gorgeously-decked daughter. 
 Nothing could be more dazzling than Miss 
 Beans on the present occasion. Eibands 
 vieing with the rainbow tints, flounces in 
 complicated rows, and bows of every hue 
 and shade, appeared in every nook and 
 corner of her gear. The desired efi'ect 
 was evidently to monopolize the gaze of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 197 
 
 beholders, and the success became self- 
 evident in the simple fact, that a train of 
 very small children followed, and dragged 
 each other in the direct wake of the 
 flea-bitten grey, and upon his coming 
 to a stop, they surrounded the cart to 
 feast their eyes in silence upon the sight 
 presented. 
 
 " How fares it with ye, neighbour Stock- 
 ley?" asked Joe, dropping the reins from 
 his hands and folding his arms. " And how 
 do you do, ma'm?" continued he, turning 
 to the dame. 
 
 "Hearty, an* thank ye," replied the farmer, 
 taking upon himself the office of spokesman 
 for both. 
 
 Between the ladies, however, there was 
 no immediate salutation. Each took a fur- 
 tive glance at the other, and then, after an 
 awkward and embarrassing pause, dame 
 Stockley coldly ventured to express " a 
 hope that Miss Beans was well." 
 
 Miss Beans " thanked Mrs. Stockley, and
 
 198 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 was as well as could be expected under the 
 circumstances." 
 
 " Dame Stockley " hoped nothing had 
 happened." 
 
 Miss Beans " was sorry to say something 
 had happened," and her nose twitched as 
 she spoke; "and she was still more sorry 
 to add, something was alivays happening," 
 and then her small ferrety eyes fixed them- 
 selves upon Joe Beans^s countenance, now 
 swollen with suppressed and inward mirth, 
 with anything but a mild expression. 
 " You may laugh, sir," said she, her anger 
 having arrived at the exploding point, "you 
 may laugh," she repeated, "and, I dare say, 
 you think it well becomes ye. But let me 
 tell you, sir, that I — /, your daughter " 
 
 " Sally !" added her parent. " Speak 
 out." 
 
 " Yes, sir, Sally ^ since you had me chris- 
 tened by that low and vulgar name, and for 
 which I ^m ashamed of ye " 
 
 " Very well !" interrupted Joe, giving a
 
 OUR COUNTY. 199 
 
 nod of appeal to the farmer and his wife. 
 " You hear her?" and then turning to his 
 irate daughter, he continued, in an admo- 
 nishing manner, "Remember, Miss Beans, 
 you 're taught to honor your father and 
 mother, that your days may be long in 
 the land, and not to turn up your nose 
 at 'em.'? 
 
 "My mother!" exclaimed Miss Beans, 
 pathetically. 
 
 "Gave you the rod," continued Joe, 
 " whenever you deserved it, and sarved ye 
 right." 
 
 *'I 'm sorry,] ma' m," said Miss Beans, 
 turning to dame Stockley, with the air of 
 one who was both injured and resigned to 
 injury, " I 'm sorry, ma'm, that you should 
 have been wounded with what has just taken 
 place, for wounded of course you must be. 
 But the truth is, my father persists in 
 making himself the figger you now behold 
 him, whenever I propose a walk or a drive 
 by his side. Of course, it 's enough to
 
 200 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 injure any girl's feelings, possessing a pro- 
 per regard for gentility, to see her own 
 father pointed at '* 
 
 " It 's you, Miss Beans,'^ interrupted Joe, 
 ^' that 's pointed at; not me, as I can 
 prove.'* 
 
 A cutting, double-edged sneer, was Sally's 
 silent rejoinder. 
 
 '' As I can prove," repeated he, with a 
 chuckle, beckoning one of the small child- 
 ren, a chubby-faced, flaxen-haired boy^ 
 standing with staring eyes and open mouth, 
 nearer to the wheel of his cart. " Now my 
 boy," said Joe, encouragingly, "tell me 
 who or what you ^re looking at, and don't 
 be afraid.'^ 
 
 The youngster deliberately struck out an 
 arm, and with a pointed finger^ replied, — 
 
 "She!" 
 
 " I told ye so, Sally," rejoined Joe, " I 
 told ye so," and then he broke into a violent 
 fit of laughter, which greatly added to the 
 mortification of Miss Beans*.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 201 
 
 " It signifies little," observed farmer 
 Stockley, in an amiable endeavour to sooth 
 Sally's irate mood, '^ whether Joe Beans 
 shews himself in holiday suit or work- 
 o'-day gear. Everybody knows him 
 as well as the old click-a-clack mill yon- 
 der;" and as he spoke, he pointed to the 
 object to which he referred, standing most 
 conspicuously on the summit of a distant 
 hill. 
 
 " To be sure," returned the miller, "every- 
 body knows, or ought to know, jolly Joe, 
 and those who don't, let 'em call on him in 
 lull or gale, and a stoup of his best October 
 brewing shall soon make 'em better ac- 
 quainted." 
 
 " If I may be allowed to put in a word 
 upon the subject," remarked dame Stock- 
 ley, whose tongue, perhaps, began to feel a 
 little stiff for want of application, " I must 
 say, I was thinking to myself as your — 
 your " 
 
 " Say cart^ ma'm,'^ added Sally Beans, bit- 
 
 K 3
 
 202 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 terly, " say cart. We don't keep a shay as 
 some people do." 
 
 This was a cut at a high -wheeled vehicle 
 on springs, in which dame Stockley occa- 
 sionally rode to church, when the roads 
 were dirty, and to distant places when 
 either objects of business or pleasure took 
 her from home ; but such was the antiquity 
 of " the build," that it is quite impossible to 
 state its particular and original title. 
 
 The dame smiled severely and resumed, 
 '^ As your cart came near," — there was a 
 powerful emphasis on the monosyllable 
 " cart" — " how nice, how homely and inde- 
 pendent. Mister Beans looked; and he put 
 me in mind of a good, solid, meat dumpling 
 — if I may be so bold as so to compare him 
 — without a morsel of false bottom." 
 
 Jolly Joe raised his hat at the compli- 
 ment, and said, " I thank you, ma'm, for 
 your good opinion. And although I say it 
 who, mayhap, had better take the chance of 
 somebody else's saying it for me —for self-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 203 
 
 praise is devlish dull varnish — yet, I will 
 affirm, without fear of contradiction, that if 
 there ^s one man in this realm with less false 
 bottom than another, that man is, Joseph 
 Beans." 
 
 ^' Well said," added the farmer, ap- 
 provingly. " Well said." 
 
 Singular as it may appear. Miss Sally 
 Beans, at this moment, suddenly broke into 
 a violent fit of laughter — that is to say, if 
 a loud noise not dissimilar to the cackling 
 of an old hen may be so termed. 
 
 "I 'm^ pleased!" shrieked the maiden, 
 " quite pleased and amused. Ho dear yes 1 
 quite." 
 
 " In that case," replied her parent, with 
 stoical seriousness, "it would be more 
 agreeable if you 'd try and be a little like 
 other folks in shewing your amusement. I 
 don't wish to be croo-el. Miss Beans, or 
 flinty hearted ; but as I hope to be saved, 
 I Ve often heard a jolly loud cry with 
 greater pleasure than that laugh you 've
 
 204 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 just treated us with. I have by G — d!" 
 and Joe spoke as if he meant what he 
 said. 
 
 "Why, what 's that stir about?" said 
 farmer Stockley, shading his eyes to obtain 
 a more distinct view. 
 
 "A somebody on horseback," quickly 
 uttered the dame. 
 
 '* As I 'm a sinner," added Joe Beans — 
 "as great a sinner as any Christian can 
 possibly be, and whereas quite the top o' the 
 tree in that line of business — there 's Sir 
 Edward Warren in his own proper person, 
 and by no means a proxy." 
 
 " It is," ejaculated the farmer, " it is Sir 
 Edward himself. Hoo-rah 1" continued he, 
 throwing up his broad-brimmed hat. 
 
 Jolly Joe imitated this example, and then 
 one of the small children, still standing not 
 far removed, hurled up his, and within a 
 very brief space of time a cloud of hats 
 rose in the air, and stentorian lungs hallooed 
 forth an uproarious reception to our hero,
 
 OUR COUNTY. 205 
 
 as he threw himself from the saddle, and 
 giving the reins of his horse to a bystander, 
 proceeded to the wicket where Tom Piper 
 was standmg. 
 
 " God's blessing on ye, sir ! " exclaimed 
 the old man, and the heart's warm blood 
 mantled in his cheek as he spoke. But this 
 is a strange pleasure to us." 
 
 " You did not expect me, Tom," replied 
 his master. *^ But there 's an old proverb 
 you may remember ►" 
 
 '^Ay, Sir Edward," rejoined Tom Piper; 
 " and if speaking of ye would have brought 
 ye here, we should have seen you long ere 
 this." 
 
 " Late as it may be, however,'^ returned 
 our hero, ''perhaps it is not too much so. 
 Let me see the score." 
 
 " It 's awfully against us,'^ added Tom ; 
 " but I 've done my best in your place, Sir 
 Edward." 
 
 " That I know," said his master, taking 
 the bat from Mr. Piper, and glancing at the
 
 206 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 notched hazel stick presented for his Inspec- 
 tion. 
 
 As may be readily supposed, the unex- 
 pected and late appearance of our hero, 
 occasioned a remarkable sensation in the 
 assembled throng, and notwithstanding the 
 opponents of the Grangeites, — yclept the 
 Tip-tree Sprigs, — were greatly in advance, 
 something like confidence took the place of 
 the former's despondency, and a few began 
 to exchange winks and knowing nods. 
 
 All was ready, and expectation rose on 
 tip-toe. Sir Edward threw himself into a 
 graceful position at the wicket, and Frank 
 Martin — the unrivalled Tip-tree Sprig of a 
 bowler— hallooed, ''Play." 
 
 Swift as a cannon shot the ball flew from 
 his palm, just skimming the tops of the 
 grass, in a direct line for the wicket. In 
 the nick of time, down came the bat, and 
 the ball was stopped harmlessly before it. 
 
 " As beautiful a draw, lass," said farmer 
 Stockley, " as ever w^as seen."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 207 
 
 Again Frank essayed one of his best 
 attempts; but the ball was cut from its 
 well directed course with such power, that 
 it went flying in mid air, and then rolling 
 along the ground, a fair rifle shot. 
 
 The hazel stick began to exhibit a 
 difl*erent aspect. 
 
 " A leg volley followed. Kun after run 
 was added to the score in spite of Frank's 
 earnest desire to bowl out the last hope of 
 the Grangeites; but when the wicket fell, 
 a loud simultaneous cheer broke and rung 
 far and wide in honor of the great victory 
 gained by Sir Edward Warren. Nothing 
 can describe the frantic enthusiasm of the 
 Grangeites, and even the Tip-tree Sprigs 
 admitted it was a great game, albeit a very 
 close one. 
 
 " It was too dark," observed Sir Edward, 
 smiling, "for me to see that last ball of 
 yours, Frank Martin.^' 
 
 " I gave it with a will, sir," replied 
 Frank, heartily.
 
 208 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " And with plenty of powder in your 
 elbow," rejoined the other. " However," 
 he continued, remounting his horse, " both 
 victors and vanquished will find prepara- 
 tions made for them at the Grange, where 
 — over a cup of ale — they can play the 
 game again. Good night." 
 
 " Spoken like a gentleman," remarked 
 Joe Beans.
 
 OUK COUNTY. 209 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 " For ought that ever I could ready 
 Could ever hear by tale or history, 
 The course of true love never did run smooth.'^ 
 
 The dusky veil of evening had fallen 
 gradually around, and the flickering shades 
 and shadows of the waning day were now 
 blended together in the darkness, closing in 
 the scene. 
 
 Down a long, narrow, and winding lane, 
 leading from the common on which Sir Ed- 
 ward had just wrested the palm of victory 
 from the "Tip4ree Sprigs," he walked his 
 horse leisurely, occasionally turning an ear 
 to the sounds which were gradually dying
 
 210 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 behind him. Now a loud halloo rose and 
 was borne towards him on the breeze, just 
 strong enough to bend the tree-top in grace- 
 ful measures, as it sighed and moaned 
 among its branches, and then a peal of 
 laughter would swell and gradually sink 
 like echoes in the distance. At length all 
 became still and silent. Sir Edward, check- 
 ing his reins momentarily, as if to assure 
 himself of being sufficiently far from all 
 likely to either see or hear the direction he 
 was about taking, he turned his horse's 
 head short to the left, and spurred through 
 a weak hedge, the boundary of the road- 
 side. 
 
 The ground was in broken, rough, and 
 uneven heaps, and yet Sir Edward rode as 
 if time were an object of greater moment 
 than the risk by which it was to be saved. 
 More than once his horse stumbled almost 
 upon his knees; but the sharp bit and spur 
 quickly brought him upon his feet, and 
 again he carried his rider at dangerous
 
 OUR COUNTY. 211 
 
 speed through the thickening darkness. At 
 the end of an extensive fallow field he 
 entered a narrow bridle path, along which 
 he continued to gallop, and the hoofs of his 
 horse clattered loudly among the loose 
 gravel and flints with which it was strewed. 
 When within some thirty yards of a sud- 
 den bend in the road, a rough voice cried 
 " Stop!" 
 
 "Who cries stop?" returned Sir Ed- 
 ward, bringing his horse nearly upon his 
 haunches. 
 
 " And your pardon, sir," replied the same 
 voice. " But if ye 'd turned the corner, it 
 might have gone hard with your bones, and 
 the bones of others as well, for our camp is 
 pitched just beyond the point." 
 
 "What! a gipsy's?" 
 
 " Ay, sir," resumed the speaker, " we 
 always come here just about this time, and, 
 excepting team horses going to work, I never 
 yet saw any other passing up or down this 
 lone lane before to-night. Hearing yours
 
 212 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 coming, I ran for'ard to prevent a likely ac- 
 cident.'* 
 
 " And it was well you did so," rejoined 
 our hero. " But what have we here? " he 
 continued, as something caught hold of his 
 right stirrup and hung upon it. 
 
 " Only my son, Dumpy Ned, sir," added 
 the gipsy. " He always fastens, like a fly, 
 upon everybody and everything he sees, and 
 never lets go, until he gets what he wants." 
 
 " Well, " said Sir Edward, good-hu- 
 mouredly, " and what may be my quittance 
 from Dumpy Ned? " 
 
 " Let mother tell your fortune, master," 
 replied a shrill voice at his foot. " Cross 
 her hand with a lucky shilling, and she '11 
 read what has been, what may be, and what 
 must be." 
 
 " I 've no time to spare with the fates 
 to-night. Dumpy Ned," was the rejoinder. 
 
 " She '11 warn ye, master," continued the 
 imp, trotting by the side of the horse, 
 " against false friends, and tell you where
 
 OUK COUNTY. 213 
 
 to find a true one. She can read the stars, 
 and knows by the lines on your hands when 
 you '11 be married and when you 11 be 
 buried. Cross mother's hand, master, with 
 a lucky shilling." 
 
 The concluding part of Dumpy Ned's 
 address partook strongly of the mendicant's 
 whine, and as he was about having it an- 
 swered in a practical manner best suited to 
 his inclination. Sir Edward's horse shied 
 suddenly at the glowing camp fire which 
 presented itself to view, and all but unseated 
 his rider. 
 
 " Curses on ye ! " ejaculated he, passion- 
 ately, as he regained the saddle. " Stand 
 away, or by the saints there '11 be some mis- 
 chief here." And as he spoke, he drove his 
 rowels into his plunging horse's flanks, and 
 angrily urged him to face the cause of his 
 fear. 
 
 " Gentle words conquer where hard knocks 
 
 fail," observed a clear and soft female voice. 
 
 " In that case," rejoined Sir Edward, as
 
 214 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 his horse stood trembling with fear, " I 
 wish you 'd try your skill ; for mine seems 
 likely to succeed only with great exertion, 
 and no little danger." 
 
 *• By your leave, I will," rejoined the 
 voice, and at the same moment a female 
 figure, wrapped in a hooded cloak, stepped 
 from the dark shade of an overhanging tree 
 and laid her hand gently on the bridle. 
 With the other she caressed the neck of the 
 horse, whose veins now stood out like fibres 
 upon a leaf, and then, after a few soothing 
 words, led him past the crackling heap of 
 sticks without the slightest oi)position on 
 his part. 
 
 " There ! " she exclaimed, exultingly, 
 " did I not tell ye, gentle words conquer 
 where hard knocks fail ? " 
 
 " And whom may I thank for the lesson?" 
 asked our hero. 
 
 " She who could teach many more," was 
 the ready answer, '^ had ye but an ear to 
 listen."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 215 
 
 " Do you know me?" 
 
 "Well." 
 
 " Who am I ? " 
 
 " One who profits nothing by the past, 
 And forgets the future is but the present's cast." 
 
 " A truth in rhyme," returned Sir Ed- 
 ward, becoming interested in the stranger. 
 " But tell me, what is your name? " 
 
 '' Barbara." 
 
 " I 've not a moment to lose — ' 
 
 " You Ve ridden fast, Sir Edward Y/ar- 
 ren," interrupted Barbara, " and your 
 trysting spot is not far off." 
 
 " How know you that ? " inquired he, 
 with sternness in his tone and manner. 
 
 " It wanted no powers of witchcraft," 
 she returned, with a merry laugh. " Your 
 horse wreaks, and what more could lovers 
 desire than such a lane as this, and at such 
 an hour?" 
 
 " Your wit is keen," he added, " and I 
 fain would learn something by its sharp- 
 ness. Tell me, Sybil, what should a man 
 most court ? "
 
 216 OUR COUNTY, 
 
 '' His honour," replied Barbara, " and the 
 woman most worthy of his love." 
 
 " And what avoid? " 
 
 " Deep drinking and bad company." 
 
 " On whom should he depend? " 
 
 '' Himself." 
 
 ''Who trust?" 
 
 '* He whom man alone can trust." 
 
 " Wherein is the greatest pleasure to be 
 found?" 
 
 " In doing good." 
 
 " From what the greatest misery? " 
 
 " Indulgence, and forge tfulness of the 
 great Christian virtue — self denial." 
 
 " Spoken like an oracle," rejoined Sir 
 Edward, slipping from his saddle and clasp- 
 the speaker in his arms. " You little mas- 
 querader," he continued pulling back the 
 hood which screened the luxuriant curls 
 of Maud Sharp, and imprinting long 
 and eager kisses upon her lips, " I knew 
 the voice and yet doubted my own convic- 
 tion."
 
 OUE COUNTY. 217 
 
 " Not in the first instance," replied Maud, 
 laughing. " Admit that, Edward." 
 
 Well," returned he; *' but who could ima- 
 gine that I should have found you forming 
 one of a gipsy's tribe? " and as he spoke, his 
 arm encircled her waist, and he drew her 
 closer to his side. 
 
 '^ With them, but not of them," she re- 
 plied, yielding to his embrace. " The truth is, 
 Dumpy Ned — who spoke to you as he did by 
 my request — and his family are old acquaint- 
 ances of mine, and as we were to meet in 
 this solitary place, my fears sought their 
 protection." 
 
 " Will they not speak of our meeting 
 here?" 
 
 " They 're too dependent upon my bounty," 
 returned Maud, " to do anything opposed to 
 my directions." 
 
 With the reins of his horse over one arm, 
 and the other pressing the fair girl to him, 
 the two sauntered along the lane, exchang- 
 ing those endearments of which the young, 
 
 VOL. I. L
 
 218 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 ■warm, loving, and beloved, only know the 
 priceless joys. 
 
 " Now tell me, Edward," said Maud, en- 
 treatingly, " what has detained you so long 
 from home and me?" 
 
 " Ask nothing, dearest, to-night," he re- 
 plied, with a faltering voice. ^^ Sufficient 
 that I am here and happy." 
 
 " Then make me happy," replied she, " and 
 say you will not leave again for a long, long 
 time." 
 
 " I will not if—" 
 
 " If what? " she inquired, as he hesitated 
 to finish the sentence. 
 
 " If it be possible for me to remain." 
 
 "But surely that must depend upon your 
 own inclination." 
 
 " Should that be so," added he, " rest as- 
 sured of my conforming to your wish." 
 
 " Your words are full of doubt, Edward," 
 returned Maud, " and cause me dread and 
 pain." 
 
 " Then would that my tongue were dumb.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 219 
 
 love," exclaimed he, ardently clasping her to 
 his breast. 
 
 For a few seconds nothing was spoken, 
 and each stood locked in the embrace of the 
 other; their young hearts throbbing with 
 youthful fervour, and the feverish pulse 
 quickened in its beat. 
 
 " You look pale, Edward," at length ob- 
 served Maud, looking closely and earnestly 
 into his face, " very pale. Have you been ill?" 
 
 " No," he replied, " not ill." 
 
 " Then wherefore the cause of this blanched 
 cheek and wasted hand? " and as she spoke, 
 she drew his fingers through hers, and both 
 her words and manners betokened the deep- 
 est solicitude. 
 
 " You remark that, dearest," rejoined he, 
 " which had escaped my own notice. But 
 such trifles are not worth speaking of. Let 
 us talk of other things. Tell me if your 
 father is still likely to thwart my purpose 
 were I candidly to avow my affection for 
 you?" 
 
 l2
 
 220 OUR COUKTY. 
 
 " I fear so," replied Maud. " You have 
 always been at variance ; and I see less cause 
 than ever to hope for a change." 
 
 " Because his friendship is not unlike the 
 mealy-winged butterfly," added he, with bit- 
 terness. " It shews itself only in the sum- 
 mer." 
 
 " Do not, I beseech you, upbraid him," 
 said Maud, entreatingly. 
 
 " He is," continued she, weeping, " so 
 sadly changed, and oftentimes I find his 
 eyes fixed on me so sorrowfully, that I go 
 and kiss him, as was my wont when a little 
 child, and try to forget — " 
 
 " That he 's my enemy," continued Sir 
 Edward. '* Is that what you would have 
 said?" 
 
 " If the truth is always to be spoken," 
 replied Maud, " and the heart's deep an- 
 guish is to prompt the tongue, then let mine 
 answer — your enemy y 
 
 " So I always thought," rejoined he, " in 
 spite of what my mother said to the con-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 221 
 
 trary, years since; and even now, she 
 would have me express regret for the oppo- 
 sition I have offered to his behests, and 
 place unlimited confidence in his manage- 
 ment and integrity." 
 
 " So pure and generous herself," re- 
 turned Maud, " she cannot but believe 
 the same of others. But the world, and 
 its hard lessons, Edward, make hard hearts, 
 and I fear the bruising often renders those 
 callous, which otherwise would be good and 
 kindly." 
 
 " From boyhood," said he, " as early as 
 I can remember anything, your father was 
 my adversary. He even objected to the 
 very toys my mother presented me with. 
 Considered, as I grew older, my dogs and 
 pony unnecessary; thought all my sports 
 as mere idle infringements on my studies ; 
 refused me necessary advances of money 
 when most required, and, when driven to 
 extremities, turned my property to the worst 
 possible disadvantage, by throwing every
 
 222 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 obstacle in my way. This is a short history 
 of the conduct I have received at the 
 hands of my guardian, from infancy to 
 manhood. Nor is this all/^ he continued ; 
 " for, now that I would bend my neck to 
 his yoke for your sake, dearest, and woo 
 his daughter openly and honourably, as be- 
 comes a gentleman, I dare not even ac- 
 quaint him with my heart's bent ; but must 
 e'en meet you thus by stealth, as if 'twas 
 criminal, or else, perhaps, be debarred from 
 doing so at all.'^ 
 
 " 'Tis too true," replied Maud, sorrow- 
 fully. " Had my father the slightest inti- 
 mation of our meetings, he would adopt the 
 most stringent measures to prevent a conti- 
 nuance of them." 
 
 " But his power will not continue long," 
 added Sir Edward. " Upon my sister Kose 
 becoming of age, and her improved health 
 leaves little doubt of her so doing, his trust 
 ceases. I shall then be in absolute posses- 
 sion of my own, and as independent of his
 
 OUR COUNTY. 228 
 
 prejudices, caprice, and Avaywardness as I 
 have been, and am, a slave to them." 
 
 " Without deciding upon any fixed course 
 at the time you speak of, Edward,'^ she re- 
 joined, " I will faithfully promise that which 
 you have often made me repeat, to become 
 your wife. I have often heard, ' the course 
 of true love never did run smooth,' and our 
 love, therefore, is but the rule which governs 
 this strange decree of Fate." 
 
 "With this assurance I will rest con- 
 tented," he added, printing a kiss upon her 
 cheek. 
 
 " I must leave you now, Edward," res- 
 ponded Maud. " The dew falls fast, and it 's 
 long past twilight." 
 
 " I will see you safely home." 
 
 " Not a step from hence," she replied, clap- 
 ping her hands loudly, and immediately af- 
 terwards Dumpy Ned stood by her side. 
 " You see," continued Maud, laughing, " I 
 possess a gallant esquire, of whom you shall 
 know more anon. Good night."
 
 224 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 '* Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep." 
 
 Like the majority of attorney's offices, 
 the one occupied by lawyer Sharp, and 
 which was ticketed exclusive by the word 
 "private" on the door, possessed anything 
 but an inspiring effect. The tiers of tin- 
 cases labelled, " In re Puffy," " Williams and 
 others, ats., Smith," "Briggs, Esq.," with 
 various others of the like description, carried 
 with them neither the romance nor the poetry 
 of life; but rather the sterner associations of 
 actions. Chancery suits, and — as a matter 
 of course — bills of costs. Rows of thick 
 books lined shelves above shelves, the dreary 
 contents of which it is impossible to conceive 
 were ever read, and a solitary bust of some
 
 OUR COUNTY. 225 
 
 curly-wigged and wrinkled-face gentleman, 
 crowning the centre of the pyramid of legal 
 lore, looked down with a seriousness of ex- 
 pression almost amounting to solemnity. 
 Then there were heaps — perfect piles — of 
 papers in the corners of the room, on the 
 chairs, under the table — everywhere these 
 faggots, bound with fading and faded red 
 tape, presented themselves to view. And 
 there was one within call who could have 
 told a few sad and simple tales about some of 
 that said stationary; for Simon Slip was 
 driving his pen as usual, just on the other 
 side of the dusty green-baize door, separating 
 him from his employer. 
 
 Whether the light could not force an un- 
 interrupted entrance, or a bilious-looking 
 fog had taken possession for an interminable 
 space of time, did not appear certain ; but 
 winter and summer — the seasons round — 
 there was always a thick haze in this small 
 den of a private office ; and nothing could be 
 damper to the feelings, not even a Lincoln- 
 shire swamp or an encumbered Irish estate. 
 
 l3
 
 226 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 Cheerless and cold, however, as it invariably 
 looked, never did it appear so much so as on 
 one of those mornings which, in accordance 
 with the division of the year, should have 
 been summer ; but by way of impressing the 
 memory that " spring would be but gloomy 
 weather, if we had nothing else but spring,'' 
 was most winterly in both its general and par- 
 ticular aspect. The wind whistled, bur-r-rd, 
 and drove a sheet of water against the panes 
 of glass, up which some chilled and drowsy 
 flies crawled languidly, and when the top 
 was gained, dropped without an effort to re- 
 commence the same monotonous creep. The 
 red, blue, yellow, and white shavings in the 
 grate waved to and fro in the gusts humming 
 in the chimney like the distant roll of a drum, 
 and every now and then the green baize door 
 would jar and sway on its rusty and time- 
 worn hinge, and creak and squeak most dole- 
 fully. Loud and louder yet the wind blew. 
 Fast and faster yet the rain poured. 
 
 But the winter cold was at his heart. 
 Within, and not without, did John Sharp,
 
 OUR COUNTY. 227 
 
 Esq., attorney-at-law and solicitor in the 
 High Court of Chancery, feel the chill. There 
 he sat alone, as he had done for many a long 
 day, and the chair which his daughter used 
 to occupy so constantly by his side, was now 
 the object on which his vacant look rested. 
 
 He saw — or rather seemed to see — some- 
 thing which caused his wan cheek to grow 
 paler, and his lips to press together closely 
 as if in anger or remorse, and he clutched a 
 pen, and twisting it into a knot, threw it 
 violently from him. 
 
 " It 's come to this, has it?" he said, in a 
 sort of hissing whisper. " Feared by many 
 but loved by none, not one — not even by 
 her. She, too, whom I thought so held 
 me in her heart, that suspicion could never 
 enter it. Well may I ask, for what have 
 I laboured long and wearily ? To find my- 
 self old, discontented, friendless, and lonely." 
 
 He spoke no more ; but his eyes were kept 
 bent upon the vacant chair for some minutes, 
 and had not the approach of Simon Slip's 
 well-known footfall met his ear, he might —
 
 228 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 for any apparent inclination to remove them 
 — have kept them so fixed for as many hours. 
 
 "Blow your cheek," hallooed a voice, which 
 could belong to none other than ' the scion 
 of the noble stock of Kacket,' — " blow your 
 cheek, my old cock Crumble Dust," con- 
 tinued that gentleman, swaggering into the 
 room, '' and never throw your tongue when 
 not wanted: Jack Racket likes to chink- 
 wink himself into cover. Hoik in, hoik in ! 
 How do, 'torney ? " 
 
 It is needless to say that the concluding 
 portion of this speech was addressed to Mr. 
 Sharp, who appeared more than usually dis- 
 concerted at the appearance of his boisterous 
 and eccentric visitor. 
 
 *' Glad, amazingly, pro — digiously de- 
 lighted to see you in such condition, 'torney," 
 resumed Jack, taking possession of a couple 
 of chairs. " Damn me, but you 're as fine as 
 a star! How do I look?" continued he, 
 burying his thick chin among the folds of 
 what he called ' a fogle,' and squinting out of 
 the corner of his small, quick, ferret-like eyes.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 229 
 
 " Very well, Mister Racket/' replied the 
 lawyer, listlessly drawing his fingers across 
 his forehead, as if in the attempt to recall 
 his wandering senses, *' very well, indeed." 
 
 " Ah ! " ejaculated his companion, " we 
 shall want a lock of each other's hair present- 
 ly, I see; that 's what it will come to." 
 
 " May I ask—" 
 
 " For an unlimited advance with no secu- 
 rity," interrupted Jack, " if you 11 just keep 
 the muzzle on until I 've had my yap ; for 
 the upshot of my business this morning, 
 'torney, is to tell you something — to put 
 you up to a wrinkle or two — and if you 
 begin to ask me anything, upon my soul I 
 shan't be able to come to the scratch at all. 
 My head, do ye see, is not made to hold 
 much at a time." 
 
 " You shall find me both a silent and 
 patient listener," returned the lawyer. 
 
 '* In that case," added Jack, " I '11 make as 
 clever a thing of it as ever you saw, and 
 land it a clever winner." 
 
 By way of introduction, it is to be sup-
 
 230 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 posed, Jack now screwed his left eye into 
 utter darkness, and drawing his mouth as 
 far on the same side as it would go, gazed at 
 his companion with his opened organ of vi- 
 sion in a manner, which he flattered himself, 
 must prove both knowing and expressive. 
 
 " I 'm up to a thing or two, I am, 'torney," 
 said he, " and you know it. You ^re up to a 
 thing or two, 'torney, and / know it. We 
 don't belong to the Flatman family, 'torney, 
 v)e don't. We 're two downy coves, a brace 
 of wide-awakes, a couple of as sharp-set 
 blades as ever cut into soft pudding. That 's 
 what we are. Chink-wink 'em along.*' 
 
 His hearer made a succession of impatient 
 gestures, and, as if sitting longer upon his 
 seat was impossible, he jumped from his 
 chair, and paced up and down the room in 
 the most fretful humour. 
 
 Jack Kacket eyed him as if in doubt as to 
 the policy of continuing his address in the 
 same familiar strain ; but his natural impu- 
 dence quickly overcoming all hesitation on 
 this head, he threw himself into a still more
 
 OUR COUNTY. 231 
 
 careless attitude, by stretching his legs over 
 the backs of a couple of chairs, just within 
 reach, and sliding his body almost off the 
 one he was occupying. 
 
 " You '11 put me out, 'torney," resumed 
 Jack, " if you go on grinding up and down 
 in that way. I soon grow dizzy, and 
 shouldn't do for a turn on the mill, although 
 if it did come to a little stair exercise, I '11 
 bet a horse to a hay-seed, you 'd find Jack 
 Racket on the side next the wall. They tell 
 me that 's the easiest by a long score, 'torney, 
 and so don't forget a bit of friendly counsel." 
 
 In full confidence that he had delivered 
 something which would cause his companion 
 to acknowledge as a joke of the first class. 
 Jack opened at once with a boisterous peal 
 of laughter, making the dingy room echo 
 most dismally. He was somewhat discon- 
 certed at finding a pair of eyes fixed steadily 
 and seriously upon his ; and it was not until 
 he had given himself a shake that he could 
 recover his wonted confidence of demea- 
 nour.
 
 232 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " A nice young fee-male that daughter is 
 of yours, 'torney," remarkedJack, flying off 
 — mathematically speaking — at a tangent. 
 " I said so," continued he, " to my artful, 
 old foxy governor this morning ; and, it 's 
 almost alarming to add, the mouldy-headed 
 sinner cuckooed my very words ; 't isn't often 
 we agree on any point, but we did on this." 
 
 " Without wishing to interrupt you, sir," 
 replied the lawyer, in a dry, husky voice, 
 " may I inquire the object of this conference? 
 I learned," he continued, taking up a note 
 from his desk, " that you desired to see me 
 on business this morning — what is it?" 
 
 " Spoken like a man," replied Jack, admi- 
 ringly. " Short and sweet, I say. Win or 
 lose — first throw — heads or tails — down 
 with your button. Well then, 'torney, to 
 your ' what is it? ' this is my what," con- 
 tinued he, '^ Your daughter is a da-velish 
 clean-limbed, well-shaped, pretty-stepping, 
 smooth-skinned, young fee-male, and I am in 
 love with her; that 'sail." 
 
 It might have been a spasm, a twinge of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 233 
 
 the tooth-ache, or some such acute pain 
 which suddenly gave the lawyer's features 
 a crude expression ; but scarcely anything 
 could exceed the fierce look of agony which 
 he fixed with unblinking eyelids upon the 
 unabashed speaker. 
 
 *' Ha, ha! " laughed Jack, snapping a fin- 
 ger and thumb. " I suppose you thought a 
 brick like me — a chip of flint and steel, 
 'torney — was not such soft dough as to be 
 caught) by a few cork-screw hackles, hazel 
 eyes, and as those novel- writing gents say — 
 fee-male charms, which tickle the lord as 
 they do the stool jockey. Damn me, 'torney, 
 there's no use denying it, I love all the 
 handsome women in the world, I do upon 
 my soul." 
 
 Jack Racket paused, in the expectation 
 of receiving some reply; but not meeting 
 with any so readily as he anticipated, he 
 continued his desultory address : — 
 
 " Of course I know," said he, " that I 'm 
 not first at the starting post ; but what of
 
 234 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 that ? the last there, 'torney, is often the lead- 
 ing nose past the winning chair." 
 
 Perhaps it was a mere catch in his breath ; 
 but it sounded more like a groan of anguish, 
 as lawyer Sharp, burying his face in his 
 hands, sunk helplessly into a chair. 
 
 Ned Warren told me himself," resumed 
 Jack, looking at his boots, "that he was 
 bird-limed on the same twig ; and to smooth 
 down his confounded fiery hedge-hog hackles, 
 I promised to head short back on the line. 
 However," said he, with a wink, " I knew 
 well enough it was no go for him. Said I to my- 
 self, keep dark, Jack Eacket, and the game 's 
 your own. 'Torney will never let his daugh- 
 ter marry a plucked greenhorn ; and if he 
 doesn't exactly understand the odds, or ad- 
 mit the pull which we scientific Christians 
 have over the dull, bat-eyed, dee-generate, 
 weedy, soft-billed stock of Flatman, still 
 he won't slide ofi'the same plank and duck 
 head over tip into a bog. No, no, 'torney 
 isn't to be caught by gammon, whatever
 
 OUR COUNTY. 235 
 
 might be the chance with gold. Sir Edward 
 Warren sounds well enough, and in good 
 feather and great force, would tickle many 
 an ear of some nicety. But,'* continued 
 Jack, peering at his companion with a 
 shrewd, penetrating gaze, and speaking 
 slowly so as to give due effect to his words, 
 " a plucked peacock is not a vast deal more 
 handsome than a plucked owl.'' 
 
 "Is — is — is he completely lost?" asked 
 the lawyer, hesitatingly. 
 
 " Done to the last turn," said Jack. " That 
 is to say, he continued, " nothing remains 
 but the skin. I hold — or my foxy old 
 governor, which is the same thing — more of 
 his kites than would fly Dicky Misfortune's 
 miseries ; and as to what might be got, damn 
 me, but he 'd as soon flourish his name to a 
 ream as upon a threepenny receipt stamp.'* 
 
 " Then his ruin is complete," observed the 
 lawyer." 
 
 ** All but," returned Jack. " Another 
 season or two, and his rushlight will be out.
 
 236 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 However, that you knew long ago, or 
 Old Foxy deserves to be tree'd for de- 
 ceiving his offspring — the scion of the noble 
 stock of Kacket, which might break his 
 heart you know, 'torney," and then throw- 
 ing his head back, with a roar of laughter, 
 he caused poor Simon Slip to drop his pen 
 in the outer office, and involuntarily exclaim, 
 as he folded his hands together, feebly, " Bless 
 us all" 
 
 " Talking of hearts," resumed Jack, " and 
 it 's not far from the purpose, considering 
 that Maud may feel like a fly in a treacle 
 pot — I 've often heard of broken hearts, 
 'torney ; but take my word for it, they 're 
 a precious deal more like pewter than 
 crockery." 
 
 After a short pause, lawyer Sharp, with 
 closed eyelids, and drawing his fingers ra- 
 pidly across his brow like one confused, 
 rephed : — 
 
 " I more than suspected the feeling exist- 
 ing between my daughter and your, your — "
 
 OUK COUNTY. 237 
 
 " Say it," interrupted Jack; " out with it, 
 my pigeon. That 's the name of the cock 
 goldfinch." 
 
 " Your companion I was about adding," 
 said the lawyer ; " and to be frank, I have 
 been, am, and will be deadly opposed" — he 
 paused as he spoke, and his lips closed to- 
 gether as if glued, and his eyes darted forth 
 a strange unnatural light — ^' to such a con- 
 nexion. What might have been can now 
 never be." 
 
 " Spoken like 'torney, all over," rejoined 
 Jack. " Nothing can be more on the square. 
 But leaving what can never be, and all that 
 sort of thing to the Greeks, let us talk of 
 what may be. That 's your time o* day. 
 Chink -mnk 'em along ! What say ye, my 
 bantam, to my entry in the trial stakes for 
 that nice young fee-male, your daughter ? " 
 
 " To-morrow," returned the lawyer, in a 
 voice scarcely above a whisper. " We will 
 speak of that to-morrow."
 
 238 OUB COUNTT. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 "Why all delights are vain ; but that most vain, 
 Which, with pain purchas'd, doth inherit pain." 
 
 In a small closet, bearing the name of 
 " the Confessional," leading from a wide and 
 rambling room, around the walls of which 
 many a grim portrait hung of by-gone gene- 
 rations. Sir Edward Warren sat moodily 
 occupied in reflecting upon the least pru- 
 dent and profitable actions of his life. Like 
 most men, however, he discovered something 
 palliative for the majority, and the flatter- 
 ing judgment passed upon himself was, that 
 " he was one far more sinned against than
 
 OUE COUNTY. 239 
 
 sinning." Be this as it may — and his histo- 
 rian would feign that this impression should 
 be on the minds of his censors — there was 
 a still accusing voice within, which, despite 
 of the most cogent and subtle reasoning, 
 continued to remind him that, from infancy 
 to manhood — from the earliest hour of re^ 
 membrance to this — there was one whose 
 counsel he rarely heeded, and whose warning 
 voice rather insured the commission of that 
 against which it was so often and so earnestly 
 raised. To persist, was to be certain of gra- 
 tifying the most fantastic of his caprices : for 
 Lady Warren was not proof against either 
 his persuasions or importunities; and thus 
 Eit was, as time wore on, he had become a 
 self-willed, stubborn man, who could brook 
 no advice if in any way opposed to his own 
 wishes and impulses. Old Tom Piper had 
 done his best to check the increasing way- 
 wardness of his master; but he had long 
 since ceased to venture the slightest sugges- 
 tion, and, indeed, had he done so, he knew
 
 240 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 full well the harsh and hasty reproof which 
 awaited him. 
 
 The greater number of the portraits hang- 
 ing on the walls in the outer room, were 
 grim and grave looking. Many in shining 
 mail were armed " cap-a-pie," and stood with 
 compressed lips and frowning brows, grasp- 
 ing sword, lance, and battle-axe. A few 
 with flowing wigs, doublet, and trunk-hose, 
 told of less troubled times ; and their smiling, 
 fat, and rosy countenances betokened minds 
 at ease. Others, with belled and hooded 
 falcons on their hands were rousing the 
 heron from the mere ; and some with boar- 
 spear, hound, and bugle, were preparing for 
 the chase. And then there were, inter- 
 spersed between these sturdy personages, 
 many a belle of the olden time. So stiff and 
 starched they looked in high-heeled slipper, 
 hoop, and farthingale, that the accomplish- 
 ment of the ordinary duties of domestic life, 
 must have proved the greatest difficulty. It 
 is impossible to conceive how any one of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 241 
 
 those point-lace-ruffled, powdered head-gear, 
 and strangely decked dames, could have done 
 other than be in the helpless condition of 
 their own portraits, and continue just where 
 there were placed in accordance to orders. 
 
 Above the rest, however, of this extensive 
 collection of our hero's ancestors, there was 
 one whose severity of aspect was most 
 striking. His was certainly a most uncom- 
 promising expression of countenance. With 
 a hard, unflinching gaze, he sat in a straight- 
 back, intricately carved chair, with an open 
 volume before him, and a finger pressed 
 upon a' page, as if therein was the authority 
 for his resolve. He might be pointing out 
 the strict letter of the law from which, to 
 him, there was a dull ear to all appeals of 
 mercy. But be this as it may, it so chanced 
 that Sir Edward's eyes turned, and at length, 
 became riveted on this picture. Do what 
 he would, nothing could divert his looks from 
 the canvass ; and, at last yielding to the fas- 
 cination which seemed to take unaccountable 
 VOL. I. M
 
 242 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 possession of him, he returned as fixed and as 
 steady a gaze as that which the portrait bent 
 on him. It might be fancy — indeed it must 
 have been — but the hard-faced picture's 
 brow seemed to knit deeper as he looked, 
 and the lips to press more firmly toge- 
 ther. 
 
 '' In heaven's name ! " exclaimed Sir Ed- 
 ward, turning vv^ith an angry gesture from 
 the scowling likeness of his forefather; "am 
 I conjuring up idle fancies to add to my 
 miseries?" 
 
 At this moment light footsteps were heard 
 approaching, and soon afterwards Lady and 
 Kose Warren entered the closet. The latter, 
 still weak and delicate, was being supported 
 by her mother ; and upon being placed in a 
 chair, said, faintly, as if suffering from ex- 
 haustion, " Come and sit by me, Edward ; 
 I wish to speak to you." 
 
 "Indeed, dear Kose," he replied, joining 
 her side, and hastening to render all the 
 attention in his power ; " had I been told
 
 OUE COUNTY. 243 
 
 so, you should not have been troubled by- 
 seeking me here." 
 
 " It was her wish," rejoined his mother, 
 playfully placing a hand upon her daugh- 
 ter's lips, " to join you in the Confessional, 
 as an appropriate place for her purpose. 
 But until there has been sufficient time to 
 recover from the fatigue of coming so far, I 
 must forbid the commencement of the sub- 
 ject." 
 
 ^' In that case," returned he, in the same 
 spirit, and printing a kiss upon his sister's 
 cheek, " I must test the powers of my 
 patience." 
 
 " In truth, my son," rejoined Lady Warren, 
 laughing, " I fear, if much depended upon 
 such doubtful strength, there would be little 
 hope of success tor the most sanguine." 
 
 " Xay, nay," added Rose ; " with me, at 
 least, he has been always patient ; " and as 
 she spoke, she placed a hand so thin and 
 delicately white in his, that it bore the ap- 
 pearance of being moulded from white wax, 
 
 m2
 
 244 OUK COUNTY. 
 
 " I 'm afraid," said he, returning a warm 
 pressure of the fingers in his grasp, "that 
 my claim to such a virtue is, as my good 
 mother says, of the most doubtful na- 
 ture." 
 
 '* Being now recovered," observed Eose, 
 with much less difiiculty of speech, " I shall 
 at once enter upon my subject." 
 
 " Need I say," replied her brother, " that 
 I *m all ears to hear? " 
 
 " You know, dearest Edward," resumed 
 Rose, " that from a time my memory can- 
 not serve, I and Maud " 
 
 Such a tremor ran through his frame, 
 that she involuntarily paused. 
 
 *' Well ! " he rejoined, in a confused tone, 
 " proceed, dear." 
 
 "I say," she continued, steadying her 
 voice, " that I and Maud Sharp have been 
 companions from our earliest childhood; I 
 cannot say playfellows, for my impaired 
 health never permitted me to play. But 
 among the few pleasures I could enter into,
 
 OUR COUNTY. 245 
 
 there were none greater than to see Maud 
 bounding along the greensward, like some 
 gay fawn in the sunshine, or a bird just 
 freed from Robin's mesh. Her joyousness 
 imparted joy to me, and many an hour's 
 anguish has been allayed by the gladness of 
 her young heart, and the sympathy for my 
 sufferings ever ready to be expressed in the 
 kindest words, and still kinder actions. It 
 is but natural, therefore, that I should en- 
 tertain in return some feeling akin to hers. 
 We are seldom, perhaps, sufficiently grate- 
 ful for past favours ; but still, as harshness 
 towards others is productive of harshness 
 towards us, so good- will proffered from our 
 companions, renders good-will unto them." 
 
 " It should do so," observed her brother ; 
 but he spoke as if he scarcely knew what he 
 said. 
 
 "And does," returned Rose, " save where 
 short-sighted selfishness makes men forget 
 that ' as ye sow, so shall ye reap.' Believe 
 me, dear Edward, for every unrepented
 
 246 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 fault of omission or commission, there is a 
 requital in store. Few think how, or when, 
 or where, it will be visited on them, and 
 upon its coming, rarely assign the effect to 
 the proper cause. All are so well prepared 
 to justify their errors, that were it not for 
 the stern retributions we receive, we might 
 forget to ask even for our trespasses to be 
 forgiven." 
 
 " I was not prepared for a homily, dear 
 Rose," said her brother ; " and yet," con- 
 tinued he, tenderly, "I could listen to a 
 much longer one from such a monitor." 
 
 " I have digressed," returned his sister, 
 " and by your willing ear shall no longer 
 deem you impatient, Edward." 
 
 " I think," remarked Lady Warren, 
 smiling, " that you had not done so. It was 
 my grave, and seemingly unfounded, accu- 
 sation." 
 
 " Let me rather admit the charge," re- 
 joined he, " by confessing that I am more 
 than eager, sister mine, for you to resume."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 247 
 
 '^ Then, with all despatch, let me say," 
 continued Rose, " that for a long time past, 
 both my mother and myself have felt much 
 sorrow at perceiving a great and sad change 
 in Maud. Instead of the joyous being that 
 she was, she is now weighed down by some 
 secret and blighting sorrow, which defies 
 our utmost efforts to remove or lighten. In 
 vain have we endeavoured to discover the 
 cause of her grief ; and to all our entreaties 
 to permit us, at least, to be sharers in it, 
 she resolutely opposes every solicitation, and 
 beseeches us to question her no further." 
 
 " I have myself remarked the change you 
 speak of," said her brother, turning his face 
 on one side, and a slight flush diffused itself 
 over his brow as he rose hastily from his seat 
 and proceeded to the window. 
 
 " You must not go so far from your sister,'' 
 observed Lady Warren. 
 
 " Your pardon. Rose," interrupted he, re 
 taking his seat; *' I was unconscious of what 
 I did."
 
 248 OUK COUNTY. 
 
 " It cannot have escaped the observation 
 of all," continued his sister, "how deeply 
 attached you have been to each other from 
 childhood, and therefore it is scarcely possible 
 to conceive that there are any secrets of mo- 
 ment between you. With any one but our- 
 selves it would indeed be presumptuous ; 
 but with me, dear Edward, I 'm sure you 
 will not so consider it, when I ask to be a 
 participator in the concealed trouble which so 
 rankles in the heart of her I love so fondly." 
 
 "Rest assured," returned her brother, 
 "that if in my power to concede to any re- 
 quest on your part, Rose, it would unhesi- 
 tatingly be granted. But other than the un- 
 friendly terms which exist between her father 
 and myself, I know of no particular cause to 
 which Maud's present unhappiness may be 
 assigned." 
 
 "Then why not endeavour to remove it 
 by conciliating him? " inquired Lady War- 
 ren. 
 
 "What!" abruptly ejaculated her
 
 OUR COUNTY. 249 
 
 son, "am I again to fawn and bend to 
 him?'' 
 
 "Perhaps neither would be necessary," 
 mildly interposed his sister. 
 
 " And perhaps both would be useless," 
 rejoined he, passionately. 
 
 "It is most unfortunate — most unhappy — 
 that the present state of things should con- 
 tinue," returned his mother; "no good can 
 come of them." 
 
 " No good has or will come of them," he 
 added, in a tone of bitterness and anger. 
 " But let the consequences be what they 
 may," continued he, " I will never yield to 
 his dictation or tyranny." 
 
 " In his opinion of you" — 
 
 " In his conduct to me, mother," fiercely 
 interrupted he, " I have met with nothing 
 short of insolence and hostility." 
 
 " Let me beg of you to have an interview 
 with Mister Sharp, Edward," entreated Lady 
 Warren. " You 've been so much estranged 
 
 M 3
 
 250 OUK COUNTY. 
 
 of late, that time should have erased all 
 past grievances." 
 
 " It might have done so," he replied, " and 
 I thought had." 
 
 " May I ask the reason of your conjec- 
 turing such is not the case? " inquired Rose. 
 
 " To my disgrace be it said," returned he, 
 " I yielded to Maud's persuasion, and sought 
 a reconcilation." 
 
 "And was it refused? " 
 
 " Peremptorily," added he, with flashing 
 eyeballs. " She, herself, was the bearer of 
 a plain and blunt rejection to my offer." 
 
 " ^Tis most strange ! " exclaimed Lady 
 Warren. " The last time we spoke together 
 on this subject, he expressed himself most 
 desirous for a reconciliation, and was anxious 
 for an interview." 
 
 " That need cause you no surprise, mo- 
 ther," he rejoined. " Anything serviceable 
 to his purpose, he says or does. It was 
 always so and ever will be."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 251 
 
 '* I cannot see the object to be served in 
 such a declaration," remarked Rose. 
 
 " If no other/' returned he, " it wasenough 
 to make me appear in the wrong to you, and 
 he has exerted himself, ere this, to attain 
 this very purpose." 
 
 "While this feeling lasts," said Lady 
 Warren, addressing her daughter, " our in- 
 terference is quite futile." 
 
 " Without a doubt," added Sir Edward. 
 " And if my inclination be studied, the sub- 
 ject will never be mentioned to me again," 
 and thus speaking, he rose, and turning 
 upon his heel, left the room. 
 
 " Poor Maud ! " ejaculated Rose. '* I fear 
 there are deeper sorrows in store for you."
 
 252 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 ** Dar'st thou die ? 
 The sense of death is most in apprehension ; 
 And the poor beetle that we tread upon, 
 In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great 
 As when a giant dies." 
 
 Not far from the manor-house, and with 
 its grey ivy -twined tower rising above the 
 tall tops clustering around it, was the vil- 
 lage church. The old lych-gate afforded a 
 convenient shelter for the gossips to exchange 
 their budget of news in, and here it was that 
 little children played until the long dark 
 shades of evening began to fall around. For 
 not one had courage to stray among the 
 ombstones and withy-bound graves when
 
 OUR COUNTY. 253 
 
 the owl flapped from the cedar, spreading its 
 dark limbs across the church-yard. Whis- 
 pers and frightened glances took the place of 
 echoing shouts, and gathering the daisy 
 chains hung in festoons upon the tombstones, 
 each would hasten from the dreaded spot 
 with hurried steps and palpitating hearts. 
 
 Here it was that these little children 
 would stand in silent, awe-stricken groups 
 to watch the funerals pass, and then as years 
 rolled on, other little children took their 
 place and watched the passing of funerals, 
 too. It was the self- same scene, with other 
 actors. The watchers were the watched. 
 The sad, however, were not the only scenes 
 witnessed within the precincts of the village 
 church. Here it was that lad and lassie 
 came to give and receive their troth-plight, 
 and then gay flowers were scattered in their 
 path, and the bells sent forth joyous peals 
 from many a stalwart arm. The old and the 
 young laughed together then, and nothing 
 was thought of but merry-making. And so
 
 254 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 between life's beginning and its end, its plea- 
 sures and its sorrows, the village church saw 
 generations come and pass, and be forgotten. 
 The tints of autumn had tipped the elms with 
 gold, as Pug one morning lay stretched upon 
 the ground plucking the ivy from the large 
 and time-worn tombstone nearest the lych- 
 gate. His constant companion, Nip, the 
 wiry and ill-favored terrier, squatted upon 
 his haunches close by, watching with deep 
 interest every movement of his master. Leaf 
 by leaf, and tendril by tendril, Pug pulled 
 from the monument, and although he did so 
 in a lazy, indolent manner, still he cleared it 
 carefully as he proceeded, from the screening 
 foliage. 
 
 " Why, what art doing, lad ? " asked a 
 voice, and upon Pug's turning round, he 
 perceived the truly pleasant visage of farmer 
 Stockley regarding his proceedings with 
 something akin to astonishment. 
 
 " Your servant. Mister Stockley," replied 
 Pug, continuing his work. " You see I 'm
 
 OUR COUNTY. 255 
 
 rather particularly occupied than other- 
 wise." 
 
 '' So particularly," rejoined the farmer, 
 " that common brains like mine can't make 
 out the drift." 
 
 '' The underground tenant," returned Pug, 
 pointing to the vault beneath, *'must have 
 been a longish occupier, I suppose, Mister 
 Stockley." 
 
 " A century or more," said the farmer, " I 
 should think." 
 
 " He was one o* the gentry, wasn^t he?" 
 inquired Pug, continuing his labour. 
 
 " Never heard his name," added the farmer. 
 " But they don't bury anybody else under 
 quite so much brick and stone-work, I can 
 safely say." 
 
 '' That was my thought," remarked Pug, 
 *' and yet for many a long day no one 's heard 
 even his name. There 's that grave there," 
 said he, pointing to one sunken within a few 
 inches of the ground, " can ye tell me, sir, who 
 lies under those daisies? "
 
 256 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 " No," responded the farmer, shaking his 
 head. " It was there before I was born." 
 
 *' But by the rotten and lop-sided board 
 instead of this square six feet of brick and 
 stone," continued Pug, with a grin, " it 's fair 
 to think one who was poor and needy may be 
 buried there." 
 
 " To be sure," said farmer Stockley, 
 "that's a poor man's grave — this a rich 
 one's." 
 
 Pug quitted his work to rub his hands 
 briskly together ; and after breathing on the 
 tips of his fingers, said, " There 's no great 
 difference between them, though, Mister 
 Stockley. And if, I reckon, we could just 
 take a peep beneath the sod, we should see 
 none whatever." 
 
 " I dare say not," replied the farmer. 
 " Bones are bones; and dust is dust." 
 
 " Ha !" ejaculated Pug, with a long-drawn 
 breath, " it is so here. Mister Stockley. In 
 the churchyard bones are bones, and dust is 
 dust. But what say ye elsewhere? Are
 
 OUR COUNTY. 257 
 
 bones, bones; and is dust, dust, when want 
 meets plenty?" 
 
 "He who sues," rejoined the farmer, 
 "must be mindful of speech; but he who 
 gives, needs no such caution." 
 
 " Truer words were never spoken," re- 
 turned Pug; " I '11 mark them well." 
 
 " But for what reason," said farmer 
 Stockley, "are ye stripping the ivy from this 
 stone- work? " 
 
 " To let folks, as they pass by," replied 
 Pug, "just learn who lies buried here. It 's 
 a grand tomb," continued he, "and must 
 have cost as much as would keep a poor 
 man in comfort. Now, isn't it a pity to 
 let this creeping plant hide even the name 
 of him for whom it was made?" 
 
 " It 's of no consequence to the dead," re- 
 joined the farmer ; " and almost as little so 
 to the living, for aught I can see." 
 
 " If that be so," returned Pug, — " and 
 I '11 not gainsay it — for what end was it 
 raised?"
 
 258 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 Farmer Stockley looked thoughtful, but 
 gave no reply. 
 
 " To me it seems strange," said Pug, — 
 "but I was not taught at schools, and may 
 know little about the matter — that the rich 
 and great in death should be left to the same 
 common lot as humble folks. In life," con- 
 tinued he, " there 's such a wide gap between 
 'em, that really Mister Stockley," and his 
 eyes twinkled brightly, " it becomes a Chris- 
 tian's duty to make some little difference in 
 the graveyard. In my opinion, there should 
 be no level even there." 
 
 " You have odd whims and fancies, lad," 
 returned the farmer. " But I '11 leave ye at 
 your work, and as the hire is not likely to 
 be settled for at a short date, be yonder at 
 dinner-time," and, as he spoke, he pointed in 
 the direction of his own homestead. 
 
 " An' thank ye, sir," replied Pug, " I 'm 
 not likely to forget that hour." 
 
 Within a short time of farmer Stockley's 
 departure. Pug had completed his self-im-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 259 
 
 posed task of stripping the tomb of the ivy ; 
 but as he could not read, the developed cha- 
 racters afforded him no explanation ; neither, 
 indeed, did he desire one. 
 
 With a yawn and a shake he rose from 
 the ground, and, in long, lurching strides, 
 quitted the church-yard, Nip trotting close 
 to his heels. As their way lay through the 
 village, it was a wise precaution on the part 
 of the truly unpopular Nip to keep as 
 near as possible to his master ; for such was 
 the unenviable light in which he was held 
 for a fair league around, in consequence 
 of his propensities to worry cats, snap at 
 children, hunt pigs, chase sheep, and perpe- 
 trate every kind of mischief, when accident 
 or design presented the opportunity, that 
 many a missile would have been discharged 
 at his devoted head but for the shelter ren- 
 dered in the person of his defender and in- 
 stigator of many of the wrongs committed. 
 For all were frightened of Pug. Leagued, 
 as he was considered to be, with the fiend of
 
 260 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 darkness, not the strongest of heart but 
 would shun his approach at certain times 
 and seasons. There was always a foreboding 
 of evil — a something that would happen — 
 when Pug's shadow crossed the threshold of 
 a cottage door, or his grinning countenance 
 was thrust through some open casement. And 
 in many instances, it must be confessed, there 
 were good grounds for such anticipations. 
 
 Delighted with the terror he created. Pug 
 wended his way through the village with his 
 hands buried in his pockets, and his shoul- 
 ders raised almost to his ears. In this strange 
 gait he strided along, rolling his head from 
 side to side, and looked the very counterfeit 
 of the dark mischief-maker to mankind. 
 
 Upon leaving the village some little dis- 
 tance in the rear — much to the gratification 
 of its inhabitants — he neared the mill belong- 
 ing to jovial Joe Beans, and was not a little 
 surprised to see his fiery-faced daughter 
 standing at the garden-gate, beckoning him 
 to approach. A finger was raised to
 
 OUR COUNTY. 261 
 
 her lips, as if she desired caution and 
 
 silence. 
 
 *' Eh?" said Pug, with pricked ears. 
 "What is it. Miss Beans?" 
 
 "Hush !" replied the damsel, peering about 
 her. ''Be quiet. Mister Pug." 
 
 "1 am," rejoined he,in a whisper. " What 's 
 up?" 
 
 **Doyou see my pa?" she returned, timidly, 
 glancing right and left, behind and before 
 her. 
 
 " No," observed Pug, making a sweep of 
 the immediate locality, "I don't see your par. 
 Miss Beans." 
 
 " Then just be good enough to step this 
 way. Mister Pug," said the damsel, with a 
 smile upon her visage; but such was the 
 effect, from want of use, that, so far from 
 producing any improvement in the expres- 
 sion, it rather added to its general acidity 
 than otherwise. 
 
 Miss Beans pioneer'd the way through the 
 garden towards the house, and as she did so,
 
 262 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 stepped on the tips of her toes; but from 
 what cause it was impossible to divine. 
 Pug, however, appeared to consider that he 
 was in duty bound to follow the example 
 with much exactness, and trod lightly in the 
 same manner, but had Miss Beans turned 
 her head, she might have felt disposed to 
 break from a walk into a run ; for more than 
 once a foot was raised in a very threatening 
 manner against her respected person. 
 
 In blissful ignorance, however, of these 
 repeated causes for apprehension, she led 
 her companion into the house, and begged 
 him to be seated. 
 
 ** You can do me a favor," said the dam- 
 sel, dropping herself into a chair opposite, 
 with her arms passed tightly across her re- 
 markably flat bosom ; " and for which," 
 she continued sharply, "I am ready to 
 pay." 
 
 Pug expressed himself greatly gratified at 
 the opportunity of being able to do a favor 
 for Miss Beans, with a secret reservation
 
 OUR COUNTY. 263 
 
 regarding her proclaimed readiness to pay 
 for it. 
 
 There 's no occasion to give you whys 
 and wherefores, I suppose, Mister Pug," said 
 she, shaking her head from side to side, and 
 twitching the end of her nose like a rabbit. 
 
 " Not a bit of it. Miss Beans," replied he. 
 " Out with what you want, and be as short 
 as ye like." 
 
 " I might have expected such an answer 
 from you, sir," was the flattering rejoinder of 
 Miss Beans; *'and it 's a pleasure to have to 
 do with such a matter-of-fact person. Busi- 
 ness is business." 
 
 "Then grease your wheels, Miss Beans," 
 returned Pug, settling himself most comfort- 
 ably in Joe's easiest of easy chairs, "and lead 
 away." 
 
 In conformity with the desire. Miss Beans 
 began to unfold the secret so restlessly re- 
 tained within the dove-cote of her bosom.
 
 264 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 " Think you a little din can daunt mine ears ?*' 
 
 Joe Beans, the miller, had just knocked 
 the ashes from the bowl of his first pipe, 
 after dinner, and sat ruminating in a sort 
 of Napoleon attitude. His arms were crossed 
 on the rails of his chair, and his face turned 
 towards the back. It can scarcely be said 
 that the position was either polite or grace- 
 ful — more particularly as Miss Beans had 
 the full view of his exceedingly broad re- 
 verse. And that lady, perhaps, was of the 
 like opinion; for, as she plied her active
 
 OUR COUNTY. 265 
 
 needle among the chinks and crevices of a 
 time-worn stocking, belonging to her res- 
 pected parent, the end of her finely-pointed 
 nose twitched and brightened in its scarlet 
 tints, which might ever be received as con- 
 clusive proof of more than ordinary irrita- 
 tion existing, although partly smothered 
 and kept in check by efforts of magnitude. 
 Once or twice, indeed, there seemed a dispo- 
 sition to give vent to the pent-up spleen, by 
 an action both sanguinary and cruel. For, 
 stooping and stretching forth her hand with 
 an evil expression of features — a kind of 
 wicked intent scarce quite made up — Miss 
 Beans pointed the long, sharp needle at her 
 unconscious father's reverse, and that too, 
 in an unguarded spot which, if goaded, 
 would have caused jolly Joe to spring with 
 considerable agility. To the honour of Miss 
 Beans be it recorded, however, the several 
 attempts amounted to mere innocent threats 
 — although of a practical nature — and, as 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 266 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 the result proved, amounted to the least 
 possible consideration. 
 
 " I don't think it '11 blow," observed Joe, 
 looking at the lazy sails of his mill, which 
 stretched themselves motionless within some 
 thirty yards of his small, square, solid-look- 
 ing, red-bricked house. " I don't think it 
 '11 blow, Sally," replied he. 
 
 " I do," acidly replied Miss Beans. 
 
 '* Humph !" rejoined her father, " it would 
 be strange if ye didn't." 
 
 "How so, sir?" inquired Sally, dropping 
 worsted, needle, and stocking in her lap. 
 " May I ask, Mister Beans, why it would 
 be singular, odd, or remarkable, had I 
 deemed fit to consider the wind would 
 blow?" 
 
 " Oh yes, certainly," added Joe, pump- 
 ing a little with his shoulders, as if to ease 
 a slight pressure of subdued mirth. " You 
 always work the opposition so strongly, 
 Sally, that one can't expect your agreeing
 
 OUR COUNTY. 267 
 
 with anybody, at any time, upon anything, 
 anywhere, or any how." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," said Miss Beans, bow- 
 ing grandly to Joe's reverse. '^ Thank you. 
 Mister Beans, Tm sure it becomes you to 
 run down your own child — " 
 
 " Child !" interrupted he, in an audible 
 whisper, and then his shoulders began to 
 pump with increased force. 
 
 " Yes, sir," resumed Sally, '' child ! I re- 
 peat the word — child ! I am your child, 
 Mister Beans, I suppose. You 're not going 
 to add cruelty to insult by disowning your 
 child. You '11 not turn her out of doors, I 
 imagine, for your own sake, to wander 
 through the wide world homeless, friendless, 
 and penniless." 
 
 '' By no manner of means," returned Joe. 
 " Keep where you are, Sally, while I go to 
 the races. Yes," he added, rising with much 
 exertion from his seat, " I shall go to the 
 races, at Tare Downs, this a'rternoon. It '11 
 
 N 2
 
 268 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 not come on to blow, I know; so there 
 won't be any work lost." 
 
 " If you ask my opinion," said Miss Beans, 
 " I think it would be more to your credit to 
 stop away, sir." 
 
 " May the difference of opinion never 
 crack the cup of friendship," replied Joe, 
 deliberately putting on his hat. *' I shall 
 ride Meteor to Tare Down races this a'rter- 
 noon, and no mistake whatever about the 
 matter." 
 
 It should be observed here, that, by " Me- 
 teor," Joe Beans alluded to his flea-bitten 
 grey. 
 
 " In that case," rejoined Miss Beans, 
 taking up the stocking, and freshly sticking 
 the needle in and out with an action amount- 
 ing to vengeance, " I have not another syl- 
 lable to offer on the subject. My duty is 
 fulfilled. I feel conscious of having " — 
 
 It was useless to complete the sentence, 
 for Joe's broad back was on the outside of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 269 
 
 the closed door, and a loud thrilling whistle 
 broke from his lips, as he rolled his portly 
 person towards what he was pleased to call 
 his " stud and stable." The former, how- 
 ever, consisted only of Meteor, the flea-bitten 
 grey, and the latter, of an unpretending shed, 
 composed of rough planks and a thatched 
 roof. 
 
 " Well, my flash of lightnin' !" cheerily 
 exclaimed Joe, throwing open the stable- 
 door; "full of beans, lad — eh?" continued 
 he, giving Meteor a vigorous slap under 
 the flank ; and then entertaining a hazy idea 
 that he had dropped a sentence by accident, 
 which might be fanned into something 
 like wit, scratched the back part of his 
 head slowly, and said, " My name 's 
 Beans." 
 
 The weak attempt, however, was without 
 result. Joe twice repeated that his name 
 was Beans, and then gave it up. 
 
 " I shouldn't wonder now," continued 
 Joe, coaxing Meteor's neck and ears, ''but
 
 270 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 you 'd enjoy a quartern more wuts before 
 star tin' to Tare Downs? " 
 
 This was spoken interrogatively, and Me- 
 teor returned a telegraphic answer by shak- 
 ing his short and stumpy tale in the affir- 
 mative. 
 
 " I thought as much," resumed his mas- 
 ter, who seemed quite conversant with Me- 
 teor's manner of conveying his sentiments. 
 •' And I dare say," he continued, " if I was 
 to throw a handful! or two of broken 
 white peas among it, you 'd not like it the 
 less?" 
 
 Meteor signified a complete acquiescence 
 in this fair supposition, by throwing back 
 his head and ears, and making a playful snap 
 with his teeth. 
 
 "Exactly so," said Joe Beans; "and 
 so here goes for the best sample I 've got." 
 
 Meteor expressed an unequivocal desire 
 that " 'twere well it were done quickly," by 
 lifting up his near hind leg, and threatening 
 to kick his owner unceremoniously out of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 271 
 
 the stall, if he did not go without further loss 
 of time. 
 
 " Upon my affidavy," ejaculated Joe, seri- 
 ously : " upon my affidavy," repeated he, 
 *' you 're a nice, grateful kind of a wiper — 
 you are. I heard of a man once who thawed 
 a frozen wiper in his boosum, and when it 
 come to life, it stung that same boosum as 
 warmed it." 
 
 This appeared a cutting remark for Me- 
 teor. He drooped his head in his manger, 
 and his tail fell motionless, as low as it could 
 well hang. A more guilty, self- convicted 
 culprit can scarcely be conceived. 
 
 But without further reproof, Joe procured 
 the provender, and with a silent smack on 
 the offender's quarter — significant of for- 
 giveness — he threw it into the manger. 
 
 " While you 're putting that under your 
 skin," observed his master, " I '11 polish up 
 the snaffle and stirrups; for we must go 
 with a shine to Tare Down races, my flying 
 eclipse."
 
 272 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 Meteor was so much occupied with the 
 corn and white peas, that he paid little ap- 
 parent attention to this, although one ear 
 was turned back as if to catch the most in- 
 teresting part of the communication. 
 
 "It isn't often that I cross the pig's skin," 
 soliloquized Joe, scrubbing away at a very 
 dusty stirrup iron, with a piece of coarse 
 sand-paper ; but " — and then he winked 
 slily to himself — " if I was to drive this 
 a'rternoon, Sally might wish to go o' pur- 
 pose to take care of her dear old father, and 
 not by no means to shew herself. Oh, no ! 
 certainly not. And then she wouldn't cut 
 up rough if her dear old father took a cup 
 or two at the Duck and Gridiron, on the 
 road. Oh, no! certainly not. And then her 
 dear old father wouldn't wish her at the — " 
 
 Joe paused, but added, " oh, yes ! but he 
 certainly would," and then his shoulders 
 began pumping at a great pace, which lasted 
 for some minutes. 
 
 The corn and white peas were finished
 
 OUR COUNTY. 273 
 
 about the same time that the bit and stir- 
 rups were freed from the thick coat of rust, 
 and soon afterwards the bridled and saddled 
 Meteor was led from the stable. 
 
 " Now, remember, my incom-parable," 
 remarked Joe, sticking one foot in a stirrup 
 and inflating himself, probably, with a view 
 of rendering the specific gravity of his car- 
 case more buoyant, *' I 'm not a feather 
 weight. Stand firm on your pegs," and, 
 with this caution to Meteor, who gave a 
 short grunt in testimony of his full know- 
 ledge of the asserted fact, the plethoric mil- 
 ler climbed into the saddle, bearing a strong 
 likeness to one of his own sacks of flour 
 standing upright. 
 
 Past his own mill, and close by the quick- 
 set-edge of his own garden, just in front of 
 his own house, and through his own mea- 
 dow — for Joe Beans was his own landlord 
 — Meteor jogged his rider at an easy trot. 
 Then they emerged on to the high-road 
 which soon led to the village ; and here Joe 
 
 N 3
 
 274 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 was hailed and saluted by so many candi- 
 dates for his immediate notice, that had he 
 pulled up to exchange a monosyllable with 
 each, his reaching Tare Down before sunset 
 would have been impossible. The elder of his 
 friends and acquaintances were easily dis- 
 posed of; but as for the younger branches, he 
 might as well have tried to get rid of the flies 
 buzzing about Meteor's eyes and nostrils, or 
 the cloud of gnats which kept up a continued 
 dance above his own head. From cottage- 
 door and garden-gate, the children poured 
 in tributary streams to the current, which 
 formed itself in the wake of the flea-bitten 
 grey. And here, in one unbroken mass, 
 they followed, loudly shouting, dancing, and 
 clapping their hands like boisterous Bac- 
 chanals celebrating a feast. 
 
 If there were any mysterious cause for 
 these proceedings, it became quickly dis- 
 pelled by Joe extracting from the hidden 
 depths of a coat-pocket, some brightly red, 
 cherry-cheeked apples, which he held to
 
 OUR COUNTY. 275 
 
 view in a most tempting and tantalizing 
 manner. 
 
 " Rol-ler, boys," said the tempter, "hol- 
 ler ! I like to hear ye hol-ler !" 
 
 Then such a din arose as can be heard 
 only from strong and youthful lungs, and 
 when the will is whetted by the appetite. 
 
 In a shower, the apples were sent among 
 the heads of the expectant crowd, who scram- 
 bled for them amid cuffs, kick, and bruises; 
 and when the last had been snatched from 
 the ground — but not before — the winners 
 began to gnaw their prizes with great satis- 
 faction, while the less fortunate looked 
 gloomily on, and rubbed their wounds. 
 
 Joe entertained a languid idea that a great 
 moral lesson might be gleaned from this 
 scrambling bout, and began to compare it 
 wdth the doings of the world ; but somehow 
 or other, the idea grew fainter as it grew 
 older, like a rainbow on the wane, and soon 
 became entirely lost to Joe's mental vision. 
 
 The village cleared, Joe jogged merrily
 
 276 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 forward, and, with an eye to business, regard- 
 ed the growing crops carefully, and smiled 
 at his own deductions. The wheat was 
 not o'er forward, but the plant looked strong 
 and healthy. The barley, too — 
 
 Joe's ear caught the creak of the sign of 
 the Duck and Gridiron at this moment, and 
 he felt thirsty as if by magic. 
 
 The Duck and Gridiron was as nice and 
 comfortable a roadside inn as one could 
 desire to meet with. It was celebrated for 
 miles around for its home-brewed ale, and 
 the most libellously disposed, never breathed 
 a whisper of doubt concerning its purity and 
 genuineness. In what age the building was 
 i-aised must be left to conjecture ; but that 
 it had braved the storms of many long years, 
 was evident from its solidity, and the general 
 quaintness of its architecture. Gable ends 
 abutted from the ends and centre of the 
 roof, and chimneys, twisted in the most 
 puzzling shape like giant corkscrews, caused 
 the observer ro question the possibility of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 277 
 
 smoke finding its way out. However, that 
 it did so, might be witnessed at all such 
 times, when the supply of good fare became 
 an attendant on its demand. A bow win- 
 dow formed a conspicuous object from the 
 road, as it fitted far from the wall, and 
 seemed placed, so as to command the most 
 extensive view, both up and down the high- 
 way. A walnut tree — and such a tree for 
 shade in summer, reared its straight and 
 lusty trunk within a few feet of the door, 
 and here it was that many choice spirits 
 would sit on the bench at the foot, in the 
 sinking twilight of a balmy eve, to tell old 
 tales, and smoke, and crack their boisterous 
 jokes and jests. There was a horse trough, 
 too, placed under the walnut tree, in which 
 the clearest water always stood, and a bun- 
 dle of hay stood in a wicker basket hard by. 
 For man and beast — as a board nailed on 
 the tall sign-post notified — there was good 
 entertainment at the Duck and Gridiron. 
 And if proof had been necessary, let either
 
 278 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 requiring nurture, be consigned to the fos- 
 tering care of Luke Puffy, by way of trial. 
 That was all the landlord of the Duck and 
 Gridiron required, as he often said, and as 
 often meant. 
 
 Luke Puffy was — what he called — ' rather 
 inclined to run to pod ; ' but if a remarkably 
 obese body, protruding and double chin, 
 round cheeks, short neck, and oyster barrels 
 for calves, formed any evidence of a result, 
 he was not only running to pod, but had 
 arrived at that state and condition Ions: 
 
 ago. 
 
 As all landlords should be, Luke was one 
 of the most popular of men in our county; 
 and although he might not possess — that 
 which few, indeed, do — many friends, still 
 he had the satisfaction of possessing many 
 customers. With a kind word and still 
 kinder deed, Luke Puffy was ever prepared, 
 and seemed to have one on his tongue, and 
 the other on the very tips of his fingers, 
 without the smallest notice being required.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 279 
 
 As if set with a hair trigger, they were al- 
 ways ready to go off. 
 
 It was one of Luke's constant habits to 
 stand with his legs crossed, leaning against 
 one of the door posts of his portal, and there 
 he would remain eyeing the world without, 
 with a face beaming with the effects of 
 strong beer, good temper and a kindly na- 
 ture. 
 
 "What, Mr. Joseph Beans!" hallooed 
 Luke, as the miller pulled up under the 
 shade of the walnut tree. "Do I see Mister 
 Joseph Beans in his own proper person ? " 
 
 " It 's that same individual," replied Joe, 
 extracting a handkerchief from his hat, and 
 wiping large beads of perspiration from his 
 forehead. " The same identical son of his 
 mother." 
 
 " And what will the identical son of his 
 mother take this afternoon? " inquired the 
 landlord, patting Meteor's neck, as he dipped 
 a handful of hay in the trough and offered 
 it to that srallant steed. " Shall it be short
 
 280 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 and sharp," continued he, "or long and 
 heavy?" 
 
 " A pull at a pot of heavy," replied Joe, 
 still occupied in mopping his head, " will 
 suit me best, Luke." 
 
 " The real old stingo, eh? " returned the 
 landlord. 
 
 " That 's the floo— id ! " added Joe, with 
 admiration. 
 
 " I never could withstand temptation in 
 the form of a pot of your stingo, Luke, and 
 moreover" — the miller made an effective 
 pause — " I never mean to try." 
 
 Luke Puffy felt greatly complimented at 
 this expressed determination on Joe's part, 
 and with a skip, almost amounting to agility, 
 he hastened to bring forth the desired be- 
 verage. 
 
 Within a very short space of time, he 
 again made his appearance, bearing a white 
 crested tankard in his hand, and as he lifted 
 it to the miller, remarked, " Going to the 
 races, T suppose ? "
 
 OUR COUNTY. 281 
 
 Joe nodded an affirmative, as he buried 
 his face in the foam. 
 
 " It 's all very well for you sportin' cha- 
 racters," resumed Luke, " to support the 
 turf; but as I should be neither useful, nor 
 strikingly ornamental, I thought it wiser to 
 keep at home." 
 
 " It might have been so for me, Luke," 
 replied the miller, as his features emerged 
 somewhat disguised with the froth of the 
 beer. '' It might have been so for me," he 
 repeated, handing the remains of the tankard 
 to the landlord. 
 
 Joseph Beans ! could you then have dived 
 into the mysterious future of but a few brief 
 hours, how well would you have known the 
 truth of your own unmeaning words. 
 
 '* Without you, Joe," rejoined the land- 
 lord at the termination of his draught, " Tare 
 Down races would never come off in pro- 
 per style — take my word for it." 
 
 " Well," said the miller, " I 've attended 
 'em now, man and boy, for four-and-forty
 
 282 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 years; although, d'ye see, Luke, I'm forced 
 to make an excuse to this day, just as 1 did 
 when I played truant from school." 
 
 "Miss Beans, eh?" observed the land- 
 lord. 
 
 " That 's the impediment, Luke Puffy," 
 replied Joe. " To take that maiden on a 
 trip of pleasure, one might as well try to be 
 gay at a funeral. And to refuse to take her, 
 point blank, is sure to raise a squall of some 
 sort or other." 
 
 " How did you ease her off to-day?" 
 asked his companion. 
 
 The miller lowered his voice as he replied, 
 " Both the lynch-pins were out of the wheels 
 of the cart, Luke, and couldn't be found no- 
 where. Wasn't it unlucky? " 
 
 " Dreadfully unfortunate," rejoined the 
 landlord, shaking with laughter. " I wonder 
 you can hold your head up." 
 
 " It 's a mortal effort you may be sure," 
 returned Joe ; " but daresay I shall get over 
 it. Good bye, my heart of oak," continued
 
 OUR COUNTY. 283 
 
 he, gathering up the reins. " Take care o' 
 yourself," and to a friendly hint from his spur- 
 less heel, Meteor carried his burthen forward 
 Avith freshly stimulated strength and spirits. 
 
 " Luck go with ye," hallooed Luke PuiFy, 
 waving a hand. "Luck go with ye. Call 
 on your return." 
 
 A few miles of road, lane, and waste, 
 brought Meteor and his rider to the Downs, 
 whereon the races were to come off. White 
 tents and waving flags, of many hues and 
 colours, shone brightly in the distance ; and 
 from all parts of the heath, crowds were 
 wending their way towards them. 
 
 " Now, my lad," said Joe, addressing 
 his horse, " here 's a nice piece of springy 
 turf. Try if you can simmer up a can- 
 ter." 
 
 Meteor laid his ears back, and laughed in 
 derision at the idea of any effort being re- 
 quired to simmer up a canter — provided he 
 was in the humour — and arching his neck 
 proudly, he immediately boiled up a gallop,
 
 284 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 although not one possessing the easiest of 
 actions. 
 
 " Gently, my pigeon," said his master. 
 " Softly does it," continued he, pulling at the 
 reins. 
 
 But Meteor's ambition soared aloft, and 
 despite the check, bore his rider more swiftly 
 along the greensward than accorded with his 
 inclination.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 285 
 
 CHAPTER XYII. 
 
 " Gallop apace, you fiery footed steeds." 
 
 Motley were the groups collected at the 
 Tare Down races. Gipsies, trampers, beggars, 
 vendors of walking-sticks, beer, ginger-bread, 
 nuts, and many other kinds of edibles, were 
 making their respective callings known 
 through the exercise of some of the healthi- 
 est and most powerful of lungs. Here might 
 be enjoyed too, amusements of various de- 
 scriptions, from a game of *' knock- 'em- 
 downs" to a ride in " the merry-go-round." 
 On the voluntary principle, a mountebank 
 exhibited his skill in twisting his body into 
 shapes and postures of the least possible ease,
 
 286 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 grace, or utility, and trusted to the liberality 
 of a British public — as he loudly declared — 
 by sending round a hat at the termination 
 of his performances. Yeomen and rustics, 
 lads and lasses, jostled each other in holiday 
 gear; and if there were no great exhibition 
 of wit in the keen encounter of their tongues, 
 yet there was more than an ordinary share 
 of laughter following each pointed remark 
 and sallv. 
 
 Not far from the winning-post, a throng 
 was gathered together, loudly discussing the 
 merits, qualii&cations, and chances of the 
 horses entered for the respective events an- 
 nounced in the list. In the middle of the 
 crowd, with his legs widely apart, his hat 
 shading one eye, and his arms a-kimbo, stood 
 Jack Eacket, booted and spurred in the very 
 zenith of his pride, and at the altitude of his 
 earthly ambition. Among the small fry — 
 the minnows of the sporting fraternity — as- 
 sembled on Tare Downs, he was looked upon 
 as a great man, and Jack felt the glow of
 
 OUR COUNTY. 287 
 
 distinction warming his extremities — even 
 to the tips of his toes and fingers. He 
 betted with anybody almost anything which 
 was offered ; for the speculators were mode- 
 rate in their ventured sums, and rarely ex- 
 ceeded a few single pounds or crowns, and 
 Jack considered that his losses would amount 
 io only an investment for the dignity he 
 possessed. 
 
 " Now, then," cried he, with a swagger, 
 " are there any more of you deep 'uns want to 
 stick it on? I '11 lay against ^em all round 
 for your shirts, if you haven't the ready to 
 fork out. Tickle me gently," continued he, 
 " and make me grin, and I'll take it out in 
 poultry, fat pork, and duck's eggs. Damn 
 me, Jack Eacket's not particular to a shade 
 or two !" 
 
 There was a roar of laughter following 
 this address; but immediately afterwards 
 the crowd flew right and left, being uncere- 
 moniously broken into by Meteor, who came 
 rattling along at a dangerous pace, with his
 
 288 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 head bent to his chest, and his master pull- 
 ing ineffectually upon the reins. 
 
 " Hilloa, Mister Horse-beans!" hallooed 
 Jack, skipping nimbly on one side. " Where 
 the devil are you riding to ? " 
 
 "Gently," gasped Joe. "Gently does 
 it !" 
 
 "Gently does it!" repeated Jack, catch- 
 ing Meteor's bridle, and jerking him almost 
 upon his haunches, he brought that steed to 
 so sudden a stop, that his rider shot from 
 the saddle, clear of all impediments, and 
 alighted on the flat of his back some twenty 
 feet distant. 
 
 As upon all such occasions, the curiosity 
 of the multitude became at once roused to 
 learn the extent of the damage to the pros- 
 trate Joseph Beans, and many were the in- 
 terrogatories put to that insensible indivi- 
 dual as he laid in a similar position to a cap- 
 sized turtle. 
 
 " Are ye hurt, Joe," cried one, shaking 
 him by the collar.
 
 OUR COUNTY. 289 
 
 " Speak, lad," said another, *^ if it 's only 
 to say you 're not dead as a door-nail." 
 
 " See if his neck 's broken," added a third, 
 twisting the miller's head round in such a 
 manner as to run an imminent risk of caus- 
 ing a dislocation, if such a mournful result 
 had not already taken place. 
 
 " He 's gone," observed an hitherto silent 
 by-stander, '' as sure as my name 's Mathew 
 Dozzle. It 's all up the country with 
 him." 
 
 As if, however, to refute the premature 
 conjecture of having taken so sudden a de- 
 parture from this sublunary sphere, Joseph 
 Beans opened his eyes at this juncture, and 
 with a long drawn sigh, remarked, faintly, 
 
 " Gently does it." 
 
 " To be sure it does," said Jack Racket, 
 somewhat relieved at the observation — for 
 he began to entertain a slight vision of a 
 coroner's inquest — "to be sure it does. Take 
 him fast by the head — give him a shake — 
 in with the gafts — lift him hard — and bang 
 
 VOL. I. O
 
 290 OUB COUNTY. 
 
 you fly clean over his ears. That 's your 
 time o' day. Chink- wink 'em along." 
 
 "Assist me, neighbours, on my pins," said 
 Joe. " There," continued he, regaining his 
 feet; "the wind was only out of my sails 
 for a minute or two. I shall be all right 
 again presently." 
 
 " But what made ye ride so desperately 
 hard, Joe?" inquired farmer Stockley, 
 riding upon his pig-headed cob, Buttercup. 
 '' I didn't think there was a gallop left in 
 the old grey." 
 
 " Nor I either," replied Joe. " And that 
 was the reason he shewed me there was. Oh, 
 but he 's an artful rogue !" 
 
 " Shouldn't wonder but he 'd beat a blind- 
 'un, a lame-'un, or a bolter," remarked Jack 
 Racket, with a wink, as he surveyed Meteor's 
 points of symmetry. 
 
 " I tell ye what it is," rejoined the miller, 
 waxing warm at this caustic observation, 
 " if I could get a rider, I 'd enter him at this 
 very moment for the saddle and bridle."
 
 OUR COUNTY. 291 
 
 '' Game as a pebble !'^ shouted Jack. '* I 
 like that sort of flint and steel, and could 
 almost mount the pig-skin myself for ye. 
 But," continued he, looking at Meteor, who 
 now stood with his head between his knees, 
 and his stumpy tail let down to the lowest 
 possible degree, as if in the deepest despond- 
 ency at the accident he had caused, in the 
 pride of shewing off his powers, " he does 
 look such an awful old screw, that I can't 
 quite do that." 
 
 "If you 're serious, Joe," said farmer 
 Stockley, " I think I could find ye a jockey." 
 
 " I mean what I say," replied the miller. 
 " Get me a rider, and Meteor starts for the 
 saddle and bridle." 
 
 Within a few minutes after this declara- 
 tion. Pug arrived on farmer Stockley's Gin- 
 ger, and slipping from the saddle with an 
 eel-like motion, announced himself as a can- 
 didate for the honour of riding Meteor in the 
 forthcoming race. 
 
 " Off with your coat, lad," said Joe, " and 
 
 2
 
 292 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 tie this handkerchief round your head," con- 
 tinued he, offering one from his hat. " If 
 you don't win, you can do more — ^you can 
 deserve to win." 
 
 " Bra-vo / " shouted a solitary voice ; 
 " that 's a sentiment for the pulpit !" 
 
 With electrical speed it became circulated 
 that the miller's horse was to start for the 
 great prize of the day, and many were the 
 gibes and jeers at the supposed absurdity of 
 entering Meteor for such an important stake. 
 
 Even Dame Stockley, as she was slowly 
 dragged about the course in the object of 
 Miss Sally Beans's envy — the antique chaise, 
 could not refrain from expressing her aston- 
 ishment at Joe's presumption. It should 
 here be stated, as a fair sample of her hus- 
 band's exemplary consideration, that inas- 
 much as Ginger was deemed too fiery and 
 uncertain for the excitement of a race-course, 
 he had a patient horse taken from the team, 
 and placed both it and the most trustworthy 
 of his servants to be her charioteer. For not
 
 OUR COUNTY. 293 
 
 to ride Buttercup at Tare Down Races, 
 would, indeed, have infringed a custom of 
 long standing with the farmer. 
 
 " I really am surprised," observed the 
 dame, upon receiving the information from 
 her husband, "that Mister Beans should 
 make himself so silly. I always took him 
 for such a sensible man." 
 
 " Oh !" returned the farmer, " it only adds 
 to the sport. He wouldn't have thought of 
 such a thing," continued he, " had not that 
 Mister Racket made his temper rise by run- 
 ning his horse down ; and we all know how 
 uncommonly sweet Joe is on Meteor." 
 
 And now all became bustle and expecta- 
 tion. 
 
 The field of horses, mounted by their res- 
 pective riders, paraded slowly up the course 
 towards the starting post, and varied were 
 the opinions expressed concerning the pro- 
 bable results of their performances, now on 
 the eve of being tested. 
 
 Bullet, the butcher's runaway black cob.
 
 294 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 was in high estimation, and might be consi- 
 dered the leading favourite. Then came 
 Brandyball, the blacksmith's galloway, and 
 a clean-limbed, high-conditioned animal he 
 looked, as his bright chesnut-coat shone like 
 shot-silk in the sun, and the froth flew from 
 his champed bit in the fever of the coming 
 contest. Spinning Jenny, too, the wheel- 
 wright's vaunted mare, met with many ad- 
 mirers ; and as the new apprentice, dressed 
 in a conspicuous yellow calico jacket and 
 black cap, bestrode her in all the conscious 
 pride of elevated distinction, countless were 
 the expressions of approval at the dazzling 
 sight presented to view. 
 
 But if these and other candidates for pub- 
 lic favour, received a share of popularity, 
 great was the opposite when Pug and Me- 
 teor made their appearance. With almost 
 stoical indifference, however. Pug received 
 the shafts of ridicule levelled in perfect show- 
 ers upon his devoted head ; and exhibiting 
 his double row of white teeth, in a grin be-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 295 
 
 tween mischief and good nature, he paced 
 leisurely in the rear of his antagonists. 
 
 " Now, you jockeys," said Jack Racket, 
 taking upon himself the offices of starter, 
 judge, clerk of the course, steward, and all 
 others, if any there were; "now, you jock- 
 eys," repeated he, " mind what I 'm going to 
 say. Ride fair, and oil your screws well. 
 I want to see what such a field of flyers can 
 do, and mean to time ye to a second. None o' 
 your creeping ! Start at score — make play 
 and spur as if the devil were behind ye." 
 
 "Ha, ha, ha!" laughed Pug. 
 
 " Yes, yes !" cried he, at the pitch of his 
 voice. " Ride as if the devil were behind ye ! " 
 
 Not one would have confessed it ; but 
 many felt a slight shudder at these words, 
 and the wheelwright's apprentice, in the 
 yellow calico jacket, had, some difficulty in 
 keeping his teeth from chattering. 
 
 " Come, you sir — you Pug," rejoined Jack 
 Racket, measuring the offender from heel 
 to head, " what do you mean by repeating
 
 296 OUE COUNTY. 
 
 a gent's words in that style — eh ? I 'm 
 amazingly disposed to shew how a screw 
 should be oiled, by putting this whip about 
 your withers and flank." 
 
 " Beg your pardon, Squire Racket," re- 
 turned Pug, lifting his finger to his forehead, 
 '' beg your pardon, squire." 
 
 The " squire " was a piece of well-timed 
 flattery on Pug's part, and produced the de- 
 sired effect of at once dispelling the cloud of 
 anger lowering Jack Racket's brow. 
 
 Like arrows drawn to their heads, the 
 horses stood in an even file, ready to spring 
 to the start. 
 
 " Go !" hallooed Jack Racket, dropping a 
 red handkerchief, tied to the butt-end of his 
 whip by way of a signal. 
 
 " They 're off!" shouted a hundred voices. 
 " They 're off — they 're off!" was echoed far 
 and wide. 
 
 Like a flock of scattered pigeons, the lot 
 swept off together, Bullet with a slight lead, 
 cutting out the work. With a rush, the
 
 OUR COUNTY. 297 
 
 whole made the first half-mile turn ; and, to 
 the astonishment of all, Meteor lay side by 
 side with Brandyball. It was marvellous, 
 and so everybody said. But then Pug be- 
 strode him, and what secret power might not 
 be employed to give wondrous speed to any- 
 thing he rode? So many questioned within 
 themselves, and as many answered, that a 
 birch broom, perhaps, would have been 
 gifted with the same extraordinary pace as 
 the flea-bitten grey. 
 
 Up the chalk rise they went, with almost 
 equal vantage; and then,' as the top was 
 gained, Spinning Jenny rushed to the front, 
 leaving her competitors some dozen lengths 
 behind. 
 
 The wheelwright's heart swelled proudly 
 
 in his breast, and the sharer of his toils and 
 
 pleasures, together with nine little spokes of 
 
 his family — straining their eyes from a 
 
 bough -covered waggon, commanding an 
 
 eminence — joined in a unanimous shout of 
 
 triumph, as their ardent and most san- 
 
 o3
 
 298 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 guine hopes seemed on the point of being 
 reahzed. 
 
 " She '11 beat 'em to a stand still !" cried 
 the owner of Spinning Jenny, throwing up 
 his hat. " She '11 beat 'em into fits !" 
 
 It was a premature boast, however. For 
 in long, lurching strides, Meteor gradually 
 drew upon the leading horses, and passing 
 one by one, placed himself on a level with 
 Spinning Jenny. 
 
 Now came the tug of war. Shouts rent 
 the air as the yellow calico jacket " set to" 
 with a will, making his whip crack loudly 
 round the sleek Jenny's flank, and his spurs 
 to prick fast and deeply into her sides. Not 
 a yard — not an inch — could he gain. With- 
 out the perceptible movement of a limb or 
 muscle, Pug sat with his hands close to the 
 pummel of his saddle, watching the efforts of 
 his opponent, and shewing the most back- 
 ward tooth in his grinning jaws. Side by 
 side, head to head, and nose to nose, the two 
 ran in their stretched gallop as if moved by
 
 OUR COUNTY. 299 
 
 the same power. Again, and again, whip and 
 spur were applied by Jenny's ruthless rider. 
 
 "Give it her!" hallooed the wheelwright, 
 in a dry, husky voice. " Wake her up, 
 Jacob." 
 
 " Wake her up, Jacob," repeated Pug, 
 with a roar of laughter, and then giving his 
 reins a slight shake. Meteor went a full length 
 in advance, passing the winning-post with 
 greater ease than any preceding winner for 
 the noble prize of the saddle and bridle at 
 Tare Down races. 
 
 As may readily be imagined, Meteor's 
 marvellous achievement caused an excitement 
 which may be said to have been of the wildest 
 and fiercest description. A large number of 
 sceptics doubted the truth revealed by their 
 own eyes, and many considered it a kind of 
 dream or illusion, from which they fully ex- 
 pected to awake in due course of time. Some 
 of course, attributed the result to superna- 
 tural agency ; and among the most prominent 
 supporters of this creed, were the wheel-
 
 300 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 Wright and his discomfited and afflicted 
 family, 
 
 *' It 's all o' that son of the dark one's 
 doing," sobbed the better half. " I wish he 
 was " 
 
 "At your service, ma'am, no doubt," added 
 a voice. 
 
 The wheelwright's better half felt a power- 
 ful inclination to drop on her knees and offer 
 up a little prayer, as upon turning her head 
 she met Pug's twinkling eyes. Greatly to 
 her relief, however, he was soon out of sight 
 in the throng which pressed around him; 
 but some time elapsed ere she could regain 
 an approach to her usual composure. 
 
 It would be more advisable, perhaps, not 
 to make any attempt to narrate the details 
 of Joe Beans's extravagant delight at the 
 success of his favourite. He felt and acted 
 the very madness of enthusiasm — hugging 
 Meteor round the neck — wringing Pug's 
 hands, and swearing he should share his real 
 and personal property, henceforth and for
 
 OUR COUNTY. 301 
 
 ever, with bed and board, and nothing to 
 do. 
 
 " That 's afamous situation, Mister Beans," 
 replied Pug, "and would suit me exactly. 
 Keep it open, sir, for a day or two, and should 
 the offer be then repeated, I think it more 
 than likely you '11 find me ready to go into 
 your service." 
 
 "All r-r-r-right !" cried Jack Racket, push- 
 ing his way through the crowd collected 
 about Meteor, his owner, and rider. " All 
 r-r-r-right !" repeated he. " Picked up the 
 crumbs. Cleaned 'em out. Not a sixpence 
 against the good old screw. 'Gainst the rest 
 all round though. That 's your time o' day ! 
 Chink- wink 'em along." 
 
 " Where's my saddle and bridle?" inquired 
 Joe, caring nothing about the winners and 
 losers. 
 
 "Here they are, Joe," replied Farmer 
 Stockley, for he particularly requested to be 
 allowed to present them to his friend. " Here 
 they are, Joe Beans, and never yet did my
 
 302 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 eyes look so sweetly upon such a saddle and 
 bridle." 
 
 " They are treasures, neighbour, a'nt 
 they?" returned the miller. " I shall look 
 at them as long as I live," continued he, 
 " with a freshness which none, perhaps, can 
 understand but myself. No matter — that 's 
 my business." 
 
 After Meteor had recovered his spent 
 Avind and strength, his coat been wisped dry, 
 and all other attentions paid to his comfort 
 and restoration, the trophies of his conquest 
 were placed upon him, and Joe Beans 
 mounted in all the plenitude of gratified 
 ambition. The distinction and blushing 
 honours, however, which were thus thrust 
 upon Meteor, were borne by that gallant 
 animal most meekly, and he carried his mas- 
 ter among his friends and acquaintances to 
 receive their congratulations, with a bearing 
 conspicuous only for its extreme modesty. 
 
 Excuses might be found to palliate, at 
 least, the frequent glasses which Joe Beans
 
 OUR COUNTY. 303 
 
 raised to his lips, and quaffed to the earnest 
 solicitations he received from every point, 
 far and wide; but it is enough merely to 
 record the simple fact, that by the hour 
 Tare Down races were brought to a close — 
 and none other proved of the slighest interest 
 after the great contest — the miller began to 
 play a game at single-handed see-saw on his 
 new saddle. 
 
 " Some folks," said Joe, in a spluttering 
 kind of voice, '^ would make out I was a lee- 
 tle the worse for liquor. Now, what I mean 
 to say is, I 'm all the better for it." 
 
 Meteor shook his head, and snorted a de- 
 cided negative. 
 
 "Oh !" ejaculated his master, "that 's your 
 opinion, is it ? Well, we won't split straws, 
 my flying phe-nole-mol. No," continued 
 he, gravely shaking his head ; " that 's 
 not quite it. Phe-non-emol — phe — phe-nom- 
 enol. It 's very near; but not exactly the 
 thing. No matter, we '11 skip over that dif- 
 ficulty, and get home as fast as we can."
 
 304 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 This resolve appeared to agree with Me- 
 teor's ideas concerning the expediency of the 
 measure, and breaking into an easy amble, 
 he carefully carried his owner from the scene 
 of their mutual triumph. 
 
 The dusky shadows of the approaching 
 night were falling around, as the high-met- 
 tled grey quitted the boundary of the heath, 
 and clattered along a bye-road in the well- 
 known direction of the Duck and Gridiron. 
 
 Between a thick, foggy wakefulness, and 
 a blinking doze, the miller held as uncertain 
 a seat, with as confused a brain as ever man 
 possessed. Now he felt assured that he rode 
 Meteor down Featherbed Lane, and — save 
 that he seemed to possess four ears and two 
 heads — so far, all was right. Then he was 
 on a horse with wings, cleaving mid air, 
 'tween earth and heaven. The stars dazzled 
 his eyes, and the clouds rolled beneath him. 
 Again he was in Featherbed Lane, bruising 
 his nose against Meteor's neck, and his arms 
 twined round it. In the endeavour to re-
 
 OUR COUNTY. 305 
 
 gain the saddle, he slipped behind the cantel, 
 and gradually sliding down Meteor^s goosed 
 quarters, launched himself into a sitting po- 
 sition on the ground. 
 
 ** Ha, ha, ha !" roared a voice from an un- 
 seen quarter ; " ha, ha, ha !" 
 
 " Come, I say, sir," returned Joe, gazing 
 about him. *' What sort of a Chrish — tian do 
 you call yourself, I should like to know, to 
 laugh at the misfortunes of humanity in that 
 unfeeling — I may say heartless manner? '* 
 
 *' Ha, ha, ha !" laughed the unseen offen- 
 der. " Ha, ha, ha r 
 
 You must expect " — a sound like a hiccup 
 interrupted the observation — "you must 
 expect," continued Joe, still occupying the 
 cool ground for his seat, while Meteor made 
 the most of the time by cropping the dewy 
 herbage at his feet, " to meet with heavy 
 afflictions, sir, if you make light of the sor- 
 rows o' your fellow bein's in this heathenish 
 style." 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha !" again saluted the miller's 
 ears. " Ha, ha, ha !"
 
 306 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 . " You '11 be taken up'ards in a whirlwind," 
 resumed Joe, "or be pounded as fine as 
 flour by a thunder-bolt, if ye don't mend 
 your manners ; take my word for it." 
 
 Even this direful threat produced no 
 amendment ; for the laugh was repeated 
 both longer and louder than before, and it 
 sounded unearthly hollow as it echoed o'er 
 hill and dale. 
 
 With a feeling akin to dread, Joseph 
 Beans staggered to his feet, and a coldness 
 crept through his veins, as he clutched the 
 dangling reins of his horse, and essayed his 
 best to climb rapidly into the saddle. Not 
 venturing a glance behind, from whence the 
 ill-timed mirth proceeded, the miller plunged 
 desperately on Meteor's back and started at 
 a good round gallop. It might be the 
 effect of mere vagaries of his heated ima- 
 gination — and Joe Beans fervently hoped 
 and inwardly prayed that such might be the 
 case — but unless his ears most unaccount- 
 ably deceived him, a horse's heavy tread was 
 thundering in his rear, and every now and
 
 OUR COUNTY. 307 
 
 then a " Ha, ha, ha," came with shuddering 
 influence on his nervous system. 
 
 On rode the miller — fast, and faster yet. 
 Fear gave him strength to cling with des- 
 perate energy to his seat, and he urged Me- 
 teor forward at the full bent of his speed. 
 A mile was gained, and now another, and 
 yet the mysterious clattering of feet and the 
 hateful laugh, continued to make his flesh 
 creep and crawl, and his blood to stagnate 
 in its course. 
 
 With what joy he heard the clink of the 
 anvil at a neighbouring forge. The puffiing 
 of the huge bellows was now distinct, and 
 a shower of sparks flew upwards through 
 the vomiting jaws of the chimney. A lurid 
 glare cast itself for many square yards from 
 the bright and roaring furnace within the 
 smithy, and as Joe Beans pulled up at the 
 entrance, he felt the cheering influence of 
 the scene in the restoration of some of his 
 composure and confidence. 
 
 " Ah! " ejaculated the blacksmith, drop- 
 ping his massive hammer, and coming to the
 
 808 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 door : " Is that you Mister Beans. Glad to 
 hear, sir, of your luck to day." 
 
 " Thank ye kindly," replied Joe, at a loss 
 for breath, and glancing furtively behind him. 
 "Thank ye kindly, neighbour. Did you 
 chance," continued he, " to hear me coming 
 along?" 
 
 " Oh, yes," rejoined the smith, " I heard 
 a horse at a stretch gallop ; but didn't know 
 it was you, sir." 
 
 " You didn't "—Joe hesitated—" You 
 didn't make out two horses at a stretch 
 gallop, neighbour, did ye?" 
 
 "No," returned the blacksmith, slowly 
 scratching the back part of his head by way 
 of refreshing his memory. " I think not. 
 Mister Beans — I think not, sir." 
 
 At this moment Meteor in his impatience 
 to proceed to his stable, moved three or four 
 yards in advance, and as he did so, a corres- 
 ponding tread was heard behind. 
 
 " There," exclaimed Joe, quickly. " Did 
 you hear that? " 
 
 " Why no ! " replied the blacksmith, again
 
 OUR COUNTY. 309 
 
 referring to his cerebellum with a fore fin- 
 ger. " I didn't hear anything par-tickler, 
 Mister Beans." 
 
 " Humph !" rejoined the miller, peering 
 into the darkness which appeared the thicker 
 and more impenetrable from the glare of light 
 streaming from the smithy. " I thought I 
 heard the footfall of a horse not far off." 
 
 " Don't think you did, sir," returned the 
 blacksmith, shading his eyes as he followed 
 the direction of Joe's searching gaze. 
 
 " How far can you see? " inquired he. 
 
 " It may be a quarter of a mile," said the 
 blacksmith, " little more, or something less." 
 
 " And you don't see any one or anything?" 
 asked the miller. 
 
 *' Not any one, nor anything," replied the 
 blacksmith, and perhaps from a feeling of 
 repletion at the colloquy, he added, " Good 
 night. Mister Beans," and returning to the 
 forge, he wielded the sledge-hammer above 
 his head, and resumed his labours. 
 
 In a gentle walk, Joe quitted the smithy, 
 and with a hand pressed upon his aching tern-
 
 310 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 pies, he turned a watchful ear to the road he 
 left behind, and notwithstanding his earnest 
 inclination to think he was labouring under 
 a mistake, or some hideous nightmare, he 
 could arrive at no other conclusion than his 
 steps were being dogged in a most mysterious 
 manner. The extraordinary events of the 
 day, too, flashed vividly across his mind. 
 His unpremeditated entering of Meteor, and 
 winning the great stake of the Tare Down 
 Meeting. Pug's riding— the miller's teeth 
 jarred together at the thought ; and scarcely 
 conscious of the act, he kicked Meteor's 
 sides roughly, and again the flea-bitten grey 
 broke into a gallop. 
 
 There could be no error now. As clear 
 to his senses as the light to his vision at 
 broad noon, there was a pursuer in his track. 
 Stride for stride — now slower, now faster — 
 but always in accordance with Meteor's 
 pace, and keeping as close a resemblance to 
 it, as an echo to a sound, the chase con- 
 tinued without check, let, or stop. 
 
 It was an awful ordeal for poor Joe Beans,
 
 OUR COUNTY. 311 
 
 and with a frantic determination to render 
 it as brief as possible, he urged his horse to 
 his best pace, and even then, with word, 
 hand, and heel, pressed him on still faster. 
 Past cottage, barn, and stack — splashing 
 through the water-course rippling across the 
 road — and by the Duck and Gridiron, the 
 miller wildly rode. His name was called, 
 but he heeded not. Close, and closer yet, the 
 hated sounds approached. Now they were 
 upon Meteor's haunches. A snorting horse, 
 side by side with his, was at his elbow. He 
 turned his head for one dreaded glance. 
 Horror ! he saw he knew not what — but fire 
 flew from something as he looked. Joe closed 
 his eyes. 
 
 " Ha, ha, ha !" again mocked his misery. 
 " Ha, ha, ha !" again loaded the very air, 
 and was carried on the pinions of the wind 
 an honest league. 
 
 He neither saw nor heard more. Waking 
 as if from a trance, he found himself in the 
 tender mercies of Sally Beans, who was oc- 
 cupied in singing his nostrils with a bunch
 
 312 OUR COUNTY. 
 
 of burning feathers. From his brow, some- 
 thing trickled from a piece of soaked brown 
 paper, and, entering the chinks and crevices 
 of his eyeUds, caused them to smart with 
 acute anguish, as if the liquid — whatever it 
 was — might have been taken from a jar of 
 pickled peppercorns. 
 
 " Where am I ? " gasped Joe, looking va- 
 cantly round ; " where am I ? " 
 
 "Where are you?" repeated the maiden, 
 bitterly, as she pushed the bunch of scorched 
 feathers close to his nose. " Ah ! where you 
 ought to have been for hours past, sir, in 
 the bosom of your family. Instead of which, 
 Mister Beans, you go making yourself the 
 talk of the country round, by getting 
 very " 
 
 At this juncture, Joe's eyes fell upon 
 Pug's features, broadly grinning through 
 the partly opened door, and he instantly 
 suffered a relapse. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 Myebs & Co., Printers, 37, King Street, Covent Garden.
 
 NEW WORKS 
 
 In miscellaneous and GENERAL LITERATURE, 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 Messrs. LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, and LONGMANS, 
 
 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 
 
 CLASSIFIED INDEX 
 AGRICULTURE «c RURAL AFFAIRS. 
 
 Pages 
 
 Bayldon on ValuineRents, etc. - - 6 
 
 Crocker's Land Surveying - - - 9 
 
 Johnson's Farmer's Encyclopaedia - - 16 
 
 Loudon's Encvclopaedia'of Agriculture - 19 
 
 ,, Self-Instruction for Farmers, etc. 18 
 
 ,, (Mrs.) Lady'sCountry Companion J8 
 
 Low's Elements of Agriculture - - 19 
 
 ,, On Landed Property - - - 19 
 
 ,, On the Domesticated Animals - 19 
 
 Thomson on Fattening Cattle, etc. - 30 
 
 ARTS, MANUFACTURES, AND 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 Ball on the Manufacture of Tea • - 5 
 
 Bourne's Catechism of the Steam Engine 7 
 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, etc. - 7 
 
 Budge's Miner's Guide - - ■ 7 
 
 Cresy's Encycl. of Civil Engineering - 9 
 
 D'.^gi^collrt■s History of Art - - - 24 
 
 Dresden Gallery ----- 9 
 
 Eastlake on Oil Painting - - . 10 
 
 Evans's Sugar Planter's Manual - - 10 
 
 FergTisson on Beuutv in the .-^rts - - 11 
 
 Gwilt's Encvclopcedia of Architecture - 12 
 
 Havdon's Lectures on Painting & Design 12 
 
 Holland's Manufactures in Metal - - 1/ 
 
 Humphreys' Illuminated Books - - 1.5 
 
 Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art - 15 
 
 Loudon's Rural Architecture - - - 19 
 
 Moseley's Engineering and Architecture 23 
 
 Porter's Manufacture of Silk - - - 17 
 
 ., ,, Porcelain & Glass 17 
 
 Scoffem on Sugar Manufacture - - 27 
 
 Steam Engine (The) , by the Artisan Club 5 
 
 Twining on Painting - - - - 31 
 
 Ure'B Dictionary of Arts, etc. - - 31 
 
 BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Bell's Lives of the British Poets - - 17 
 
 Collins's Life of Collins . . - - 8 
 
 Dunham's Pearly Writers of Britain - 17 
 
 ,, Lives of the British Dramatists 17 
 
 Forster'sStatesmenoftheCommonwealth 17 
 
 Foss's Judges of England - - - 11 
 
 Gleig's British Military Commanders - 17 
 
 Grant (Mrs.) Memoir and Correspondence 11 
 
 Head's Memoirs of Cardinal Pacca - 13 
 
 Humphreys's Black Prince - - - 14 
 
 James's Eminent Foreign Statesmen • 17 
 
 Kindersley's De Bayard - - • . 16 
 
 Leslie's Life of Constable - - - 18 
 Maunder's BiographicalTreasurr - -22 
 
 Roscoe's Lives ofEminent Britisn Lawyers 17 
 
 Russell's Bedford Correspondence 6 
 
 Shelley'sLiterary Men of Ital^, etc. - 17 
 
 ,, Eminent French Writers • 17 
 
 Sonthey's Lives of the British Admirals - 17 
 
 „ Life of Wesley - - - - 29 
 
 Pages 
 Southey's Life and Correspondence - 29 
 Stephen's Ecclesiastical Biography - 29 
 
 Taylor's Loyola ----- 30 
 
 Townsend's Twelve eminent Judges • 31 
 Waterton's Autobiography and Essays - 33 
 
 BOOKS OF GENERAL UTILITY. 
 5 
 6 
 
 7 
 17 
 11 
 13 
 14 
 14 
 IS 
 18 
 
 Acton's (Eliza) Cookery Book 
 Black's "Treatise on Brewing . - - 
 Cabinet Lawyer (The) - - - - 
 Donovan's Domestic Economy 
 Foster's Hand book of Literature - 
 Hints on Etiquette . - - - 
 Hudson's Executor's Guide - - - 
 
 „ On Making Wills 
 London's Self Instruction 
 
 ,, (Mrs.) Amateur Gardener 
 Maunder'sTreasury of Knowledge • 
 
 ,, Scientificand Literary Treasury 
 
 ,, Treasury of History 
 
 ,, Biographical Treasury - 
 
 ,, Natural History - . - 
 
 Parkes's Domestic Duties ... 
 
 Pocket and the Stud _ - . - 
 
 Pycroft's Course of English Reading 
 
 ,, Collegian's Guide ... 
 Reader's Time Tables . - - . 
 Recce's Medical Guide - . - - 
 Rich's Companion to the Latin Dictionary 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries and Lexicon 
 Robinson's Art of Curing, Pickling, etc. 
 
 ,, Art of Making British Wines, 
 
 Rowton's Debater . - - - - 
 
 Short Whist 
 
 Stud (The) for Practical Purposes 
 Thomson's Management of Sick Room - 
 
 ,, Interest Tables 
 
 Webster's Encycl. of Domestic Economy 
 
 BOTANY AND GARDENING. 
 
 Ball on the Cultivation of Tea 
 Callcott's Scripture Herbal 
 Conversations on Botany 
 Evans's Sugar Planter's Manual 
 Henslow's Botany . - - . 
 Hoare On the Grape Vine on Open Walls 
 
 ,, On the Roots of Vines - 
 Hooker's British Flora . . - 
 
 ,, Guide to Kew Gardens 
 Llndley's Theory of Hortictilture 
 ,, Introduction to Botany - 
 ,, Synopsis of British Flora • 
 Loudon's Hortus BritannicuE - 
 
 ,, Hortus Lignosus Londinensis 
 ,, Encyclopedia of Trees & Shrubs 
 ,, ,, Gardening 
 
 „ Encyclopsdia of Plants - 
 ,, Self-Instruction for Gardeners 
 ,, (Mr.) Amateur Gardener - 
 Rivers's Rose Amateur's Guide 
 Rogers's Vegetable Cultivator - 
 Schleiden's Botany, by Lankester - 
 
 =*r 
 
 London: Printed by M. Masow, Ivy Lane, Paternoster Row.
 
 Pages 
 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 Allen on the Rise of the Royal Prero- 
 gative, etc. --"'"$ 
 Blair's ChronologicalTables . - - 6 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt - - - 7 
 Nicolas's Chronology of History - - 1/ 
 
 COMMERCE AND MERCANTILE 
 AFFAIRS. 
 
 Banfield and Weld's Statistics 
 
 Gilbart's Treatise on Banking - - 1 
 
 Gray's Tables of Life Contingencies - 1 
 
 Lorimer's Letters to a Master Mariner - 1 
 
 M'CuUoch's Uictionary of Commerce - S 
 
 Reader's Time Tables - - - - 2 
 
 Steel's Shipmaster's Assistant - - - 2 
 
 Thomson's Tables of Interest - . - S 
 
 VValford's Customs' Laws - - - 3 
 
 GEOGRAPHY AND ATLASES. 
 
 Butler's Ancient and Modern Geography 
 
 ,, Atlas of General Geography 
 De Strzelecki's New South Wales - 
 Erman's Travels through Siberia - - 
 Forster's Historical Geography of Arabia 
 Hall's Large Library Atlas 
 
 ,, Railway Map of England 
 Johnston's General Gazetteer 
 M'CuUoch's Geographical Dictionary 
 Mitchell's Australian Expedition - 
 Murray's Encyclopedia of Geography 
 
 HISTORY AND CRITICISM. 
 
 Bell's History of Russia . - - - 
 Blair's Chron. and Historical Tables 
 Bloomfield's Edition of Thucydides 
 Bunsen's Ancient Egypt - - - 
 
 (load's Memorandum . . . - 
 Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul - 
 Cooley's Maritime and Inland Uiscorery 
 Crowe's History of France 
 De Sismoudi's Fall of the Roman Empire 
 
 ,, Italian Republics 
 
 Dunham's History of Spain and Portugal 
 ,, Europein the Middle Ages 
 ,, History of the German Empire 
 ,, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway 
 ,, History of Poland . • - 
 Dunlop's History of Fiction 
 Eastlake's History of Oil Painting 
 Eccleston's English Antiquities 
 Foss's Judges of England ... 
 
 Foster's European Literature - - - 
 Fergus's United States of America 
 Gibbon's Roman Empire . - - - 
 Grant (Mrs.) Memoir andCorespoudence 
 Grattan's History of Netherlands • 
 Harrison On the English Language 
 
 Haydon's Lectures on Pain ting and Design 12 
 Head's Memoirs of Cardinal Pacca - - 13 
 Humphreys's Black Prince - - - 14 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions - - 15 
 Keightley's Outlines of History - - 17 
 Kemble's Anglo-Saxons in England - 16 
 Macaulay's Essays ----- 20 
 „ History of England - - 19 
 Mackintosh's History of England - 17 
 ,, Miscellaneous Works . 20 
 M'CuUoch's Dictionary, Historical, Geo- 
 graphical, and Statistical - - 20 
 Maunder's Treasury of History - - 21 
 Merivale's History of Rome - - - 22 
 Milner's Church History - - - 22 
 Moore's History of Ireland - . - 17 
 Moaheim's Ecclesiastical History - - 23 
 Mure's Ancient Greece • - - 23 
 
 Nicolas's Chronology of History 
 
 Passages from Modern History - - ^ 
 
 Ranke's History of the Reformation - 20 
 
 Rich's Companion to the Latin Dictionary 26 
 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries - T „ " ?" 
 
 Rogers's Essays from the Edinburgh Rev. 26 
 
 Rome. History of - - ■ * ' ^Z 
 
 Russell's Bedford Correspondence - 6 
 
 Scott's History of Scotland - - ' }J 
 
 Smith's (S.) Lectures on Moral Philosophy 28 
 
 Southey's Doctor, etc. - - - - 29 
 
 Stebbing's History of the Christian Church I 
 
 Church History 
 
 Stephen's Essays . . - - 
 
 Switzerland, History of - - • 
 
 Sydney Smith's Works - - - 
 
 Taylor's Loyola . - - - 
 Thirhvall's History of Greece - 
 Tooke's Histories of Prices 
 
 Townsend's State Trials . . - 
 
 Twining's Philosophy of Painting - 
 
 Zumpt's Latin Grammar - - - 
 
 JUVENILE BOOKS. 
 
 Amy Herbert 27 
 
 Earl's Daughter (The) - - - - 27 
 
 Gertrude 27 
 
 Gower's Scientific Phenomena - - 11 
 
 Howitt's Boy's Country Book - - - 14 
 
 „ Children's Year - - - 13 
 
 Laneton Parsonage ----- 27 
 
 Mrs. Marcet's Conversations - - 20,21 
 
 Margaret Percival ----- 27 
 
 Marryat's Masterman Ready - - -21 
 
 ,, Privateer's-Mau - - - 21 
 
 ,, Settlers in Canada - - 21 
 
 ,, Mission; or, Scenes in Africa 21 
 
 Osborne's Oceanus - - - - 24 
 
 Passages from Modern History - - 28 
 
 Pycroft's Course of English Reading - 25 
 
 Twelve Years Ago : a Tale . - - 31 
 
 MEDICINE. 
 
 Bull's Hints to Mothers - • • 7 
 
 „ Management of Children - • 7 
 
 Copland's Dictionary of Medicine - • 8 
 
 EUiotson's Human Physiology - - 10 
 
 Latham On Diseases of the Heart • - 16 
 
 Moore On Health, Disease, and Remedy 22 
 
 Pereira On Food and Diet - - - 25 
 
 Reece's Medical Guide - • • • 26 
 
 Thomson On Food - - - - - 80 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Allen on Royal Prerogative - - - 6 
 
 Blakey's Philosophy of Mind • - - 6 
 
 Coad's Memorandum - - . - 8 
 
 Colton's Lacon - - - - - - 8 
 
 De Morgan On Probabilities - - - 17 
 
 De Strzelecki's New South Wales - - 9 
 
 Dresden Gallery ----- 9 
 
 Dunlop's History of Fiction • - - 10 
 
 Gower's Scientific Phenomena - - 11 
 
 Graham's English - - « . 11 
 
 Grant's Letters from the Mountains - 11 
 
 Hooker's Kew Guide - - - - 13 
 
 Howitt's Rural Life of England - - 14 
 
 ,, Visits to Remarkable Places - 14 
 
 ,, RuralandSocialLifeof Germany 14 
 
 Jeffrey's (Lord) Contributions - - 15 
 
 Kay on Education, etc. in Europe - - 16 
 Loudon's (Mrs.) Lady's Country Companion 18 
 
 Macaulay's Critical and Historical Essays 20 
 Mackintosh's (Sir J.) Miscellaneous Works 20 
 
 Maltland's Church in the Catacombs - 20 
 
 Necker DeSaussure's on Education - 23
 
 TO Messrs. LONGMAN and Co.'s CATALOGUE. 
 
 Pages 
 
 - 25 
 
 - 25 
 
 - 25 
 
 Pascal's Miscellaneous Writing* - 
 
 „ Provincial Letters 
 Plunkett On the Navy - - - 
 
 Pycroft'B Collegian's Guide - - - I'o 
 
 ,, Course of English Reading - 25 
 
 Rich's Compauion to the Latin Dictionary 26 
 
 Richter's Levana - • • - - 26 
 
 Riddle's Latin Dictionaries and Lexicon 26 
 
 Rowton's Debater ----- 26 
 
 Sandford's Paroehialia - - - - 2/ 
 
 Seaward's Narrative of his Shipwreck - 27 
 
 Sir Roifer De Coverley - - - 28 
 
 Southey's Common-Place Book • - 29 
 
 „ Doctor, etc. - - - - 29 
 
 Stow's Training Svstem - - - - 30 
 
 Sydney Smith's \Vorks - - • 28 
 
 Thomson on Food of Animals, etc. - - 30 
 
 Townsend's State Trials - - - - 31 
 
 Walker's Chess Studies - - - - 32 
 
 Willoughby's (Lady) Diary - - - 32 
 
 Zumpt's Latin Grammar - - - - 32 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY IN GENERAL. 
 
 Callow's Popular Concholo^ - - • 7 
 
 Doubleday's Butterdies and Moths - 9 
 
 Kphemera and Young on the Salmon - 10 
 
 Gray and Mitchell's Oruitholog)' - - 12 
 
 Kirby and Speuce's Entomology - - 16 
 
 Lee's Taxidermy 18 
 
 ,, Elements'of Natural History - - 18 
 
 Maunder's Treasury of Natural History 21 
 
 Stephens' British Beetles - . - 29 
 
 Swainson on the Study of Natural History 17 
 
 ,, Animals - - - - 17 
 
 ,, Quadrupeds . - . - 17 
 
 ,, Birds 17 
 
 ,, Animals in Menageries - 17 
 
 ,, Fish, Amphibia, and Reptiles 17 
 
 ,, Insects - - - - 17 
 
 ,, Malacology - - - • 17 
 
 ,, Habits anil Instincts - - 17 
 
 ,, Taxidermy - - - - 17 
 
 Turton's Shells of the British Islands - 31 
 
 Waterton's Essays on Natural History - 32 
 
 Westwood's Classification of Insects - 32 
 
 Youatt's The Dog 32 
 
 The Horse - - . . 32 
 
 NOVELS AND WORKS OF FICTION^ | 
 
 Pages 
 
 Loudon's, of Agriculture - - - - 19 
 
 ,, of Plants - - ... 19 
 
 ,, of Rural Architecture . - 19 
 
 M'CuUoch's Geographical Dictionary - 20 
 
 Dictionary of Commerce 
 
 Dunlop's History of Fiction . - - 10 
 
 E6tvos' Village Notary - - - - 10 
 
 Hall's Midsummer Eve - - - 12 
 
 Lady Willoughby's Diary - - - 32 
 
 Landor's Fountain of Arethusa - - 16 
 
 Madame De Malguet - - - - 20 
 
 Marryat'g Masterman Ready - - - 21 
 
 ,, Privateer's-Man - - - 21 
 
 „ Settlers in Canada - - - 21 
 
 ,, Mission ; or. Scenes in Africa - 21 
 
 Sinclair's Sir Edward Graham - - - 27 
 
 Sir Roger de Coverley - - - - 28 
 
 Southev's Doctor, etc. - - - • 29 
 
 Twelve Years Ago : a Tale ... 31 
 
 ONE VOLUME ENCYCLOP>EDIAS 
 AND DICTIONARIES. 
 
 Blalne'n, of Rural Sports - . . - fi 
 
 Brande'K, of Science, Literature, and Art 7 
 
 Copland's, of Medicine . - . - 8 
 
 Cresy'g, of Civil Kngiueering - - - 9 
 
 Gwilt's, of Architecture - - - - 12 
 
 Johnson's Farmer .... - 16 
 
 Johnston's Geographical Dictionary - 16 
 
 Loudnn's,of Trees and Shrubs - - 19 
 
 ,, of Gardening .... 19 
 
 Murray's Encyclopacdiaof Geography 
 Ure's Arts, Manufactures, and Mines 
 Webster's Domestic Economy 
 
 POETRY AND THE DRAMA. 
 
 Aikin's (Dr.) British Poets 
 
 Flowers and their Kindred Thoughts 
 
 Fruits from the Garden and Field - 
 
 Goldsmith's Poems, illustrated 
 
 Gray's Elegy, illuminated ... 
 
 Hey's Moral of Flowers - . . - 
 
 ,, Sylvan Musings - . _ - 
 Kent's Aletheia - - . - . 
 L. E. L.'s Poetical Works 
 Linwood's Anthologia Oxoniensis • 
 Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome - 
 Mackay's Eni;lish Lakes - - - . 
 Montgomery's Poetical Works 
 Moore's Irish Melodies - - . - 
 ,, LallaRookh . . . . 
 ,, Poetical Works . . . . 
 ,, Songs and Ballads ... 
 Shakspeare, by Bowdler ... 
 
 Southey's Poetical Works . . . 
 
 ,, British Poets .... 
 Swain's English Melodies . . - 
 Taylor's Virgin Widow - _ . . 
 Thomson's Seasons, illustrated 
 
 ,, with Notes, by Dr. A. T Thomson 
 
 POLITICAL ECONOMY AND 
 STATISTICS. 
 
 Banfield and Weld's Statistics - - 5 
 
 Gilbart's Treatise on Banking - ■ - 11 
 
 Gray's Tables of Life Contingencies - 12 
 
 Kay on the SocialCondition, etc. of Europe 16 
 
 Laing's Notes of a Traveller - - - 16 
 M'CuUoch's Geographical, Statistical,and 
 
 Historical Dictionary • - - 20 
 
 M'CuUoch's Dictionary of Commerce . 20 
 
 ,, On Succession to Property • 20 
 
 „ On Taxation and Funding - 20 
 
 ,, Statistics of the British Empire 20 
 
 Marcet's Conversations on Polit. Economy 21 
 
 Tooke's Histories of Prices - - - 31 
 
 RELIGIOUS AND MORAL 
 WORKS, ETC. 
 
 Amy Herbert, edited by Rev. W. Sewell 
 Blakey on Christianity - . . - 
 Bloomfield's Greek Testament 
 
 ,, College and Schoolditto - 
 
 ,, Lexicon to Greek Testament 
 
 Book of Ruth (illuminated) 
 Burder's Oriental Customs 
 Burns's Christian Philosophy - 
 Callcott's Scripture Herbal' - 
 Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul - 
 Cook's Edition of the Acts 
 Cooper's Sermons . . - - 
 Dale's Domestic Liturgy 
 Dibdin's Sunday Library - 
 Discipline ..... 
 
 Earl's Daughter (The) ... 
 Ecclesiastes (illuminated) 
 Englishman's Hebrew Concordance 
 
 „ Greek Concordance 
 
 Etheridge's Acts and Epistles
 
 CLASSIFIED INDEX. 
 
 Pages 
 
 Forster's Historical Geofn^aphy of Arabia 11 
 
 Gertrude, edited by the Rev. \V. Sewell - 27 
 
 Hook's (Dr.) Lertures on Passion Weelt 13 
 
 Home's Introduction to the Scriptures - 13 
 
 „ Compendinra of ditto - - 13 
 
 Howson's Sunday Evening - - - 14 
 
 Jameson's Sacred and I, ejfendary Art - 15 
 
 ,, Monastic Legends - - - 15 
 
 Jebb's Translation of the Psalms - - 15 
 
 Jeremy Taylor's Works - - - - 15 
 
 Kip's Christmas in Rome - - • 16 
 
 „ Early Conaicts of Christianity - 16 
 
 Laneton Parsonage ----- 27 
 
 - 18 
 
 Letters to my Unknown Friends 
 
 ,, on Happiness 
 Maitland's Church in the Catacomb 
 
 ,, on Prophecy 
 Margaret Percival ... 
 Marriage Service (illuminated) 
 Maxims, etc. of the Saviour - 
 Milner's Church History - 
 Miracles of Our Saviour 
 Montgomery's God and Man - 
 Moore on the Power of the Soul - 
 „ on the Use of the Body 
 „ on .Man and his Motives 
 Morell's Philosophy of Reliyion 
 Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History - 
 Neale's Closinir Scene - . . 
 Newman's (3. H.) Discourses 
 Paley's Evidences, etc., by Potts - 
 Parablesof Our Lord 
 Parkes's Domestic Duties 
 Pascal's Works, by Pearce 
 Ranke's Reformation - - . 
 Sandford's Parochialia - 
 Sermon on the Mount (The) - 
 Sinclair's Journey of Life - - - 28 
 ,, Business of Life - - - 28 
 
 Sketches (The) 28 
 
 Smith's (G.) Perilous Times - - - 28 
 M Religion of Ancient Britain 28 
 
 I, Sacred Annals - - . 23 
 
 „ (J.) St. Paul's Shipwreck - - 28 
 (S.) Lectures on Moral Philosophy 28 
 
 Soaraes's Latin Church 
 Solomon's Song (illuminated) - 
 ^outhey•s Life of Wesley 
 Stebbing's Christian Church - 
 
 M Reformation - 
 Stephen's Church of Scotland 
 
 ,, (Sir J.) Essays - 
 Sydney Smith's Sermons 
 Tate's History of St. Paul 
 Tayler's (Rev. C. B.) Margaret 
 _ »'. •« Lady Mary - 
 
 Taylor's (J.) Thumb Bible - . 
 
 ,, (Isaac) Lovola 
 Tomhne s Introduction to the Bible 
 Turner's Sacred History 
 Twelve Years Ago - . 
 Walker's Elementa Litnrgica - 
 Wilberforce's View of Christianity 
 Wjlou^hby's (Lady) Diary . . 
 Wilson^sLandsof the Bible - 
 Wisdom of Johnson's Rambler, etc 
 Wonrfn«„i,', Scripture Lands - 
 
 Woodcock'i 
 
 RURAL SPORTS. 
 
 Blaine's Dictionary of Sports - . . « 
 
 tphemera on Angling - - . . jq 
 
 ,, 's Book of the Salmon - - 10 
 
 Hawker's Instructions to Sportsmen - 12 
 
 fe'eTaKe's^S'd^'*^?"'--!^"'"^'""'-?! 
 
 Practical Horsemanship ... o 
 
 Ronalda's Fly Fisher - . . * io 
 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - - -12 
 
 The Stud, for Practical Men - 
 Wheatley's Rod and Line 
 
 Pages 
 
 - 12 
 
 - 32 
 
 THE SCIENCES IN GENERAL, 
 AND MATHEMATICS. 
 
 Baker's Railway Engineering - . - 5 
 
 Bourne's Catechism of the Steam Engine 6 
 
 Brande's Dictionary of Science, etc. - 7 
 
 Brewster's Optics ----- 17 
 
 Conversations on Mineralogy - - 8 
 
 De la Beche on theGeology of Cornwall, etc. 9 
 
 Donovan's Cheraistrj; - - - - 17 
 
 Farey on the Steam Kngine - - - 11 
 
 Foshroke on the Arts of the Ancients - 17 
 
 Gower's Scientific Phenomena - - II 
 
 Herschel's Natural Philosophy - - 17 
 
 ,, Astronomy - - - - 17 
 
 „ Outlines of Astronomy - - 13 
 
 Holland's Manufactures in Metal - - 17 
 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature - - 14 
 
 ,, Cosmos - - - -14 
 
 Hunt's Researches on Light - - . 15 
 
 Kane's Chemi.stry - - - - . 16 
 
 Kater and Lardner's Mechanics - - 17 
 
 Lardner's Cabinet Cyclopaedia - - 17 
 
 ,, Hydrostatics and Pneumatics 17 
 
 ,, and Walker's Electricity - 17 
 
 ,, Arithmetic - - - - 17 
 
 ,, Geometry - - - - 1" 
 
 ,, Treatise on Heat - - - 1" 
 Marcet's Conversations - - - 20, 21 
 
 Matteucci On Physical Phenomena - 21 
 
 Memoirs of the Geological Survey - - 22 
 
 Moseley's Practical Mechanics - - 23 
 
 ,, Engineering and Architecture 23 
 
 Owen's Comparative Anatomy - - - 24 
 
 Peschel's Physics - - - - - 25 
 Phillips's PalaeozoicFossilsof Cornwall, etc. 26 
 
 ,, Mineralogy, by Prof. Miller - 25 
 
 ,, Treatise on Geology - - - 17 
 
 Portlock's Geology of Londonderry - 25 
 
 Powell's Natural Philosophy - - - 17 
 
 Schleiden's Scientific Botany • - • 27 
 
 Steam Eni^ine (Ure), by the Artisan Club 5 
 
 Thomson's School Chemistry - - 30 
 
 TRAVELS. 
 
 Baxter's Impressions of Europe 
 Borrer's Campaign in Algeria - 
 Chesney's Euphrates and Tigris 
 Costello's (MissJ North Wales 
 Coulter's Pacific - - - - 
 De Strzeleeki's New South Wales - 
 Erman's Travels through Siberia - 
 •Forester and Bid dulph's Norway 
 Head's Tour in Rome - - - 
 Humboldt's Aspects of Nature 
 Kip's Holydays in Rome 
 Laing's Notes of a Traveller - 
 Mackay's English Lakes 
 Marrvat's Borneo - - . - 
 Mitchell's Expedition into Australia 
 Power's New Zealand Sketches 
 Seaward's Narrative of his Shipwreck 
 Wilson's Travels in the Holy Land 
 Woodcock's Scripture Lands - 
 
 VETERINARY MEDICINE. 
 
 Pocket and the Stud - - . 
 Practical Horsemanship - 
 Stable Talk and Table Talk - 
 The Stud, for Practical Purposes - 
 Thomson on Fattening Cattle 
 Youatt'sThe Dog - - - - , 
 „ The Horse
 
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 " The History of Maritime and Inland Discovery." 2 vols. Svo. with Map, 3l«. &d. cloth. 
 
 ETHERIDGE.— THE APOSTOLICAL ACTS AND EPISTLES, 
 
 From the Peschito, or Ancient Syriac. To which are added, the remaining Epistles, and 
 the Book of Revelation, after a later Syrian Text. Translated, with Prolegomena and 
 Indices, by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. Doctor in Philosophy of the University of Heidelberg, 
 and Member of the Asiatic Society of Paris ; author of "The S)Tian Churches ; their early 
 History, Liturgies, and Literature." Royal 12mo. "ts. 6rf. cloth. 
 
 EVANS.-THE SUGAR PLANTER'S MANUAL; 
 
 Being a Treatise on the Art of obtaining Sugar from the Sugar Cane. By W. J. Evans, M.D. 
 Svo. 9«. cloth.
 
 PUBLISHED BY MESSRS. LONGMAN AND Co. U 
 
 FAREY.— TREATISE OIM THE STEAM-ENGINE, 
 
 Historical, Practical, aud Descriptive. By John Farey, Engineer. Illustrated with nu- 
 merous Woodcuts, and 26 Plates. 4to. 51. bt. boards. 
 
 FERGUSSON.-AN HISTORICAL INQUIRY INTO THE TRUE PRIN- 
 
 CIPLitSS OF BEAUTY IN ART, more especially with reference to ARCHITECTURK. 
 By James Kergusson, Esq., author of" An Essay on the Ancient Topography of Jerusalem," 
 "Picturesque Illustrations of Ancient Architecture in Hiudostan," etc. With five Steel 
 Plates, a coloured Lithographic Engraving, and upwards of 100 Woodcuts. Imperial 8vo. 
 30*. cloth. 
 
 FORESTER AND BIDDULPH.— NORWAY IN 1848 & 184.9: 
 
 Containing Rambles among the Fjelds and Fjords of the Central and Western Districts ; 
 and including Remarks on its Political, Military, Ecclesiastical, and Social Organisation. 
 By Thomas Forester, ;Esq. With Extracts from the Journals of Lieutenant M. S. biddulph, 
 Royal Artillery. With a new coloured Map, Wood Engravings, and 10 tinted Lithographic 
 Plates from Drawings made on the spot. tSvo. 18s. cloth. 
 
 FORSTER (REV. C.)-THE HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY OF ARABIA; 
 
 Or, the Patriarchal Evidences of Revealed Religion. A Memoir, with Illustrative Maps and 
 an Appendix, containing Translations. By the Rev. Charles Forster. 2 vols. 8vo. 30«. cloth. 
 
 FOSS.-THE JUDGES OF ENGLAND: 
 
 With Sketches of their Lives, and Miscellaneous Notices connected with the Courts at West- 
 minster from the time of the Conquest. By Edward Foss, F.S.A., of the Inner Temple. 
 Vols.I. aud II. 8vo. 2S». cloth. 
 
 FOSTER.— A HAND-BOOK OF MODERN EUROPEAN LITERATURE: 
 
 British, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish and Russian, Por- 
 tuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. With a full Biographical and Chronological Index. By Mrs. 
 Foster. Foolscap Svo. St. 6d, cloth. 
 
 »,• The object of th'xt book is, not so muck to give elaborate criticisms on the various 
 writers in the languages to whose literature it is intended as a guide, as to direct the student 
 to the best writers in each, and to inform him upon what subjects they have written. 
 
 GIBBON.-HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN 
 
 EMPIRE. A new Edition, in One Volume; with an Account of the Author's Life and 
 Writings, by Alexander Chalmers, Esq. F.A.S. Svo. with Portrait, 18*. cloth. 
 
 *,• An Edition in 8 vols. Svo. 60s. boards. 
 
 GILBART.-A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON BANKING. 
 
 By James William Gilbart, F.R.S. General Manager of the Loudon and Westminster Bank. 
 5th Edition, with Portrait of the Author, and View of the " London and Westminster Bank," 
 Lothbury. 2 vols. Svo. 24*. cloth. 
 
 GOLDSMITH-THE POETICAL WORKS OF OLIVER GOLDSMITH. 
 
 Illustrated by Wood Engravings, from Designs by Members of tlie Etching Club. Edited 
 bv Boiton Corney, Esq. Square crown Svo., uniform with "Thomson's Seasons," 21*. 
 cloth ; or 36*. bound in morocco, by Hayday. 
 
 GOWER.— THE SCIENTIFIC PHENOMENA OF DOMESTIC LIFE FAMILIARLY 
 
 EXPLAINED. By Charles Foote Gower. New Edition. Foolscap Svo. with Engravings 
 on Wood, OS. cloth. 
 
 GRAHAM.-ENGLISH; OR, THE ART OF COMPOSITION 
 
 explainedina Series of Instructions and Examples. By G. F. Graham. NewEdition, re- 
 vised and improved. Foolscap Svo. 6*. cloth. 
 
 GRANT (MRS.>-LETTERS FROM THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 Being the Correspondence with her Friends, between the years 1773 and 1803. By Mrs. 
 Grant, of Laggan. 6th Edition. Edited, with Notes and Additions, by her Son, J. P. Grant, 
 Esq. 2 vols, post Svo. 21*. cloth. 
 
 GRANT (MRS.)-MEMOIR AND CORRESPONDENCE OF THE LATE 
 
 MRS. GRANT, of Laggan, author of " Letters from the Mountains," etc. Edited by her 
 Son, J. P.Grant, Esq. NewEdition. 3 voU. post Svo. Portrait, U. Us. 6d. cloth.
 
 12 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 GRAY AND MITCHELL'S ORNITHOLOGY.— THE GENERA OF BIRDS: 
 
 Comprising their Generic Characters, a Notice of the Habits of each Genus, and an exten- 
 sive List of Species, referred to their several Genera. By George Robert Gray, Acad. Imp. 
 Georg-. Florent. • Soc. Corresp. Senior Assistant of the Zoological Department, British 
 Museum; and author of the "List of the Genera of Birds," etc. Illustrated with 350 
 coloured and plain Plates, drawn on Stone, by David William Mitchell, B.A., Secretary to 
 the Zoological Society. 3 vols, imperial 4to. 31/. 10*. half-bound morocco, gilt tops. 
 
 GRAY.— TABLES AND FORMUL/E FOR THE COMPUTATION OF LIFE 
 
 CONTINGKNCIES ; with copious Examples of Annuity, Assurance, and Friendly Society 
 Calculations. By Peter Gray, F.R.A.S. Associate of the Institute of Actuaries of Great 
 Britain and Ireland. Royal 8vo. 15». cloth. 
 
 GWILT.-AN ENCYCLOP/EDIA OF ARCHITECTURE; 
 
 Historical, Theoretical, and Practical. By Joseph Gwilt, Esq., F.S.A. Illustrated with 
 upwards of 1,000 Engravings on Wood, from Designs by J. S. Gwilt. 8vo. 21. 12«. 6d. cloth. 
 
 HALL.— MIDSUMMER EVE: 
 
 A Fairy Tale of Love. By Mrs. S. C. Hall. Illustrated with nearly 300 beautiful Wood 
 Engravings. Square crown 8vo. 21*. cloth, gilt edges. 
 
 HALL'S (SIDNEY) GENERAL LARGE LIBRARY ATLAS OF FIFTY- 
 
 THREE MAPS (size 20 in. by 76 in.), with the Divisions and Boundaries carefully coloured ; 
 and an Alphabetical Index of all the Names contained in the Maps, with their Latitude 
 and Longitude. An entirely New Edition, corrected throughout from the best and most 
 recent Authorities; with all the Railways laid down, and many of the Maps re-drawn and 
 re-engraved. Colombier 4to. 5/. 5». half-bound in russia. 
 
 SIDNEY HALL'S RAILWAY MAP OF ENGLAND AND WALES, 
 
 Square foolscap 8vo. price 2». 9rf. cloth. 
 *,* The Map of England and Wales, contained in "Sidney Hall's large Library Atlas" 
 (size 20 in. by 16 in.) corrected and re-engraved, with all the Lines of Railway laid down, 
 may be had separately, price 2». 6rf., coloured and mounted on folding canvas in a case, for 
 the pocket. 
 
 HARRISON.— ON THE RISE, PROGRESS, AND PRESENT STRUCTURE 
 
 OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. By the Rev. M. Harrison, M.A., late Fellow of Queen's 
 College, Oxford. Post 8vo. 8j. firf. cloth. 
 
 HARRY HIEOVER.— STABLE TALK AND TABLE TALK; 
 
 Or, SPECTACLES for YOUNG SPORTSMEN. By Harry Hieover. New Edition. 2 vols. 
 8vo. with Portrait, 24». cloth. 
 
 HARRY HIEOVER.— PRACTICAL HORSEMANSHIP. 
 
 By Harry Hieover, Author of ♦' Stable Talk and Table Talk; or Spectacles for Young 
 Sportsmen.-"' With 2 Plates, one representing " Going like Workmen ;" the other, '• Going 
 like Muffs." Foolscap Svo. 5*. half-bound. 
 
 HARRY HIEOVER.— THE STUD, FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES AND 
 
 PRACTICAL MEN: being a Guide to the Choice of a Horse for use more than for show. 
 By Harry Hieover, Author of "Stable Talk and Table Talk." With 2 Plates, one repre- 
 senting " A pretty good sort for most purposes ;" the other " ' Rayther ' a bad sort for any 
 purpose." Foolscap 8vo. 5s. half-bound. 
 
 HARRY HIEOVER.— THE POCKET AND THE STUD; 
 
 Or, Practical Hints on the Management of the Stable. By Harry Hieover, Author of 
 "Stable Talk and Table Talk; or, Spectacles for Young Sportsmen." With a Portrait of 
 the Author on his favourite Horse " Harlequin." Foolscap 8vo. 5». half-bound. 
 
 HAWKER.-INSTRUCTIONS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN 
 
 In all that relates to Guns and Shooting. By Lieut. Col. P. Hawker. 9th edition, corrected, 
 enlarged, and improved, with Eighty-five Plates and Woodcuts, by Adlard and Branston, 
 from Drawings by C. Varley, Dicks, etc. Svo. 21». cloth. 
 
 HAYDON (B. R.)— LECTURES ON PAINTING AND DESIGN, 
 
 Delivered at the London Institution, the Royal Institution, Albermarle Street, to the 
 University of Oxford, etc. ByB.R. Haydon, Historical Painter. 2 vols. Svo. with Por- 
 traits of the Author and Sir David Wilkie, and numerous other Illustratiuns, 24*. cloth.
 
 PUBLISHED BY MESSRS. LONGMAN AND CO. 13 
 
 HEAD.— HISTORICAL MEMOIRS OF CARDINAL PACCA, 
 
 Prime Minister to Pope Pius VII. Written by Himself. Translated from the Italian, by Sir 
 GeorjfC Head, author of "Rome ; a'Tour of Many Days." 2 vols, post 8vo. 21». cloth. 
 
 SIR GEORGE HEAD.-ROME: A TOUR OF MANY DAYS. 
 
 By Sir George Head. 3 vols. 8vo. 36*. cloth. 
 
 SIR JOHN HERSCHEL.— OUTLINES OF ASTRONOMY. 
 
 By Sir John F. VV. Herschel, Bart. etc. New Edition ; with Plates and Engravings on Wood 
 8vo. 18*. cloth. 
 
 MRS. HEY.— THE MORAL OF FLOWERS; 
 
 Or, Thoughts gathered from the Field and the Garden. By Mrs. Hey. Being a New 
 Kdition of ''The Moral of Flowers;" and consisting of Poetical Thoughts on Garden and 
 Field Flowers, accompanied by Drawings beautifully coloured after Nature. Square crown 
 8vo. uniform in size with " Thomson's Seasons illustrated by the Etching Club." 21*. cloth. 
 
 MRS. HEY.-SYLVAN MUSINGS; 
 
 Or, the Spirit of the Woods. By Mrs. Hey. Being a New Edition of " The Spirit of the 
 Woods ;" and consisting of Poetical Thoughts on Forest Trees, accompanied by Drawings 
 of Blossoms and Foliage, beautifully coloured after Nature. Square crown 8vo. uniform in 
 size with " Thomson's Seasons illustrated by the Etching Club." 21*. cloth. 
 
 HINTS ON ETIQUETTE AND THE USAGES OF SOCIETY: 
 
 With a Glance at Bad Habits. By Kycoyo^. "Manners make the Man." NewEdition, 
 revised (with additions) by a Lady of Rank. Foolscap8vo.2*.6<i. cloth. 
 
 HOARE — A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE 
 
 GRAPE VINE ON OPEN WALLS. By ClemeutHoare. NewEdition. 8vo. 7*.6<f. cloth. 
 
 HOARE.— A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF A NEW METHOD OF 
 
 PLANTING AND MANAGING THE ROOTS OF GRAPE VINES. By Clement Hoare, 
 author of "A Treatise on the Cultivatiou of the Grape Vine on Open Walls." 12mo. 5*. cl. 
 
 HOOK (DR. W. F.)-THE LAST DAYS OF OUR LORD'S MINISTRY; 
 
 A Course of Lectures on the principal Events of Passion Week. By Walter Farquhar Hook, 
 D.D., Vicar of Leeds, Prebendary of Lincoln, and Chaplain in Ordinary to the Queen. New 
 Edition. Foolscap 8vo. 6*. cloth. 
 
 HOOKER.-KEW GARDENS ; 
 
 Or a Popular Guide to the Royal Botanic Gardens of Kew. By Sir William Jackson Hooker, 
 K.H. D.C.L. F.R.A. & L.S. etc. etc. Director. New Edition; with numerous Wood- 
 Engravings. 16mo. price Cd. sewed. 
 
 HOOKER.— THE BRITISH FLORA; 
 
 Comprising the Phtenogamous or Flowering Plants, and the Ferns. By Sir William Jackson 
 Hooker, K.H. LL.D. F.R.A. and L.S. etc. New Edition (1850) , with numerous Additions 
 and Corrections by the .\uthor and G. A. Walker Arnott, LL.D. M. A. F.L.S. and R.S. Ed. 
 and Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow ; with 12 Lithographic Plates, 
 containing 173 Figures, illustrative of the Umbelliferous Plants, the Composite Plants, 
 the Grasses, and the Ferns. 1 vol. foolscap 8vo. \_NeaTly ready. 
 
 HORNE (THE REV. T. H.)-AN INTRODUCTION TO THE CRITICAL 
 
 STUDY AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. By the Rev. Thomas 
 Hartwell Home, B.D. of St. John's College, Cambridge. New Edition, revised and corrected. 
 5 vols. 8vo. with Maps and Fuc-similes, '61. 3*. cloth ; or 5{. bound in calf by Hayday. 
 
 HORNE (THE REV. T. H.}-A COMPENDIOUS INTRODUCTION TO THE 
 
 STUDY OF THE BIBLE. By th« Rev. Thomas Hartwell Home, B.D. of St. John's College, 
 Cambridge. Being an Analysis of his "Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of 
 the Holy Scriptures." NewEdition. I2mo. with Maps and Engravings, 9*. boards. 
 
 HOWITT.— THE CHILDREN'S YEAR. 
 
 By Mary Howitt. With Four Illustrations, engraved by John Absolon, from Original 
 Designs by Anna Mary Howitt. Square 16mo.5*. cloth.
 
 14 
 
 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 HOWITT.— THE BOY'S COUNTRY BOOK: 
 
 Bein^ the real Life of a Country Boy, written by Himself; exhibitine: all the Amusements, 
 Pleasures, and Pursuits of Children'in the Country. Edited by William Howitt, author of 
 ♦'The Rural Life of England," etc. New Edition. Fcap. 8vo. with 40 Woodcuts, 6«. cloth. 
 
 HOWITT.— VISITS TO REMARKABLE PLACES; 
 
 Old Halls, Battle-Fields, and Scenes illustratiTe of Striking Passages in English History and 
 Poetry. By William Howitt. NewEdition. Medium 8vo. with 40 Woodcuts, 21<. cloth. 
 
 SECOND SERIES, chiefly in the Counties of DURHAM and NORTHUMBERLAND, with a 
 Stroll along the BORDER. With upwards of 40 highly-finished Woodcuts, from Drawings 
 made on the spot. Medium 8to. 21<. cloth. 
 
 HOWITT.— THE RURAL LIFE OF ENGLAND. 
 
 By William Howitt. NewEdition, corrected and revised. With Engravings on Wood by 
 Bewick and Williams ; uniform with " Visits to Remarkable Places." Medium 8vo.2l4. cloth. 
 
 HOWITT.— THE RURAL AND DOMESTIC LIFE OF GERMANY: 
 
 With Characteristic Sketches of its chief Cities and Scenery. Collected in a General Tour, 
 and during a Residence in that Country in the Years 1840-42. By William Howitt, author 
 of "The Rural Life of England," etc. Medium 8vo., with above 50 Woodcuts, 21*. cloth. 
 
 HO WSON.— SUNDAY EVENING: 
 
 Twelve Short Sermons for Family Reading. 1. The Presence of Christ; 2. Inward and 
 Outward Life; 3. The Threefold VVarning; 4. Our Father's Business ; 5. Spiritual Murder; 
 6. The Duty of Amiability; 7. Honesty and Candour; 8. St. Peter and Cornelius ; 9. The 
 Midnight Traveller; 10. The Grave of Lazarus ; 11. The Resurrection of the Bodv. By the 
 Rev. J. S. Howson, M.A., Principal of the Collegiate Institution, Liverpool, aud Chaplain to 
 the Duke of Sutherland. Foolscap 8vo. 2«. Gd. cloth. 
 
 HOWSON AND CONYBEARE.— THE LIFE AND EPISTLES OF ST. 
 
 PAUL. By the Rev. J. S. Howson, M.A., and theRev. W. J. Conybeare, M.A. 2vol3.4to. 
 very fully illustrated by W. H. Bartlett. [See p. 8. 
 
 HUDSON.-THE EXECUTOR'S GUIDE. 
 
 By J.C. Hudson, Esq., late of the Legacy Duty Office, London; author of "Plain Directions 
 for Making Wills," aud " The Parent'sHand-Book." NewEdition. Foolscap 8vo.5«. cloth. 
 
 HUDSON.-PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOR MAKING WILLS 
 
 In conformity with the Law, and particularly with reference to the Act 7 Wm. IV. and IVict, 
 c. 26. To which is added, a clear Exposition of the Law relating to the Distribution of Per- 
 sonal Estate in the case of Intestacy ; with two Forms of Wills, and much useful Information, 
 etc. By J. C. Hudson, Esq. New Edition, corrected. Fcap. 8vo.2«.6rf. cloth. 
 
 *,* The above two works mat/ be had in One volume, price 7$. cloth. 
 
 HUMBOLDT.— ASPECTS OF NATURE, 
 
 In DiflFerent Lands and Different Climates ; with Scientific Elucidations. By Alexander Von 
 Humboldt. Translated, with the Author's sanction and co-operation, and at his express 
 desire, by Mrs. Sabine. 16mo. 6». cloth: or in 2 vols. 3«. 6d. each cloth; 2». 6d. each 
 sewed. 
 
 BARON HUMBOLDT'S COSMOS; 
 
 Or, a Sketch of a Physical Description of the Universe.' Translated, with the Author's 
 sanction and co-operation, under the superintendence of Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Sabine, 
 F.R.S. For. Sec. R.S. New Edition. Vols. I. and II. 16mo. 3«. 6rf. each cloth ; 2». 6rf. 
 each sewed i or in post Svo. price 12«. each. 
 
 HUMPHREYS.— A RECORD OF THE BLACK PRINCE; 
 
 Being a Selection of such Passages in his Life as have been most Quaintly and strikingly 
 narrated by the Chroniclers of the Period. Embellished with highly-wrought Miniatures 
 and Bordeiings, selected from various Illuminated MSS. referring to Events connected with 
 English History. By Henry Noel Humphreys. Post 8vo. in arichlv carved and deeply 
 pierced binding', 2U. 
 
 HUMPHREYS.— THE BOOK OF RUTH. 
 
 From the Holy Scriptures. Embellished with brilliant coloured Borders, selected from 
 some of the finest Illuminated MSS. in the British Museum, the Biblioth^que Nationale, 
 Paris, the Soane Museum, etc.; and with highly-finished Miniatures. The Illuminations 
 executed by Henry Noel Humphreys. Square foolscap Svo. in deeply embossed leather 
 covers, 21i.
 
 PUBLISHED BY MESSKS. LONGMAN AND CO. 15 
 
 HUMPHREYS.-MAXIMS AND PRECEPTS OF THE SAVIOUR: 
 
 Bein^ a Selection of the most beautiful Christian Precepts contained in the Four Gospels ; 
 illustrated bv a series of Illuminations of original character, founded on the Passages — 
 " Behold the Fowls of the Air," etc., "Consider the Lilies of the Field," etc. The 
 Illuminations executed by Henry Noel Humphreys. Square foolscap 8vo. 2U. richly bound 
 in stamped calf; or 30}. in morucco, by Hayday. 
 
 HUMPHREYS.— THE MIRACLES OF OUR SAVIOUR. 
 
 With rich and appropriate Borders of original Design, a series of Illuminated Figures of 
 the Apostles, from the Old Masters, six Illuminated Miniatures, and other Embellishments. 
 The Illuminations executed by H^nry Noel Humphreys. Square foolscap 8vo. in massive 
 carved covers, 21». ; or bound in morocco, by Hayday, 30i. 
 
 HUMPHREYS.-PARABLES OF OUR LORD. 
 
 Richly Illuminated, with appropriate Borders, printed in colours and in black and gold; 
 with a Design from one of the early German F.ngravers. The Illuminations executed by 
 Henry Noel Humphreys. Square foolscap 8vo. 21». in a massive carved binding; or 30». 
 bound in morocco. 
 
 HUMPHREYS AND JONES, -THE ILLUMINATED BOOKS OF THE 
 
 MIDDLE AGES : a series of Fac-similes of the most beautiful MSS. of the Middle Ages, 
 printed in gold, silver, and colours, by Owen Jones ; selected and described by Henry Noel 
 Humphrevs. Elegantly bound in antique calf: royal folio, 10/. 10».; imperial folio (l^rge 
 paper), 16/. 16*. 
 
 HUNT.— RESEARCHES ON LIGHT: 
 
 An Examination of all the Phenomena connected svith the Chemical and MolecularChanges 
 produced by the Influence of the Solar Rays ; embracing all the known Photographic Pro- 
 cesses, and new Discoveries in the Art. By Robert Hunt, Keeper of Mining Records, 
 Museum of Economic Geology. Svo. with Plate and Woodcuts, 10i.6<i. cloth. 
 
 JAMESON (MRS.)-LECENDS OF THE MONASTIC ORDERS: 
 
 Comprising the History of the Franciscans, as connected with the Revival of Art ; Legends 
 of those Royal Personages who died in the Religious Habit; and Notes on the Remains of 
 English Legendary Art. By Mrs. Jameson, Autnor of "Sacred and Legendary Art," etc. 
 Square crown Svo. with numerous Illustrations. [Nearly ready. 
 
 •»• To be followed by '■^Legends of the Madonna," by the same Author , similarly illustrated. 
 
 JAMESON (MRS.)— SACRED AND LEGENDARY ART. 
 
 By Mrs. Jameson. With 16 Etchings by the Author, and numerous Wood Engravings. 
 
 2 vols, square crown 8vo. 42*. cloth. 
 
 " To all who have seen or who contemplate seeing the early art of Italy, these volumes icill 
 be as necetsnry a handbook as any oj Murray's. Even to those who visit only our own 
 National Galleri/, Mrs. Jameson's essay will be interesting, for it will give them a vaxt 
 quantity of infurmatiun they did not possess before, and which will add incalculably to the 
 pleasure with which they will inspect the pictures of the Old Masters— often perfectly unin- 
 telligible without such an explanation of them as is here given,"— Ciitic, 
 
 JEBB.-A LITERAL TRANSLATION OF THE BOOK OF PSALMS; 
 
 Intended to illustrate their Poetical and Moral Structure. To which are added. Disserta- 
 tions on the word "Selah," and on the Authorship, Order, Titles, and Poetical Features 
 of the Psalms. By the Rev. John Jebb, A.M., Rector of Peterstow. 2 vols. Svo. 2U. cloth. 
 
 JEFFREY (LORD).-CONTRIBUTIONSTOTHE EDINBURGH REVIEW. 
 
 By Francis Jeffrey, late one of the Judges in the Court of Session in Scotland. 2d Edition. 
 
 3 vols. Svo. 42f. cloth. 
 
 BISHOP JEREMY TAYLOR'S ENTIRE WORKS : 
 
 With the Life of Bishop Heber. Revised and corrected by the Rev. Charles Page Eden, 
 Fellow of Oriel CoUege, Oxford. Vols. II. III. IV. V. VI. and VII. Svo. 10».6<f. each, cloth. 
 
 •,• In course of publication in 10 vols, price half-a-^inea each. Vol. I. fthe last in order 
 mf vabtieatioHj will contain Bishop Heber's Life of Jeremy Taylor, extended by the Editor. 
 •"^ /- y ./ » 'irol. FJIJ.isin thepreis. 
 
 JOHNSON.-THE WISDOM OF THE RAMBLER, ADVENTURER, AND 
 
 IDLER. Comprising 8 Selection of 110 of the best Esbays. By Samuel Johnson, LL.D. 
 Foolscap Svo, 7». cloth.
 
 16 NEW WORKS AND NEW EDITIONS 
 
 JOHNSON.-THE FARMER'S ENCYCLOP/EDIA, 
 
 And DICTIONARY of RURAL AFFAIRS : embracing all the recent Discoveries in Agri- 
 cultural Chemistry; adapted to the comprehension of unscientific Readers. By Cuthbert 
 W.Johnson, Esq., F.R.S. Barrister-at-Law, Editor of the "Farmers' Almanack," etc. 
 8vo. with Wood Engravings, 2/. 10». cloth. 
 
 JOHNSTON.— A NEW DICTIONARY OF GEOGRAPHY, 
 
 Descriptive, Statistical, Physical, and Historical; forming a complete General Gazetteer. 
 By Alexander Keith Johnston, F.R.G.S. F.G.S., Geographer at Edinburgh in Ordinary to 
 Her Majesty; author of "The Physical Atlas of Natural Phenomena," "The National 
 Atlas ot Commercial and Political Geography," and "The Atlas to Alison's History of 
 Europe." 8vo. 
 
 SIR ROBERT KANE.— ELEMENTS OF CHEMISTRY, 
 
 Theoretical and Practical; including the most Recent Discoveries and Applications of the 
 Scisjice of Medicine and Pharmacy to Agriculture and to Manufactures. By Sir Robert 
 Kane, M.D. M.R.I..^. 2d Edition, corrected and greatly enlarged ; illustrated by 230 Wood 
 Engravings. In one large volume, 8vo. of about 1,100 pages, 28». cloth. 
 
 KAY.— THE SOCIAL CONDITION AND EDUCATION OF THE PEOPLE 
 
 IN ENGLAND AND EUROPE: shewing the results of the Primary Schools and of the 
 Division of Landed Property in Foreign Countries. By Joseph Kay, Esq. M.A., of Trinity 
 College, Cambridge ; Barrister-at-Law ; and late Travelling Bachelor of the University of 
 Cambridge. 2 thick vols, post 8vo. 21». cloth. 
 
 KEMBLE.— THE SAXONS IN ENGLAND: 
 
 A History of the English Commonvtealth till the period of the Norman Conquest. Bv John 
 Mitchell Kemble, M.A.F.C.P.S., etc. 2 vols. 8vo. 28s. cloth. 
 
 KENT.— ALETHEIA; 
 
 Or, the Doom of Mythology. With Dther Poems. By William Charles Kent. Fcap. 8vo. 
 7». 6rf. cloth. 
 
 KINDERSLEY.— THE VERY JOYOUS, PLEASANT, AND REFRESHING 
 
 HISTORY of the Feats, Exploits, Triumphs, and Achievements of the Good Knight, without 
 Fear and without Reproach, the gentle Lord De Bayard. Set forth in p:nglish by Edward 
 Cockburn Kiiidersley, Esq. With Ornamental Headings, and Frontispiece, by E. H. 
 Wehnert. Square post 8vo. 9». 6d. cloth. 
 
 THE REV. DR. W. I. KIP.— THE EARLY CONFLICTS OF CHRISTIANITY. 
 
 Contents.— 1. Judaism, 2. Grecian Philosophy; 3. The Licentious Spirit of the Age; 4. 
 Barbarism ; 5. The Pagan Mythology. By the Rev. Dr. W. Ingraham Kip, M.A., author of 
 '• The Christmas Holydays in Rome." Foolscap 8vo. 5«. cloth. 
 
 THE REV. DR. W. I. KIP.-THE CHRISTMAS HOLYDAYS IN ROME. 
 
 By the Rev. W, Ingraham Kip, D.D. Edited by the Rev. W. Sewell, B.D. Fellow and 
 Tutor of Exeter College, Oxford. New Edition. Foolscap 8vo. 5». cloth, 
 
 KIRBY AND SPENCE.— AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY; 
 
 Or, Elements of the Natural History of Insects: comprising an account of noxious and 
 useful Insects, of their Metamorphoses, Food, Stratagems, Habitations, Societies, Motions, 
 Noises, Hybernation, Instinct, etc. By W. Kirby, M.A. F.R.S. & L.S. Rector of Barham; 
 and W. Spence, Esq., F.R.S. & L.S. New Edition, enlarged. 2 vols. 8vo.3l«. 6(i. cloth. 
 
 L. E. L.— THE POETICAL WORKS OF LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON ; 
 
 Comprising the IMPROVISATRICE, the VENETIAN BRACELET, the GOLDEN 
 VIOLET, the TROUBADOUR, and other Poetical Remains. New Edition, uniform with 
 Moore's '* Songs, Ballads, and Sacred Songs ; " with 2 Vignettes by Richard Doyle. 2 vol*. 
 16mo. 10». cloth; morocco, 21*. 
 
 •»• ^Iso an edition in 4 volt, fooheap 8wo. with Illustration$ by Hoteard, etc. 28». cloth ; 
 or bound in morocco, with gilt edgei, 21. 4». 
 
 LAING.— OBSERVATIONS ON THE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STATE 
 
 OF THE EUROPEAN PEOPLE IN 1848 AND 1849: being the Second Series of "Note* 
 of a Traveller." By Samuel Laing, Esq., author of " A Journal of a Residence in Norway," 
 "A Tour in Sweden," the Translation of "The Heimskringla," and of "Notes of a Tra- 
 veller on the Social and Political State of France, Prussia," etc. 8vo. 14*. cloth. 
 
 LANDOR.— THE FOUNTAIN OF ARETHUSA. 
 
 By Robert Eyres Landor, M.A., atithor of "The Fawn of Sertorious," "The Implout 
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 23 
 
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 24 
 
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 PERILOUS TIMES : 
 
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 31 
 
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