OSES AND THISTLES SAMUEL MORTON / ROSES AND THISTLES. THE HORSEWHIP WHISTLED ROUND HIS HEAD AND CAME WITH A VICIOUS CUT ACROSS HIS SHOULDERS. Chap. 13. JflOl. OC CALIF- LHMK. LOS ** ROSES AND THISTLES BY SAM. HORTON, Author of " For King and Parliament," " Her Bonnie Pit Laddie," "Prince Charlie of the Canongate," "The Charm of the Cross," "Rags and Velvet," "Lilliath," Etc., Etc. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY ERNEST PRATER. LONDON : W. A. HAMMOND, HOLBORN HALL, CLERKENWELL ROAD, E.C. TO SIR GEORGE GREEN, (GLASGOW), WHOSE FRIENDSHIP I GREATLY PRIZE, AND WHO HAS ALWAYS SHOWN A CONSPICUOUS INTEREST IN EVERY MOVEMENT THAT AIMS AT BENEFITTING HUMANITY. CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE I. AMONG THE ROSES 7 II. OVER THE GARDEN WALL 18 III. A NONCONFORMIST BISHOP ... 33 IV. THE COMING OF THE CHILD ... 42 V. A GOOD SHEPHERD 49 VI. THE LAND AND THE LADY ... 60 VII. THE RED ACRES 70 VIII. HE THAT REMEMBERETH THE POOR 81 IX. THE HEARTACHE OF THE RICH ... 91 X. Two SERMONS 100 XI. AND HE SPAKE IN PARABLES ... 114 XII. MANY HAPPY RETURNS 127 XIII. A SNAKE AMIDST THE FLOWERS ... 141 XIV. CALLED TO BE A MINISTER ... 153 XV. THE GUILE OF A HUMOURIST ... 168 XVI. A RACE 181 XVII. SHE SANG OF HOME 205 XVIII. LADY WINCANTON'S PARTY ... 214 XIX. THE RETURN OF A WANDERER ... 222 XX. FOR RICHER, FOR POORER ... 239 XXI. HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD ... 247 XXII. THE PLOTTING OF THE WICKED ... 259 XXIII. THE DEEP WATERS 269 XXIV. THE TRIAL OF INNOCENCY.^ ... 279 XXV. LOVE IN THE MIRE 290 XXVI. THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE ... 298 XXVII. THE HAND OF THE POLICE ... 313 XXVIII. VENGEANCE is MINE 321 XXIX. A STRANGE CONFESSION 330 XXX. NEMESIS 338 R < ROSES AND THISTLES. CHAPTER I. AMONG THE ROSES. " A man must have beautiful roses in his heart before he can have beautiful roses in his garden." DEAN HOLE. " COME here, missis. That's what I call a picter. It would take some lickin' in the 'Cademy. I guess the angels binna far away, having a private view, and smilin' reet down to the bottom of their wings. She's rare and bonnie, and fits into that framework of roses as though she'd been made for it. Roses and young lassies are just the two sweetest things God has made, at least that I know anything aboot and when, you get 'em both together it's like honey on currant cake." It was, indeed, a pretty sight to which Rufus Wentworth called the attention of his wife. In a rustic arbour, covered with roses, white and red, with here and there a spray of honey- suckle intermingling, sat a young girl, fast asleep. A book she had been reading lay at her feet, having fallen from her hand, and the tresses of her long chestnut hair hung in be- wildering confusion around her shoulders. The features were perfectly oval, the forehead arched and prominent, the lips rich and full, while a saucy little dimple gave character to her white chin. The cheeks were like a peach kissed by the morning sun. 8 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Poor girl, she is weary," said Mrs. Went- worth. " She has been working hard at her music, for she is determined to get her certificate this year." " She'll do it, too," replied Rufus, " sure as the yolks of eggs is yallow. She's real grit, from crown to heel. Some young folks have got brains but no backbone, and they generally turn out wastrils ; others have backbone and no brains, and they are simpletons ; but she has both, and goodness, which is best of all. She weighs sixteen ounces to every pound, and the best quality at that. I dunno wonder the young fellows lose their heads over her. If I was young again, and thou wasn't in the way, I believe I'd be as bad as any one of 'em. But she's got summat you never had, and that's a bit of temper. Sakes alive, how she does rumple up ! " " You should not tease her, Rufus," said his wife. " You really are too bad for any- thing." Rufus chuckled. " Guess," he said, " I do make her rufne. She jumps like a chestnut in the fire. I just said this morning, ' I fear, Gwen, you're going to be left on the shelf after all. Why, you haven't had an offer for a whole month now. The young men binna as hot as they were, and I donno hear of ony more promising to drown themselves because you have sent them a hard- hearted refusal on a sheet of scented notepaper with a pansy in the corner. You'll be an old maid yet, and have nobody to talk to but a cat, and maybe a poll parrot, when you get old/ AMONG THE ROSES. 9 And then she flew at me like a mad canary, and says : ' You are a nasty old man. You want to get rid of me, but I won't marry, no, never, just to spite you.' La ! she is pratty to look at when she's riled, and has her feathers up, like a peacock with his tail spread." 11 I call it downright wicked," replied his wife, whose sense of humour was so small that Rufus sometimes said " she ought to have been put in a world where laughing was for- bidden, because it would be so easy for her to keep the law." " You carry your teasing to improper lengths. I like a bit of fun as well as anybody, but I do think there should be moderation in it. I am sure Gwen's very patient with you. ' I often wonder she does not get annoyed long before she does. Just fancy you telling her yesterday, in the presence of the minister, that Billy Bowden, that poor witless fellow, had been hanging round the greenhouses for weeks, wanting to marry her." "Well," said Rufus. " It's the truth. He was there every day sure enough. So, having a kind of inkling from what quarter the wind was blowing, I says, ' Billy, when bin you goin' to git married ? " ' When Miss Gwen's ready,' he says, pat as a pound of butter. ' Oh ! it's Miss Gwen ye are hankering after,' I answers, ' is it ? I'm afraid you are a flirt, Billy. Last time I mentioned the subject I remember it was Jennie Baxter you were in love with.' ' She wouldna have me. She said my legs were crooked, and that I was lazy.' ' Well, Billy,' I said, ' that was about your size, wasn't it ? ' * Nay,' he replied, ' my legs binna crooked. io ROSES AND THISTLES. They are only turned in a bit at the knees. I can straighten them when I like. And I'm not lazy neither, Mr. Wentworth. I held a horse last week for a gentleman, and I fetched a bucket of water the week before.' ' No wonder you are so thin, Billy, if you work like that. But,' said I, ' you have not asked my permission, you know.' ' It's not thee I want,' says Billy, ' it's Miss Gwen. You tell her, Mr. Wentworth, will you ? ' Well, now, with such an offer for her, how could I keep it to myself ? I thought I had better tell her when the minister was present so if she thought of accepting she could make arrangements for the wedding at once." " You are incorrigible," exclaimed his wife, who, having been a schoolmistress, had a com- mand of language which at times fairly staggered her husband. " Which ? " replied her husband. That was his stock word when he did not understand her. " Dictionaries, bin you calling about," he said once to a man seeking an order for the Royal Dictionary. " I have one five feet five inches tall, and eight stones weight, and I wouldna exchange it for any other in the market." " But this," said the agent, " has five thousand more words than any other, and is thoroughly up to date and reliable." " Dunno know how many words mine has in it," replied Rufus, " cos I've never had time to stop and count, but there binna one word I want but it's there wi'oot waiting. As to being up-to-date, I'll warrant it to be the latest fashion, and it's as reliable as the clock in the church steeple, which hanna lost five minutes AMONG THE ROSES. 11 for forty years." Rufus was proud of his wife, but liked to tease her. " You are a frivolous old man," she rejoined. " Ay," said Rufus, " I am a living example of the truth of Scripture, ' Evil communica- tions corrupt good manners.' Living with you and Gwen kind of makes a man light-headed, and feel ashamed of getting old. Now, if you had only lived up to your privileges, and been naggin' and snarlin' as wives ought to be, who want their husbands to grow up old in decent time, and Gwen had been a bother and a heart- ache instead of a blessin', I might have had a chance and come out like a pocket edition of Job. Why, there are times when I feel like jumping five-barred gates as I did when I was a lad. I just enjoy a day's bird's-nesting as much as any boy in the National school. Bless me, there are men at my age who are round- shouldered and they are weak on their pins, and they canna eat anything but slops, and rice puddin', for fear of dyspepsy or jaundice, and here I'm as straight as a gatepost, and can digest anything that isn't as hard as tenpenny nails. No, you hanno given me a chance. It's down right scandalous that a man nigh seventy should be able to walk five miles before breakfast and ten miles after his tea, and do a day's work between. But I canna help it," he continued, with a comical expression on his face. ' ' It's all your fault, and Gwen's. You've a lot to answer for, sure as pickle cabbage donno grow on raspberry bushes. I'm what they scientists call ' the product of my 'vironment.' ' His wife smiled as she looked into his good- 12 ROSES AND THISTLES- humoured face, in which there twinkled a pair of eyes as bright as stars. " There you are," he said, " smilin' like a May day, and as good lookin' as when I married you, twenty-four years, three months, twelve days, and three hours since, and you niver once said that you were sorry you ever yoked into harness with me. And you've never made a pie crust that I had to use the hatchet to get through, nor cooked a steak so that I had to fetch the saw to divide it up. I tell you, you haven't a decent notion of how to make a husband grow old, with your pastry that melts in the mouth, and cookin' that's fit for a king. It binna fair on the doctor, not one little bit. You should live and let live. I've never had a bottle of medicine in forty years. I says to him the other day, ' Dr. Gilmour, I'm kind of shamed to meet you in the street.' ' How's that, Rufus ? ' says he. ' Well," I answers, ' I like to be neighbourly, and for forty-five years I've never bought as much as a penn'orth of parygoric, or a ha'porth of stickin' plaster of you.' I says, ' I'm not likely to want any, as things are, in your line ; but if you like to make up a few quart bottles of medicine that will cure all sorts of complaints, and will keep, I don't mind stocking them, since you are a good customer of mine. They might come in handy when you are dead and gone, because our Lucy donno mean letting you have a chance while you're living." "You didn't," exclaimed his wife. "The doctor will think you are a queer man." " It's true, as white roses binna black," said AMONG THE ROSES. 13 Rufus. " Do you think I'm going to have the blame of goin' about like a lad of twenty at nearly three-score and ten, put on my shoulders ? Not I. I tell you I'm just a walkin' certificate wherever I go that I've got a wife at home that wonna let me get old like other folks decently, and in the order of nature." " And what did the doctor say ? " asked his wife. " He said he'd walk round and have a talk with you some day, and see if he couldn't get you to give him a look in. But he declared I owed him nothing since I took to growing kow- cumbers, and givin' them away in the village. Said he : ' There's dyspepsia a foot long hangin' in every kowcumber in your glasshouse.' And so that relieved my conscience so far as the doctor was concerned." Rufus went off laughing down the garden walk lined on each side with flower beds which were a sight to see. When he neared the harbour in which the girl slept, he broke a spray of lad's love from a bush, and stepping quickly behind her, began to tickle her nose. At first she mechanically brushed it away with her hand, but when the tickling continued she opened her eyes, and suddenly springing to her feet she turned round smartly and boxed his ears, at which, putting up both hands, he ran till he reached one of the greenhouses, while she pelted him with leaves and flowers. Shutting himself up and locking the door, he first made faces at her through the glass, and then sat down on the bench and laughed till he was purple in the face. i 4 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Upon my word, he gets worse every day," she said, as she joined Mrs. Wentworth. " That is just what I have been telling him. For a man of his years and a local preacher to carry on as he does is positively outrageous. I don't know whatever the village will think of him. He acts just like a schoolboy in his holidays." " I believe life is just a long holiday to dad," said Gwen. " He seems to enjoy everything so, and it is a positive treat to hear him laugh. He sees the best side of everybody. I some- times wish I were more like him. But come, mother, it is time we were getting tea ready ; and we will make him a raisin cake." " There you are, Gwen, finding fault with him one moment and petting and pampering him the next. That's the way you spoil him." " Spoil him," replied Gwen, lifting her eye- brows. " I wonder who it is gets up at five o'clock and makes him a cup of tea, and takes it to bed to him every morning ? And who is it that is always plotting and planning how to surprise him with all sorts of sweetmeats ? If the dear old boy could have been spoiled he would have been spoilt twenty years ago. But I do like to see his face when a raisin cake comes on the table. He looks like an incarnate bene- diction, and he eats it as though it were manna sent from heaven. While the women were busy with the tea cups, Rufus came out of the greenhouse, and commenced making a nosegay of lovely rose- buds. With great deftness he cut and arranged them, and when he had finished they formed AMONG THE ROSES. 15 as perfect a bouquet as it is possible to conceive. Rufus described himself as a market gardener, but the dav had long since gone by when he needed to grow for the market, and now, although he sent a consignment of flowers to Manchester twice a week, it was only what he called his surplus stock. He grew flowers for his own pleasure, and to give away. Once an American traveller, who had wan- dered in the village asked a boy if there was anything in the place worth seeing. " Ay ! " said the lad, " there is Mr. Went- worth's garden." * ' And what is there in the garden ? " he inquired. " Roses." * ' And what else." " More roses." " Well, are there any great men living about here ? " " There's nobut Mister Wentworth," he replied. ' 'And what is he ? Member of Parliament, eh ?" " No," said the lad, " he grows roses." And the stranger went to look at the garden, and he was astonished, for he saw three acres of roses, and a little man with a big head and a boy's face wheeling manure along the walk. ' ' Can you tell me where I can see the boss ? " he asked. Rufus, for it was he, dropped the handles of the barrow, and with a twinkle in his eye, said, " Guess, if you go to that door yonder, and knock, and ask for Gwen, you'll have your curiosity satisfied." 16 ROSES AND THISTLES. He went, and when, radiant in a print dress, there came a young lady with magnificent eyes, and a sweet smile, to the door, he was taken aback. " I beg your pardon, miss," he said, " but a man in the garden said if I came here I should find the boss." " If you mean my dad, he's yonder," she said, pointing to the little man sitting on his barrow, and peeping down the border of rose bushes, watching developments. " Why, that's the gard that is the man who sent me here to ask for Gwen." " I must apologise, sir," she said, blushing to the roots of her hair. " It's just one of my dad's jokes. When an hour afterwards the stranger left, with a rose in his coat, he acknowledged he had seen three things which had surprised him. The most beautiful girl he had ever set eyes on, the most lovely garden, and the most entertain- ing old man." When Rufus had finished his bouquet, he sat and wrote a label and fastened it on : " For Miss Madeline, from Uncle Rufus. ' Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." This was one of Rufus's pastimes, to send bouquets to the sick, and with the flowers a favourite text. Just when he had completed his task, Gwen came to the door and shouted Tea." ' ' Shouldn't wonder," said he, ' ' if that means raisin cake. These women are always temptin' us poor male mortals through the stummack. That is how the trouble first began. AMONG THE ROSES. 17 But "<, said he, screwing up his face in a kind of knot, " I'm notj quite sure whether it has not bin worth while. Anyhow, we like it, and raisin cake is good." CHAPTER II. OVER THE GARDEN WALL. " And learn the luxury of doing good." GOLDSMITH. RUFUS WENTWORTH'S garden ran parallel with the street, and was separated from it by a grey stone wall. When Rufus first rented the place this wall was so high that nobody could see over it from the street. He applied for permission from his landlord to lower it, but this was refused. " Can't see why you want to lower it," said Lord Forrester. " If you are going to grow flowers and fruit it will be the best protection you can have against thieves." " It's not high walls, nor thick-set hedges that will keep out dishonest folks, my Lord," said Rufus. " I've been told the poachers have bin among your lordship's pheasants in the park, and the hedges are high enough and thick enough to keep out any but those who are determined to be in. I'm not afraid of anybody taking my stuff." " But it is such a strange request. Why do you want it down ? " " Well, you see, my lord, I've a horror of high walls and tall hedges. Seems like as OVER THE GARDEN WALL. 19 though we want to rail off a bit of God's earth for our own benefit, and wouldna so much as let a fellow creature have a glint at it. Seein' dunno do any harm, and if there's a beautiful bit of landscape, or a natural waterfall, why should we deny our fellow creatures havin' the sight of it ? I'm not sure, my lord, if we've any reet to do it, and I dunno know that any amount of money can give us the reet. I know we claim it, but some things the law courts of earth giv' us the title deeds to, wunno stand in the law court of heaven. It appears to me, my lord, if you will excuse me sayin' so, that rich men who shut out the common folk from the beauti- ful scenery and the flowers, wunno be likely to get the front seats and best views in the other world ; for, as far as I read, we shall have done to us pretty much what we do to others." But his lordship had old-fashioned views as to the rights of property, .and refused to yield. But when he had one of his periodical losses on the turf a few years after, he was obliged to sell part of the estate. Rufus bought his own house, and a few days later the two top courses of the wall came off, so that to every passer-by there was open a vision of beauty. And none in the summer passed without stopping to look at the roses, and many a tired woman and weary child carried with them a rose to cheer them on their way. And Rufus would come and chat over the garden wall to his neighbours, and at eventide two or three of his particular cronies came and sat on the top, and smoked their pipes, and debated national politics, or discussed local news. 20 ROSES AND THISTLES. And so it came to pass, in the course of time, that the garden wall was the recognised meeting place of the elders of the village, and many a grave subject was thrashed out there, from the value of guano as manure, to the policy of the German Emperor. And it was a pleasant thing on a summer evening to see five or six of these village elders sitting in a row like so many sparrows on a telegraph wire, all except Rufus puffing away at a long churchwarden and gravely putting Church and State right ; and between times talking about the weedy condition of Houchin's wurzles, or the need of Nelson's sow having a ring through her nose to prevent her from " rooting." In that assembly, Rufus, by right of fitness, was a kind of leader, for all tacitly acknowledged his superiority in thought and speech. Dudman, the miller, came next. He was a little withered man, lame on one leg. He was at constant war with the lads who would make his mill windows the mark of their catapults, and he was always declaring " a worse set of scoundrels never existed." But he owned his mill, and was supposed to know a lot about politics, because he got the * * Times," two days old, from his son in London. He was a fine, crusted old Tory, as was becoming a man of property and a reader of the leading journal. Crickmore, the tailor, generally sat next a good man, who all his life had battled with a quick temper and a weak stomach, and did kindly acts on the sly, and whose word at any time was as good as ready money. Billy Brunton, a picturesque old fellow, who had been twice round the world, and who OVER THE GARDEN WALL. 21 was supposed to know a lot, but whose con- tribution to the debates consisted of "Hum" and " Ah," and, when he was feeling strongly, ' ' Bosh " was the third. A retired farmer named Jenkins was the fourth, and the fifth Levi Morris, a man who had read more books than the vicar, wrote poetry for his own amuse- ment and then burnt it, and was as much afraid of women as a rabbit is of a weazel. It was this little parliament that really decided the long vexed question of the settlement of a pastor for the Congregational church. For months the congregation had been ministered to by " supplies, with a view to a settlement," but none of them suited one-half of the congregation, and the other half would have been content with any one of the candidates. One read his sermons, another shouted, and the third had what Crickmore termed " the jerks." A fourth was so boldly heterodox that his sermon was more debated than any other that had been preached in the village for years. But at length the choice lay between three candidates, and Crickmore, who was senior deacon, laid the case before the Witenagemot. " There's Pearson, he is a staid man, married, and nine children. He preached on the woman with seven stars. Everybody admits it was a wonderful sermon, full of poetry and illustra- tions. Then Jebson, he's a young man who has had five churches in three years, and that makes against him, I'll admit ; but he is a marvellous preacher, and, according to his own account, a good visitor. You see he stayed with me, and my wife and daughter were taken with 22 ROSES AND THISTLES. him. The account he gave of his own work was remarkable. The other is Chesterton. He is very young, and has not had a charge yet, and so is untried ; but he impressed me as being modest and earnest, although he is not the preacher either of the others are by a long way. But the young folks have fallen in love with him, and if it went by THEIR vote, it would soon be settled. But I'm for Pearson myself, if for no other reason than that his family will help to fill the chapel." " And I," said Dudman (who always differed from Crickmore), " am for Jebson. He can preach Pearson's head off." " He can talk about nothing but himself," said Crickmore. " He had a solid three hours, telling us about his own doings after supper, and would have gone on till four o'clock in the morning if I had not sent him to bed." For three weeks this momentous question was discussed without coming any nearer to an agreement, until Rufus settled it by suggest- ing that as Crickmore wanted Pearson and Dudman wanted Jebson, they should agree to invite neither, but fix on Chesterton, which they did, and to him was given the call. Rufus, one afternoon, was busy in his garden syringing some rose trees. Far down the street he could see a big, awkward lad shambling along, carrying a quart pot in his hand. Every now and then he stuck a finger into the middle of the pot, and then, drawing it forth, quickly inserted it in his mouth and sucked it. Between times he was whistling a Sunday-school hymn. When he got alongside the wall, Rufus stopped OVER THE GARDEN WALL. 23 him. " Hallo ! Billy. Treacle in that jug, eh ? " " Yes, Mr. Wentworth." * ' And what's that you're whistling ? " " Want to be an angel," replied the lad, shamefacedly. " That's a strange kind of mixture, Billy. Want to be an angel, and stealing your mother's treacle. You won't grow wings that way, my lad." ' ' I wonno' stealin', Mister Wentworth. Deed, I wonno ! " ' ' No," replied Rufus, ' * you were taking it and sayin' nothin' ! Well, there isn't much difference, I guess, in the police-courts. But look here, lad, let me give you a bit of advice. * Keep your ringers out of other folks' treacle jars. And tell the truth, lad. Fibbin' and stealin' have sent many a man to the gallows. Did thou ever hear, Billy, that the devil is a fool ? ' " "No, Mr. Wentworth." " Well, he is. The biggest fool going. Why, now, look at this. First he tempts you to stick your finger into the treacle pot, and he tells you nobody 'ull know. Then he leads you to lie about it, but he hadn't gumpshun to warn you to rub the stains from round the corners of your mouth. Why, anybody with eyes can tell you have been tastin' the sweets of sin, lad." Bill took his sleeve, and, wiping his mouth, said, ' ' Well, I didn't take much." " Six licks between here and the corner of the street," replied Rufus. " And all the treacle in the pot binna' worth the lie you told. Here's a penny, lad. Go to Molly Hinton's and 24 ROSES AND THISTLES. buy some mint humbugs. They'll taste as good as treacle and last a bonnie sight longer. I knaw the devil is apt to take you youngsters as a fisherman does a trout, by puttin' his hook in your mouth. But remember this Billy, there are some things sweet to the palate and bitter in the stomach." Rufus returned to his employment, and the lad went on down the street. By and by a man came along the street with a pig in a donkey cart. Rufus hailed him, and again went to the wall. This time with three roses in his hand. ' "Well, John," he said, "and how's the missus ? " " She's very whammy, Rufus," he replied. " It's her back now, and if it binna her back it's her legs, and if it binna her legs it's her arms, and sumtimes it's all on 'um at once. There's only one thing it don't touch, and thet's her tongue." 1 1 Ah ! " replied Rufus, ' ' it's hard for you both, but you mon be patient, John. Patience is a fine thing. Just suffering with your mouth shut. You knaw it's harder far for Martha than it is for you." "Why, aye!" said John dubiously, "I wouldna mind if it was only in the day time, but it's all the neet as well. No sooner do I shut my eyes than she's groanin' and nudgin' my elbow to make her a cup o' tay, or git her medicin, or summat. But it conna last long, that's a comfort." ' Well, John, just take her these roses with my compliments, and tell her to read the verse I've fastened to them. It's a fine, comfortin' OVER THE GARDEN WALL. 25 bit o' scripture thet, c Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for you.' And here's a bit of silver to buy a chicken for her." " Thank you," said John. " It's very kind of you. I'm sure. There binna many that ever trubbles to ax if she's got a mouth. And I'm just takin' the pig to sell to pay the rent." " And a fine pig she is. How much are you askin' for her." ' 1 Well, she's worth seven pounds of onybody's money, but Mr. Bailey, the butcher, he knaws that I'm fast, so he says he'll only give me five pund ten, and I mun take it or leave it. It binna near her worth as you can see wi' your own eyes. But the agent won't wait any longer. He says he has had his orders from her Ladyship. The time is out, and nobody's wanted that don't pay. The meal and taters that pig has eaten would nearly fill a coal-pit. It's very hard. The butcher is a tight un. He'd skin a flea fur its hide. But I mun let her go, I reckon, or be turned into the road, and the wife's frettin' her inside to fiddle-strings about it." " Well," said Rufus, " have you promised him the pig at his price." " Not yet, but " Well, then," Rufus went on, " you can tell Bailey that you've an offer for the pig at six pound fifteen, and if he dunno care to take her you bring her back. But if I knaw bacon when I see it he'll take it." " You dunno mean " began John. " Ay," said Rufus ; "I dunno want an animal like that any more than I want a hippo- potamus, but I knaw the value of a pig, and 26 ROSES AND THISTLES. I know Bailey. If lie wunno take her, I'll see what I can do." An hour later John called round to say that the butcher had bought the pig at seven pounds. " I thought he would," chuckled Rufus. 1 'What did he say ?" 11 He said that if you had your finger in the pie it was spoiled for his eatin'. But he will be square wi' you before he's done." " Yes," replied Rufus, " Bailey is one of those sharp men that cuts himself. He's so keen makin' money that he forgets there is a line between honest and dishonest profit. The pig was worth seven pounds, and he knew it." Shortly after John was gone, an open carriage, drawn by a splendid pair of bays came along, in which there sat an elderly lady and a young man. When the carriage was opposite the garden the lady exclaimed, ' ' Oh ! how lovely. Do stop, John, a moment, and let me look at the roses." Rufus guessed aright that this was Lady Wincanton, who had lately purchased Lord Forrester's estate, and that the young man was her son, just returned from service in Egypt. When the carriage stopped, Rufus quickly snapped off a number of roses, and fastening one of the tags to them on which was the text, " Behold I come quickly and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be," he approached the wall with a bow. '* Would your ladyship kindly accept a small bouquet ? " he asked. " I've cut the best before, for this is one of the market days, but there are worse roses than these." OVER THE GARDEN WALL. 27 "Oh! thank you," said the lady, smiling, 11 I think they are perfect." " I'll not say that, but they are the nighest things to perfection there is on earth. But they have their thorns to remind us that even beauty may sometimes be dangerous." " Who owns this wonderful garden ? " asked the lady, not accustomed to such moralising as Rufus indulged in. " Why, God Almighty owns it," he replied, " and I'm his under steward. To tell you the truth, ma'am, I never like to hear folks talk about owning anything, but specially sich things as land, and trees and flowers. The very last time I was up at the Hall, Lord Forrester talked about HIS park, and HIS deer, and HIS farmers, and HIS keepers and labourers, as if the earth and the very souls and bodies of men belonged to him. I said to him, ' My Lord, why don't you run a chalk line round the moon and the stars, and say they are yours as well ? ' He laughed, for he knew me, and brought some money out of his breeches' pocket, and said, 1 Money, Wentworth ; money will do many things, but it won't buy the stars.' And I says, 1 No, my lord, nor what's above the stars. Neither will it buy more than one hundred years' tenancy of what is on earth, or in the earth.' And a fortnight after he died, and, like the rest of us, he went away open-handed. I saw Jenny Kerwood makin' his shroud, and I advised her to put some big pockets in it. ' But,' she said, ' it would be no use, except to put his title deeds in, and the lawyers and his creditors wudno' let him take even them to the grave.' And 28 ROSES AND THISTLES. now your Ladyship has bought the place, I hope that you'll remember not to be hard with the poor or oppress the hireling in his wages." Lady Wincanton winced, for she had pur- chased the estate cheap, with the idea of her son settling down as a county magnate, but she was not prepared for spending money on im- proving the property or advancing the wages of the men. Already she had been approached by the agent on the subject of many much- needed repairs and improvements, and had most peremptorily told him her mind. Lord Forrester's rule had been one of iron, but Lady Wincanton's was likely to prove one of steel. Rufus had some inkling as to how matters stood, and hence his plain speaking. During this conversation her son sat twisting the ends of his moustache, seemingly taking no interest in what was going forward. He hated the country, and could not think why his mother had been induced to buy Stourbridge Hall, which, he declared, was fifty miles from every- where. But his mother had her reasons, some of which she gave, but the most important of which she withheld. He, after a fortnight's suffering from ennui, was longing to be back in London, where he had in three months spent a peer's income, and was recognised as one of the fastest young bloods of the West End. Some scandal about him and a young actress had reached his mother's ears, and she, being a woman of strong mind, at once took action, bought Stourbridge, and dragged her son away from the gaiety of the city to what he called " rural incarceration." OVER THE GARDEN WALL. 29 He was getting tired of the old man's preach- ing, when suddenly there came on the scene a vision of beauty which caused him to open his eyes and ejaculate ' ' Be-gad ! " Emerging from among the trees was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had made a wreath of rose-buds, and put it on her head, while a glorious "Dijon" was pinned in her dress, and she stepped like a queen. " I beg your pardon, papa," she exclaimed, " I did not know you were engaged. Here is a telegram, and mamma thought I should bring it to you at once." " All right, Gwen," he said. " Thank you, dear." During this conversation Lady Wincanton had sat with wonder in her eyes, looking at Gwen, who had slightly bowed to the occupants of the carriage. " Your daughter, I presume, Mr. " " Wentworth's my name ; but everyone calls me Rufus. No, your ladyship, the Lord never give me the honour of havin' children o' my own. I wish she was. She's just the best and prattiest bit of flesh and blood goin'. She is Ai at Lloyd's." " Well," replied her ladyship, " I must come again some day and have a look through your garden, and then I may get an introduction to Miss . Ah. what did you [say her name is ? ' " She is Gwen to us, and she writes Went- worth when she has any occasion for a second name though that is not her name. But she thinks it is, and she's carried that label ever 3 o ROSES AND THISTLES. since she was as high as a gillyflower. We shall be glad to see your ladyship, if you can put up with common folks and plain ways." The carriage then drove off, and Lady Win- canton turned to her son and laughingly said, " What an amusing old man, to be sure. He is quite an original. But the girl is certainly a rustic beauty. I must see if I can engage her for my maid." Her son nodded his approval. His mother thought he was indifferent. Had she known it he was already formulating a plan for a private call on Rufus, in order that he might again see Gwen, whose beauty had made a great im- pression on his mind. He had come to the conclusion that country life might not be after all entirely unendurable. Rufus read his telegram, and then went into the house with a smiling face. " Well, Gwen," he said, " what do you think of Lady Wincanton and her son ? " " I barely got a look at them, Dad. But I thought her dress was rather loud, and I wouldn't be seen in that bonnet of hers for five pounds ! " ' ' Aye ! " laughed Rufus, ' ' how much a woman sees at a glance. I hardly noticed she had a bonnet on. And what about her son ? " * ' Oh ! " said Gwen, ' ' with his rings, and waxen moustache, and patent leather boots, he looked the very embodiment of shallow conceit." ' ' Dear me ! " exclaimed Rufus, ' * Poor young fellow ! Shining at the wrong end, was he, dear ? For quickness, there's nothing to beat a woman, not even greased lightning. OVER THE GARDEN WALL. 31 Why, I do declare, you're Uncle Joe's comin'. Put on the kettle, my dear." At that moment there entered a sharp little man, who, in appearance, was a pocket edition of Rufus. " Our Rufe's got all the bones and I got all the brains," was his characteristic reply when anybody alluded to their respective sizes. He was the best known man for fifty miles round, an the mention of his name always raised a smile. "Hallo Rufe!" he exclaimed. "Guess your job's gone now and you'll have to join the unemployed. The new vicar binna going to have you trottin' round the flock, he's going to do the work himself. You've been Bishop of Summerton long enough, and it's time somebody else got an innings. I've had serious thoughts of settin' up in that line myself, only I've not butter enough on my tongue. But they say the new man is a tartar for work." " Thank God for that," replied Rufus. " He'll find plenty to do in this parish. " Had your tea, Joe ? " " No, nor dinner either," said Joe, " and I'm feelin' awful slack about the third button of my waistcoat. I havn't two women to coddle me at home like you, and often miss a meal rather than be bothered to get it. It saves time, and trouble, and good vittals." ' ' You should get married, Uncle," said Gwen. " That would be like cutting your foot off because you are bothered with a corn," retorted Joe. " The remedy's worse than the disease. Marrying and hanging go together. The one is for fools and the other for knaves." 32 ROSES AND THISTLES. 11 Joe," said his brother, " did thou ever hear the story of the fox and the grapes ? " " Ay," replied Joe, " and of the fox who lost his tail and tried to persuade all the rest that their tails were as useless as warts on your nose, or bunions on your feet. Say grace, Rufe, and let's get to business. Those hot cakes are just crying to be eaten. But cut it short, man ; the shorter the grace, the longer the meal. I feel like a balloon wi' all the gas out." * ' Humph," said Rufus, * ' if all the gas was out of you, what would there be left ? " " Brains enough to stock two parishes like this," answered his brother. " That's the reason I'm a bachelor." YOU LL GO NO FURTHER UNTIL YOU HAVE EMPTIED YOUR POCKETS." Chap. 3. CHAPTER III. A NONCONFORMIST BISHOP. " He bore his great commission in his look." DRYDEN. RUFUS was a lay preacher amongst the Primitive Methodists, and a popular one into the bargain. His unconventional style, quaint sayings, and original illustrations, captured the attentions of the country people, and he was always sure of a crowded congregation. Beloved and trusted by all who knew him, daily adorn- ing the doctrine he preached, wise in council, a sagacious and courageous leader, he was everywhere known by the title which his brother Joe had first coined for him " the Methodist Bishop." He walked many miles to preach the Gospel he loved. His Bible and hymn book were his constant companions, he knew them from cover to cover, studying them on his long journeys on foot, until he could recite many chapters through without a mistake. " Put some flowers among your wheat," he said to one of the ministers whose sermons were thoughtful and good, but very heavy. ' ' That's God's plan. The wheat is bonnie enough, but the flowers are bonnier, and so the Heavenly Father sticks a scarlet poppy here and a yellow 34 ROSES AND THISTLES. marigold there for the sake of variety. ' Weeds, nowt but weeds,' our Joe says ; but they are there on purpose. They are God's illustrations ; bits of colour to give relief to the green or gold as it may be. Your sermons are wonderful, but they are too much of a much-ness ; stick in a few flowers, mon, if only for the sake of the wimmin and the bairns." And that which he advised others he practised himself. " When I see the folks shuttin' their eyes, and opening their mouths, or counting the flies on the ceilin', or huntin' for peppermints to keep themselves awake, I know I must waken myself up, and so I stick in a bit of a story or illustration, and they rise to it like trout to the bait on a summer's evening." He was returning home from a far-away appointment one evening, and when night came on he had still six long miles to walk ere he reached home ; but bravely he trudged on, singing " Christ He sits on Zion's Hill, He receives poor sinners still," when from out of a coppice an evil looking man sprang and barred the way. 11 Well, my lad, what do you want ? " asked Rufus. ' ' All you have ; and be quick about it," was the insolent reply, accompanied by an oath. ' ' You shouldna' swear, friend ; I always refuse to talk to a swearer. I'd as soon eat my dinner off a dirty plate as hold conversation with a man that swears. So I must wish you good-night, and a clean heart, and go and leave you." A NONCONFORMIST BISHOP. 35 " You'll go no further until you have emptied your pockets," said the thief; " so out wi' your valuables if you've got any." " Valuables, mon," replied Rufus, " I've the most valuable thing in the world in my pocket it's more precious than rubies." "Rubies!" replied the astonished thief; " what are you doin' with rubies r " " Nay," said Rufus, " I didna say I had got rubies, but something that is more precious than rubies. Mon, I've a guide in my pocket that tells where there is a pearl hidden that is worth a thousand rubies." " Now, then, owd man, no gammon wi' me, or it will be wuss for you. If you've got owt worth havin', out it comes. I dunna want to be here all neet palaverin'. There will be somebody comin' soon, and I want no inter- ference." " There is somebody here now, only you canna see them. God is here, and the angels are here, and I'm just as safe as if I were asleep in bed at home. But this is what I've been talking about " and he pulled his pocket Bible out and presented it to the thief, who no sooner saw what it was than he uttered a volley of oaths. Rufus began to walk away, but was speedily stopped by the strong rough hand of the tramp gripping his shoulder. " I told you I should leave you if you swore again," he said. " Your tongue, I fear, friend, is a dirty one, and a dirty tongue means a dirty soul. But you don't care for my Bible. Well, hand it me back. I should be sorry to part wi' it, for it was given me by a minister who is now 36 ROSES AND THISTLES. in heaven. But if you would have read it " " Have you any money fc " broke in the thief impatiently. " Preaching binna in my line." " Ay, I have a threepenny-bit wi' a hole in, I took out of the collection box and put a better one in its place ; for I greatly dislike to see anything that is not as good as it might be offered to the Lord. Yet there are some folk who, if they have a bent or bad coin, put it into the collection as if He who formed the eye could not see, and He that considers the heart could not understand. And I have twopence in copper and a half-sovereign that is all." " Hand them over," said the thief. " You are welcome to them, friend. I hope you will spend them wisely, and " " Your watch," interrupted the thief " give me your watch." 11 Well," replied Rufus, " I'm a little partial to it and am loath to part with it, for I've had it many years ; but if you are determined to have it, here you are. It is not a bad watch if you allow for it gaining nigh three-quarters of an hour almost every day. I put it right last night, so it is three-quarters fast now ; it will be an hour and a half to-morrow night, and on Thursday when it is one o'clock it will be some- where nigh on to a quarter to five. Take it, friend, and let it remind you that, although time is measured by minutes and hours, eternity is not." " Anything else left, eh ? Empty your pockets." " Yes," said Rufus, I've a pocket-knife with one blade that won't cut and two that will ; A NONCONFORMIST BISHOP. 37 also a bunch of keys, of no use to anybody but the owner. I've also a paper full of acid drops for the youngsters, for I never like to pass a child wi'oot givin' it something to chew. It's the nature of young things to be sucking. And that is all I have on me, for which I am thank- ful for your sake, for the more you take the heavier will be the burden when you come to cross the Jordan. Now you have cleared me out, let me give you a piece of advice, though I fear it will be like casting sugar into the sea. But I'll risk it, seeing that we arc commanded to sow beside all waters. Give up this business it will land you in jail here, and somewhere worse than jail hereafter. You'll be heartily welcome to all you've taken from me if you would only promise to live an honest life henceforth. Now let us pray." Rufus took off his hat and began a prayer for " this poor lost soul " who was living in open defiance of the law of God and his country, but when he opened his eyes the man was gone. The next morning when Rufus went into his greenhouse he found all his belongings in a neat little parcel, and with it a note scribbled in pencil : " I'm going to take your advice and chuck it. It's a pretty rotten business at the best. My last theft is a rose from your garden, which I shall keep in remembrance of our meeting. Ta-ta. B. B. B." " Bless the Lord," exclaimed Rufus, " this is true repentance. But I wish he had stopped for his breakfast. I'm glad to get the watch back, but I would have given him the money as a start towards an honest life," 38 ROSES AND THISTLES. Three years afterwards Rufus received from Australia a fine new lever watch wrapped in a piece of paper on which there was written : " What time is it by the old ticker now ? I have found the pearl. B. B. B." Though this was the most notable case of conversion in his experience, yet there were many others, for he preached in order to bring men to spiritual decision, and was disappointed unless there was some visible token that he had not toiled in vain. He studied closely how to arrest the careless, and it is safe to say there was not an unconverted man for miles round with whom he had not sought to have con- versation on spiritual matters. And this was done so naturally and deftly that nobody felt there was any incongruity in the way in which he brought in the great themes that relate to the spiritual life. His religion was not merely a part of the man it was himself. To him every day was a Sabbath and every duty sacred. The secularities of life were lifted into an at- mosphere which made them holy. No youth or maiden ever thought of leaving Summerton without bidding Mr. Wentworth " Good-bye," and each one carried away a bouquet, and oftentimes a more substantial token of his interest in their welfare. Those in trouble naturally sought his advice ; the sick and the dying sent for him to pray with them. He was perfectly fearless in his advocacy of what he believed to be right, and he rebuked the rich for their follies as readily as the poor for their sins. Nobody had a more sincere admiration for A NONCONFORMIST BISHOP. 39 him than his brother Joe, but that did not exempt him from his biting, sarcastic tongue, which spared nobody. " Our Rufe has got all the religion of the family, and I've got all the original sin," he once told the Vicar. " It works that way sometimes. I take after the l he ' side of the house, and he takes after the ' she ' side. Our mother, what there was of her never more than seven stones at her top weight was as good as a woman can be who is tied to a man who is too idle to work, and hasna' courage enough to steal. He was nearly a cart load, but he was far too fond of fat bacon and beer to figure as much of a saint. When mother died he cleared out, and left Rufe and me to go to the work- house, only I ran away, and have been in most parts of the world since then. I dunno how it will come out at last, but it seems to me Rufe started wi' ten chances to one of getting to heaven as compared to me. There's something not quite square about it, only I canno' quite figger it out. It seems to me one of the things you parsons dunno' understand is that while an ounce of grace will save some men, it will take a ton to lift others over the first cloud in the direction of Heaven." " Ever hear how Rufe cured Jim Hutchins of 'tato stealin' ? " 11 No. Well, it happened in the long winter we had ten years ago. Jim was out of work, and the missus had just presented him with a new baby, and I guess they hadn't much to give to beggars. Rufe saw one morning that his 'tato pile in the garden had been tampered 40 ROSES AND THISTLES. with. He said nowt, but slept after that with one eye open. Understand ? One neet he heard the squeak of a wheelbarrow and up he gets, slips his clothes on, and out of doors in the time it would take a flea to jump, and there sure enough was a man working like a Trojan fillin' the barrow wi' 'tato's. Rufe got near enuff to see that it was Jim Hutchins, and so he jumps over the garden wall, and hurries to the top of the hill, knowing Jim must go that way home. By and bye he hears him comin' and goes half way down to meet him, whistlin'. " Stop poor sinner, stop and think, Before you further go." " f Good morning, Jim,' he says. ' You are about early.' " * No earlier than yourself,' said Jim, a bit flabbergasted. " c Oh,' says Rufe, ' I like to come out some- times when all the rest of the world is sleepin', it helps reflection. An' then one sees strange things sometimes. Bats and owls and other creatures who love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. But you've got a big load there, Jim, and as I'm in no hurry to get home I dunno' mind if I give you a push up the hill." Jim tried to make all sorts of excuses, but Rufe was between the shafts of the barrow in a twinkling, and he trundled it right to Jim's door. " ' These seem nice pertatoes, Jim,' he said, picking one up and examining it in the moon- light. ' Sherry-blues, eh ? Well, the next time A NONCONFORMIST BISHOP. 41 thou wants a few 'taters, Jim, begin at the other end of the pile, and thou will find " flukes." They bile better than "skerries" and are mealier. Good neet, Jim, and gi' my regards to the missus.' Next morning a little lad called at Jim's with three pounds of bacon and a note ( Would he please accept this wi' Rufe's com- pliments, as 'tatoes wi'oot bacon are poor feedin'." " It fetched Jim, that did. He was at Rufe's house in haaf an hour wi' tears in his eyes and made a clean breast of it. I dunno what Rufe said to him, but he joined the Methodies, and somebody (whose initials were, I think, ' R. W.') helped him to buy a hoss and cart, and he did well, did Jim, and is now living on his own little farm. Funny chap is Rufe. His way binna mine, but you see he's a can- didate for a front place in the choir up yonder, while I'm thinkin' of applying for the position of gatekeeper, so that if I get tired of the music I can slip out and see how they are gettin' on at the other place." CHAPTER IV. THE COMING OF THE CHILD. " An infant crying in the night, An infant crying for the light, And with no language but a cry." TENNYSON. IT was nineteen years since that memorable morning in June when Rufus Wentworth re- ceived the unexpected present of a baby girl. He had risen very early to cut flowers for the market, and he found it sleeping as cosily as a bird in its nest inside the tool shed. A bundle of sweet hay had been spread in his garden wheelbarrow and the child lay on the top, wrapped in a Paisley shawl, and dressed in a simple gown of spotless white linen, tied at the shoulders with blue ribbons. A piece of paper was pinned to its dress on which there was the one word " Gwendoline." That was all. Rufus gazed at the amazing sight for a little while, and then hurried into the house and called his wife. " Get up, lass," he cried, " the angels have been in the garden and have left one of their number behind." To Lucy Wentworth it had been a silent sorrow that hers was a childless home. She had a passionate love for children, and the THE COMING OF THE CHILD. 43 hunger of motherhood leapt into her eyes when- ever she sat in the chapel and saw other women bringing their babies to be baptized. As for Rufus, children gathered round him as bees do around a honey pot. His pockets were apt to get sticky with humbugs and other sweetmeats he carried about with him. The worthy couple stood looking at the un- conscious little one in silence for a few moments, and then Lucy stooped down and gently kissed the child. For a week unavailing inquiries were made in all directions with a view to finding out how the child came into the garden and to whom it belonged. But by that time the little one had crept into the heart of the foster mother in such a way that a dread stole over her lest the child should be taken away ; a fear that someone should come and claim it. At the end of a month Rufus declared that if by any chance the child should be taken away it would break his wife's heart. He would sometimes wake up in the night to find her clutching the helpless little mite tightly to her, as if her very dreams were haunted by the thought of separation. But months passed and gradually the startled look died from her eyes whenever a stranger presented himself at the gate. And so the child grew and they called her by the name on her dress, and she never knew but what Rufus and Lucy were her father and mother. An attractive child, she developed into a beautiful maiden, who turned the heads of all the village youths, and on the authority of Rufus she was as good as she was beautiful. 44 ROSES AND THISTLES. Nature had been liberal in her gifts, and along with a winsome personality she possessed a very good soprano voice of unusual sweetness and compass. The dream of her life was to be a great singer ; a career Rufus dreaded for her because of its accompanying temptations. But she was in great demand for concerts and enter- tainments, and always was sure of an enthusiastic reception and a vigorous encore. The latter, Joe (Uncle Joe, as she always called him) always took credit for. " They would never have called you back but for me," he would say. " I led the clappin' and stampin', and they couldna' for shame but follow. I have seldom heard you do worse than to-neet, it was just somethin' atween the skreekin' of a wheelbarrow trundle and the grindin' of a circular saw. But our folk like to encourage local talent, such as it is. Now, if I were to sing " " I'll never go with you any more," Gwen would exclaim. " You are a crochety, con- ceited, fault-finding old man, there." " Wait till you are asked, my dear," he would reply. " I make myself come just to keep up the credit of the family. I dunno wonder our Rufe has lost all his hair if you often sing at home. There," he continued, as she boxed his ears, " that comes of being a candid critic. If I buttered you up, and told you that Jenny Lind wasn't a bit of a piper where you come, you would just be suited, and it would be * Uncle Joe this, and Uncle Joe that,' and kisses would be as cheap as sour apples, but because I'm a truthful man I get treated wuss than a wall-eyed hoss that wunno draw a bit." THE COMING OF THE CHILD. 45 But Joe would straightway have knocked down the first man who said a word either against Gwen or her singing. It was a pastime he kept exclusively for himself. He regularly accused Rufus of spoiling the lass, and the latter always retorted that " if she could have been spoiled Joe would have had that crime on his conscience long ago." To keep herself in pocket-money Gwen had a few pupils in the farmhouses around the village to whom she taught music. She was returning from giving a lesson one fine afternoon, and having plenty of time on her hands she perched herself on a stile, and soon was engrossed in reading " Ivanhoe." She was startled by a manly voice, which asked " Please, miss, can you tell me if I can reach Stourbridge Hall by this path ? " On looking up she at once recognised Harold Wincanton standing gazing at her. " I beg your pardon, sir," she said blushing prettily and jumping down from her seat. " I did not notice you coming across the meadow." " It must be something very interesting," he said, " that so absorbed your attention. I feel I owe you an apology for having come upon the scene and broken the spell." "On the contrary, I had no right to be sitting where it was possible to be an obstruc- tion to the public. Yes, this is the pathway to the Hall gates. You keep straight on till you come to the fourth field and then take the road to the left." "Thank you," he replied. " I think we have met before, have we not ? " 46 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Yes, once, about a week ago." " Ay, yes, I remember. My mother has talked of nothing since but the beauty of the roses your father was kind enough to present to her, and I was promising myself an early visit in order to try and secure her some more." " I am sure my father would be delighted to send her some," said Gwen. " I will ask him to do so." " Pray do not trouble," he said. "I will call and then I can pay him for them. f ' Oh, dad would never think of taking money for his flowers," answered Gwen. " He never sells any, except those he sends to market ; and he only sends when he has so many that he does not know what to do with them." " I see. He is quite a public benefactor. It is surely a novel and interesting way for bene- volence to find expression growing roses for the public good. It is something new in the way of charity, and is certainly an example worth imitating." " Oh, Dad is nothing if not original," replied Gwen. " That furnishes another reason why I should call, for since I have been down here the people have seemed to me to be as much alike as Egyptian babes, and the roads so resemble one another that it seemed hardly to matter which way one goes. It would be a little refreshing to light upon something original." " I fear you have not much love for the country, sir. To me every bit of the landscape has its own charm, and I think the scenery around Summerton is decidedly beautiful." THE COMING OF THE CHILD. 47 " Well," he replied, " I cannot truthfully say that I have yet become passionately fond of it. I entirely agree with Dr. Johnson, that one green field is very much like another, and that London is the finest city in the world." ' ' I have never been to London, and so cannot express an opinion. I do not care for large towns and crowds of people. But I am detain- ing you, sir," she added, blushing ; ' c so I wish you good-day." " Not at all," he replied " The fact is, I find time hanging so heavily on my hands that I am grateful to anyone who helps me to pass an hour, without wondering how I am going to get through the rest part of the day." " That is strange," said Gwen. " I think the time passes so very quickly. But that reminds me I have some pupils expecting me at three. I must hurry off, for I never like to keep them waiting." And so, almost before he realised it, she slipped past him, and was hurrying down the meadow path. He stood gazing after her for a time, and then lesiurely strolled homewards, whistling a song out of the latest opera. In two days he called at the Rose Garden, ostensibly to get some flowers for his mother, really to see Gwen. But in this he was disappointed, for she had gone to the Red Acres, and, instead, he had to content himself with making friends with Rufus. He professed he was fond of roses, flattered the old man to the top of his bent, and before he left promised to call again soon, and carried home the most magnificent bouquet of roses he had 48 ROSES AND THISTLES. ever seen. Truth to tell, he did not care to be bothered with it, but he could not very well reconcile his expression of newly-found love for flowers with a refusal to take them. 11 Here, mater," he cried, when he got home, " I stumbled across that queer old fellow who grows roses ; he insisted on sending you a bundle as big as a besom, with his regards. He's the oddest old fish I ever saw ; wanted to know if I was converted, and recommended me to read the Bible every morning. It was too funny for anything." " Oh, how lovely ! " exclaimed her ladyship. " I never saw anything more beautiful. But here is something tied to it " ; and she lifted a label, and read : " Blessed is he that con- sidereth the poor ; the Lord shall remember him in the time of trouble." Rufus, when telling his wife of the visit, said : ' ' He does not seem a bad sort, but he appeared to think I was like a flounder that needs a lot of butter to fry in. He laid it on with a trowel. His tongue seems to be lubricated wi' sweet oil. I might have been a young lady to whom he was goin' to propose marriage. 'Spect he thowt I had a big bump of self-esteem. But I guess I'm too old to be blown up much wi' fine words. I remember an old preacher used to say, ' A flatterer is second cousin to a liar.' " CHAPTER V. A GOOD SHEPHERD AND A REFRACTORY SHEEP. " For he had sworn x in face of God And man, to deal sincerely with their souls ; To preach the Gospel for the Gospel's sake, Had sworn to hate and put away all pride." POLLOCK. THE Rev. Bedford Bird, Vicar of Summerton, had but recently come to the village. His pre- decessor, the Rev. Wilford Cross, had grossly neglected his parish, made no pretensions to preaching, and had no sympathy with the plain, country folk to whom he had to minister. He spoke of them to his friends as " clodhoppers " and " chawbacons," and addressed them as though he considered it an infinite condescension to be troubled with them at all. He had a private income derived from a brewery, and not infrequently, it was said, imbibed very freely of the liquor that was produced there. Scandal gathered around his name, and it was carried to the Bishop, who had on more than one occasion been approached with a view to his deposition when he suddenly died. He had his good qualities was generous, kindly disposed to the poor but had greatly missed his vocation, and was as fit to be a parish minister as Eli's sons were to be priests. So ROSES AND THISTLES. But his successor was another type of man, conscientious to the point of scrupulousness ; a fine scholar, who had won distinction at Oxford ; a Christian gentleman, and a saint. Like his predecessor, he was a bachelor, and his shyness, in the presence of women, was one of his peculiar characteristics. " He treats every woman as if she were an angel, and was afraid of rubbing against her wings," wrote Miss Peck, in a con- fidential letter to a friend. Jennie Brown, an old woman living in a mud-house, declared that when he called to see her, and she was lifting the big iron pot from the fire, he insisted on doing it for her, and told her she must have a copper in which to boil her clothes, as it was not fit for a woman to lift a big pot ; and forthwith sent Jones, the bricklayer, to attend to it. Soon he was known all over the parish, and his " Peace be to this house," became a familiar and welcome sound to the cottager. There was no home in which sorrow came but the vicar went ; no affliction but he was there to comfort and help. A guileless, child-hearted man, just such an one as Lazarus of Bethany, whom Jesus loved. He delighted in the country, the old ivy covered church, the vicarage smoth- ered with flowers, all its quaint gables hidden away among laburnum and hawthorn, and had no higher ambition than to serve his generation to the full measure of his ability, and then to sleep in the quiet churchyard among the people to whom he had ministered. He found the Metho- dist Church aggressively vigorous, but instead of girding at it as his predecessor had done, he gladly recognised the good done, and welcomed A GOOD SHEPHERD. 51 his Nonconformist neighbours as allies, and soon was on the best of terms with them, and especially Rufus Wentworth the Methodist Bishop. " He'll do," was the remark of the latter. " Mr. Cross was as narrow as a herrin's back, but Mr. Bird is as wide as a twenty-acre field. He admits that it will take a pretty big door to let all the Methodists into heaven, but Mr. Cross seemed to think there would only be one or two let in as samples, and by special favour of the Bishops." " Well, Dad," said Gwen, " narrowness and exclusiveness is not confined to one sect. I heard Chidlow saying the other Sunday night, in his prayer, ' that the Methodists were the salt of the earth, and the light of the world,' and when I told Uncle Joe, he said ' he thought the Lord would be a bit surprised at the in- formation coming from the quarter it did.' ' " Uncle Joe's sayings are not fit for a young lady to repeat," said Mrs. Wentworth. " He gets more irreverent every day. He declared that if the vicar is half as good as he looks there is nobody fit in this parish for him to associate with, except himself and Billy Bowden the idiot." Rufus laughed until he shook again, and nearly choked himself. Just then a knock came to the door, and a " May I come in ? " was followed by the portly person of the vicar himself. * ' Ay, come in, sir," said Rufus, blushing like a child caught in the act of some petty theft, as he tried to straighten his countenance. " Here, 52 ROSES AND THISTLES. Gwen, reach the vicar a chair. We are all Methodists at this house, as I daresay you know, but we are right glad to see you. This is my wife, the youngest and bonniest woman in the county for her age, who manages me ; and this is Gwen who manages both of us." " For shame, father," exclaimed Mrs. Went- worth. " It's true as the Gospel," chuckled Rufus. " Well, sir, and how do you like the parish ? " " I like the vicarage very much, and the people still better, sir," replied the vicar. " I am hoping to be very happy and useful here." " Good," exclaimed Rufus. " It's a pretty corner of the Lord's vineyard. I'll not deny that there's nettles and weeds here and there, but the soil's good, only, if you will allow me to say, a bit neglected. Mr. Cross didn't take kindly to country ways and country folk, and so our people have grown rather slack and careless, especially the young uns." " If all I hear is true," replied the vicar, " that is not your fault, Mr. Wentworth, for wherever I go I hear of your visiting the sick, and warning the careless." " Why," said Rufus, " somebody had to look after the sheep, when the shepherd forgot 'em, and so I did my best. But I'm glad that you've come to take the responsibility off my shoulders." " May I hope, Mr. Wentworth, that there will be no slackening of interest on your part. If so, the parish stands to lose instead of gaining by my presence." " I'll not say," said Rufus, " that I don't A GOOD SHEPHERD. 53 like the work. My brother Joe says that I'm like Father Flynn ' Checking the crazy ones, Coazing the aisy ones, Lifting the lazy ones On wid the stick.' Have you met with Joe yet ? " 11 I don't think I have had the pleasure. I have met with so many new faces and new names since I came that I cannot remember all of them." <c Then you hav'nt met Joe," laughed Rufus. " He's as bad to forget as a hedgehog in bed or a thorn in the finger. Let me advise you, sir, when you do meet him to be on your guard. He was the plague of the late vicar's life. It isn't that he means any harm, but he likes to have his joke, and sometimes other folks don't see the point. When Mr. Cross first came he was just starting to the hunt one mornin' when one of Joe's servin' lads came up with a message that he was to go down to the farm at once, as one of the best servants he had ever known was dying. And very reluctantly he went, as he was not ashamed to own himself, but changing his coat and getting his book, he started. And would you believe it, sir, when he got to the farm it was just one of Joe's oldest and best cows that was dying. The vicar naturally resented it, and I think he never forgave him, and there was a constant feud between them." " I am obliged to you for warning me," said Mr. Bird, " I will be on my guard." A week passed. On the following Monday morning, as the vicar was strolling through the 54 ROSES AND THISTLES. fields, he met a peculiar looking, little man, whose sharp features and dome-like head he had noticed at church on two Sunday mornings. " Good morning, vicar," he said. " That was a fine sermon you preached yesterday morning." " Good morning, sir," replied the vicar. " I thank you for your appreciation." " Double distilled Mother Winslow's soothing syrup couldn't touch it," said Joe (for it was he). " I could see ten folks asleep before you had been talking five minutes ; and though it is years since I slept under a sermon myself, I was three-parts gone when you said ' Amen,' and another five minutes I should have been off. Now, our Rufe, when he preaches, just fixes you down to listen, and he keeps both ears busy for half an hour. There are times when he makes the scalp rise, and others when he makes the tears come, like as if you were a babby, and the man won't let you have a bit of rest. It kind of makes you fidgety for a week, like yeast bubbling up ; but your sermons, sir, are like a drink of whey on a June day." " I am not sure whether you wish to com- pliment me or not," replied the vicar. " But surely not so many were asleep as you state." " More," said Joe. " You can't see behind the pillars, and in the left transept, but I can. Could give you the names, but it wouldn't be fair." " You are Mr. Rufus Wentworth's brother, I think," said the vicar. "Think again," rejoined Joe, "and you'll be wrong. I'm proud of Rufe, sir. He's a A GOOD SHEPHERD. 55 striking example of what a good bringing up he has had. I brought up Rufe myself." " But he is surely older than you," replied the vicar. " I should say you were ten years his junior." " Only four," replied Joe. " See what good temper with fresh air will do for a man. I can eat four meals a day, jump a gate if it is low enough, and there is our Rufus, who is a saint, can't comb his own hair." " Why," said the vicar, surprised, " he seemed vigorous enough when I saw him last week." " Ay ! " said Joe, " he does look so, but its awfully sad, and as true as the Gospel, he can't comb his own hair. You ask him when you visit him again. Ta ! Ta ! I must be going. Busy time just now for farmers. Come and see me when we get the push over. I'm not exactly one of your parishioners, except that I have a field or two, for which I have to pay an abominable amount of tithe, in Summerton ; but I'll be glad to give you a bit of bread and cheese and a drink of buttermilk. I never give parsons anything stronger. Rufe says its dangerous, as they are apt to get Timothy's complaint of a weak stomach, and once they've that they drink like a fish. Good morning, sir." " Good morning," replied the vicar stiffly. He had met with many men before, but none like Joe Wentworth, and he did not know what to make of him. He had walked a few yards, when he was hailed by a loud "Hallo!" from Joe. He turned, and the farmer shouted : ' ' Just occurred 56 ROSES AND THISTLES. to me, I wouldn't ask Rufe about combin' his hair if I were you. His women folks are a bit tender about it. The reason he can't comb it is that he hain't got any." The vicar stood gazing, with an expression on his face in which many emotions mingled. He felt a bit foolish, accustomed as he was to deference and respect, both on his own account and on account of his office. It was a new experience to find a man who had no regard for either the one or the other. The farmer went away chuckling to himself. " I guess he's glad about those fifty yards, that makes the vicar of Stourbridge responsible for this lost sheep," he muttered. " He seems a good sort, and one after Rufe's own heart. Between the pair of them, the devil won't get a look in at Summerton. Guess it will soon be too good for a poor sinner like me to visit it often. When a place becomes very religious it ceases to be interesting. Saints don't make much news- paper copy. Old Tim the poacher, has been oftener in the paper than half the folks that go to church or chapel either. I must ask Rufe how it is. Seems to me that on that principle it's not heaven but t'other place where there will be the liveliest doings." This was the first of many interviews Joe had with the vicar. Truth to tell he had con- ceived a great liking for the grave, stately clergy- man and was seen oftener at church than he had been for years, but he would not " let on," as he put it, and was a thorn in the flesh to the good man, who could not understand how anyone could be reverent one moment and A GOOD SHEPHERD. 57 flippant the next ; breaking jests over sacred things and uttering the most outrageous opinions. He was often greatly offended at some profane joke, or coarse witticism, of the farmer's, who was never more delighted than when he was " baiting the parson," and then at other times he was amazed at the practical wisdom and shrewdness of his remarks. " Vicar," he said one day, " why dunno you provide something for the men and lads at neet ? In towns there is plenty goin' on, but here in the winter time there's nowt but the public house and the street, 'cept for those who go to chapel, where they run something most neets : Band of Hope, Good Templars, prayer meetings, class meetings, preachin', tea fights, and coffee and bun tuck-outs. They're always at it. They dunno give the devil a chance. I tell Rufe they're regular sweaters, and if they can do nothin' else they start revival meetin's, and bring a long-haired man, or a short-haired woman, to keep things lively. I guess if any of them miss their way to Canaan's fair and happy shore they will catch it pretty hot down below. But at the church it's just Sunday and nothin' more." " I think you're right, Mr. Wentworth," owned the vicar, " I must think about it." " Reet," said Joe, " and if a five pound note stands in the way call at the Red Acres, and maybe I'll be able to put an extra tenner on a hoss and spare half of it." " Do you mean betting ? " asked the vicar, aghast at the idea of obtaining money by such means. 58 ROSES AND THISTLES. 11 Why not ? " asked the imperturbable farmer, who really meant nothing of the sort. " The world is like music, full of flats and sharps, and it is the business of the sharps to get all they can out of the flats. I'm a sharp myself, and you, well, I'm not sure. Perhaps you are both." " I will take no money that is not honestly earned," replied the Vicar. " I think betting is one of the worst evils that afflicts our modern life. I'm sorry to hear you indulge in it, Mr. Wentworth. " I didn't say so," replied Joe, who, as a matter of fact, never did. " I simply asked a question, and you jumped down my throat before the words were out of my mouth. But to come back again to what we were speaking about. That is not the only reform that is needed in this parish. The youngsters need handlin', for they are as brazen-faced and im- pudent a set as you will find within a hundred miles. It all comes of the wimin gossiping too much." " I'm afraid that it is a habit that is ineradic- able," replied the vicar, with a smile. " Maybe, but you can begin with the young- sters. If I want a good flock of sheep I pay special attention to the lambs. Up there in the schoolhouse they are teachin' them all sorts of nonsense that binna worth headroom, such as how far it is to the moon, as if anybody wanted to go there for a holiday. And they learn what sort of man King George III. was, or at least what the writers say, for nobody ever tells the truth about kings. It wouldna' do, for some A GOOD SHEPHERD. 59 of 'em were poor stuff to make men of. But they dunno teach them that it's a pretty measly thing for a big lad to let his old mother dig the 'tatoes for dinner while he plays hopscotch, and the girls that their best manners ought to be kept at home, and not just brought out for the special benefit of the gentry." The result of this conversation was that a village reading room and library were com- menced, and Joe contributed ten pounds towards it, on a promise from the vicar that nobody should know. To his brother, who warmly approved of the vicar's venture, he strongly depreciated the scheme, and declared it was doomed to fail. But when the vicar in his opening speech said that the village owed the conception of the idea to Mr. Joseph Wentworth, Joe, who was hanging on the edge of the crowd dropped his head and bolted, exclaiming " that parsons and women ought never to know anything that was not printed in the papers," and for a whole month he was not seen in the village. CHAPTER VI. THE LAND AND THE LADY. " Why did she love him ? Curious fool be still, Is human love the growth of human will ? " UNDER Lord Forrester some of the worst features of English landlordism had found ex- pression. He was utterly careless as to the comfort or the well-being of his tenantry, so long as his rent was forthcoming. There were, however, occasions when he had generous fits, and he would spend freely while they lasted. But, on the whole, a more neglected estate it would have been very difficult to find. When Lady Wincanton bought it, the farmers and cottagers fondly hoped to obtain better con- ditions, but they were doomed to disappoint- ment. At first she met them with smiles and fair promises, but when they became im- portunate for her to fulfil the latter, they found that she had no mind thereto. " If they didn't like it, they could leave it," was the satisfaction they received when they complained. And not only were their complaints unheeded, but in every possible case rents were raised, and every opportunity was taken advantage to make the estate yield the last possible penny. Some left, but others who had all their little capital invested in their farms preferred to submit to every new imposition, with a bitter THE LAND AND THE LADY. 61 sense of social wrong in their hearts, rather than face ruin. The situation was gloomily discussed at each returning market day, but with little satisfaction to those concerned. Twice a depu- tation waited upon Lady Wincanton's agent, Mr. Dyson, who expressed his personal sympathy with the sufferers and his hopelessness of doing anything to better their condition. Being a man of conscience, he at length resigned, after a stormy scene with Lady Wincanton, when he frankly refused to add additional weight to an already over-burdened tenant. " The land is poor, and lies for the most part close to the coppice, and more than half the produce is devoured by the game," he said. " Whitby has already lost a few hundreds on the place, and cannot hold out much longer." " Harold informs me there are fruit trees enough on the place to pay the rent," she replied, " and that, properly tilled, the land would produce half as much again." " That is not so, your ladyship. Whitby is a good practical farmer, sober and industrious, and the place is rented now beyond its worth." " I sometimes think, Dyson, you hold a brief for the tenants," she answered, " and * ' I hope your ladyship does not think that " " Oh ! " broke in Lady Wincanton, " I have long since learned that every man has his price, and that the only way to safeguard one's in- terests is to look after them oneself." * ' Which your ladyship shall certainly do for me," replied the agent. " I have endeavoured to discharge my duties faithfully, but there are limits beyond which I am not 62 ROSES AND THISTLES. prepared to go. And if you will permit me to say so, there are also limits to what landowners ought to do and tenants to suffer." " When I require your advice, sir, I will ask for it. In the meantime you will kindly com- plete all your arrangements as speedily as possible, and your salary shall be ready for you." The agent bowed stiffly and did not reply. " I presume you have served notice to quit on the Bremners ? " " Yes, your ladyship." ' ' And what did they say ? " " Something I cannot repeat in a lady's ears. My opinion is that you would do well to leave them alone." ' ' Your opinion, sir, shall be sought when it is needed. Perhaps you can translate into proper English what they did say of me." Again the agent bowed, and there was a strange light in his eyes. " Well, Madam," he replied, " they declared they would burn the place down sooner than you should have it, and made ugly threats of personal violence, and it is my duty to inform you I fear they will endeavour to carry their intentions into execution if driven to extremities. They are a wild, fierce lot, and I would not be the man to evict them for the wealth of three counties." " Pooh ! Cowards are easily frightened." The agent drew himself up as though he had received a blow in the face with a whip. " The conventions of Society," he said, " allow your sex the privilege of insulting mine, and THE LAND AND THE LADY. 63 there is no redress but to endure. I can at least protect myself from further annoyance by retiring, which I will do at once, simply adding that by Saturday I shall be able to leave your Ladyship's employ." " I'm not sorry he's going," she said, when informing Harold of what had taken place. " He's a meddling fellow, and seems to think it part of his duty to act as my Father Confessor and Spiritual Adviser." " I am not sure whether his advice about the Bremners is not good, Egad ! They strike me as a scabby lot," responded Harold, " and they seem to hobnob with all the scamps, tramps, and rabble of the county." " The more reason why we should get rid of them. Slater tells me they haven't the slightest right to the land. They came there nearly twenty years ago, and pitched a tent, and commenced to make besoms. Then they built a hut, and now they have erected a home- stead. I wonder Lord Forrester allowed it. But if he was blind to his own interests, I am not blind to mine." " Right, mother mine," rejoined her son. " It is a crime your worst enemy would not bring against you. But you remember the old saying c Those who handle thistles should wear thick gloves.' ' ' ' Nevertheless, I shall instruct Slater to have them ejected at the expiration of the term. I have also ordered him to inquire into the terms of the Red Acres Farm. I think the rental is far too low." " Humph," replied Harold, who had his 64 ROSES AND THISTLES. reasons for not wishing to disturb Joe Went- worth. " It seems to me, mother, that you bother yourself about details which might well be left to your subordinates." " Yes, and be robbed on all sides," she replied. " If I had a son who took an interest in anything beyond the gratification of his own whims, I might be spared the worry and anxiety. As it is, I must keep my hand on things myself." " You are hard to please, mother. When I advise you, as in the case of the Bremners, you prefer the counsel of Slater, and if I don't advise you at all you accuse me of indifference. Now, in relation to the Red Acres, I have this to say, that Mr. Wentworth was only complain- ing to me the other day of the high rent he had to pay and the impossibility of making ends meet. If you attempt to raise the rent, you will have the farm on your hands." " Oh ! I'm getting sick of the parrot cry that they must give in their notice. None of them ever do. It is my firm conviction that if we let them have their farms for nothing they would ask for seed to sow them with." " Perhaps so," replied Harold. " But Went- worth is not of that sort. Do you know that when I wanted to buy a hunter from him, he refused to sell it because he was not sure that it was sound ? " " I don't like the man. He is as conceited as he is tall," replied the mother, " and Slater agrees with me that the Red Acres is under- rented." " I believe if you were to say the moon was nothing but a luminous custard, Slater would THE LAND AND THE LADY. 65 be of your opinion. I have observed that his views always coincide with yours. I prefer Dyson myself, for you know, at least, you are getting an honest opinion from him. But I am going down to Summerton. Have you any messages ? " " You go down to Summejrton very often, Harold." " Because there is nowhere else to go in this out-of-the-way hole. The choice is so limited that one is saved the difficulty of a decision. It is either the devil or the deep sea." " You are not very complimentary I wish you would take some interest in the estate, or in politics, or something serious." 11 All right, mother mine. A fellow must sow his wild oats, you know." " It seems rather an expensive crop, though, Harold, and the worst is that I have to help you pay for it. Here are bills that total up to " ' ' Oh ! please spare me, mother," broke in Harold, " I'm not in a mood for either duns or debts. So farewell," and, lightly throwing her a kiss, he disappeared. Lady Wincanton sat with a frown on her face for an hour, engaged in that most enervating of all pastimes, pitying herself. She was rich and beautiful for a woman of her years, and yet unhappy. Quite an hour passed ere she rang the bell for her maid. ' ' Adele, I want you to get me all the informa- tion," she said, " about a Miss Wentworth who lives at Summerton. She is, I understand, a music teacher, and lives with an old man, who 66 ROSES AND THISTLES. passes for her father, and who owns a large rose garden." " Yes, ma'am," replied the maid. " I think I know her. She sang at a concert I attended last week, and she has a lovely voice." 11 I've heard something to that effect," re- plied the mistress, " and I am interested in her. But you will, of course, be careful not to raise any suspicion that you are seeking information. Your reward will be according to the value of the information you obtain, and I know I can trust you." And so it came about that Adele was very frequently seen in Summerton on one errand or another. She quietly made friends with the simple-minded country people, who were greatly charmed by her graciousness and condescension. Soon she learned all that was known in the village itself about Gwen, which, truth, to tell, was nothing more than could be said about any other talented village maiden. She was re- garded by some as being proud and cold, and this was the worst the most slanderous tongue could say ; but, generally speaking, she was a favourite in the village. But the maid was shrewd enough to under- stand that her mistress was not so eager to learn of the excellencies of Miss Wentworth as of her defects, and so she coloured her reports to suit the taste of her employer. It soon came to her ears that Harold Wincanton had been seen, on more than one occasion, walking home with Gwen, and that it was common rumour in the village that they were engaged. This report greatly annoyed his mother, and she THE LAND AND THE LADY. 67 began seriously to consider how she might put an end to what might terminate in a mh-alliance for her son. Having nothing to do in the country, Harold spent his time in lounging, betting, and picking up many undesirable acquaintances. His love of horses took him often to the Red Acres, and soon he was owing Joe Wentworth a consider- able sum of money. To fancy a horse was to buy it, and, finding Joe was easy about payment, he did not trouble either to offer a second price or to put any check on his desire for possession. To say that Gwen had fallen in love with him would hardly be true, but certainly he had a charm for her that no other young man she had met ever had. Her opportunities of meeting with young men of culture and education had been few and far between ; and although Harold Wincanton was neither cultured, nor educated, in the truest sense of the word, yet there was a certain vein of refinement and gentility that was lacking in the youths of the village. She knew but little of the big world, and of the temptations, shams, and hollow pretensions which are so often hidden under the garb of sincerity and friendship. The character of a young man like Harold, who prided himself on the very qualities which ought to have been his shame, had never come within the region of her observation or experience. Had she known the truth, she would have shrunk from his touch. But the innocence of ignorance was both a protection and a danger. For his part, Gwen had an influence over him very different from that of any woman of his 68 ROSES AND THISTLES. acquaintance. He began to yearn for her companionship, and his visits, few at first, became very frequent. Strange to say, Rufus and his wife were the last to suspect what was the real purpose of his calls. With a good deal of shrewd sense, Rufus was simple-hearted as a child in some things, and gave everybody credit for an honesty and sincerity of purpose that was not warranted by facts, so that when Harold came and informed him that he was going to make a rosary at the Hall, and sought his advice about the situation, the kind of stocks, budding, grafting, and a hundred other matters, he took it for granted that this was the chief, if not the only, purpose of his visits. Rufus used the opportunity of saying many plain and homely truths to the young man about whom there were many sinister reports abroad in the hope that they might do him good, and he did not fail also to urge him to use his influence with his mother to redress the wrongs of their over- burdened tenantry. Harold received all these moral lectures in good part, and recounted them amidst great hilarity, with clever mimicry of manner and voice, to a chosen set of friends, who met thrice a week at the Conservative Club at Whitehurst. If Rufus could have been present at one or two of these gatherings he would have learnt much. 16 Our Rufe can see the smallest green fly on a rose," said Joe, " but he's as blind as a moudiwarp in some things. He believes every young man is a Joseph and every young woman is a Ruth. He thinks that the saints fill the earth, wi' just a blackguard here and there to THE LAND AND THE LADY. 69 give variety. A month in the hoss trade would open his eyes." When Rufus repeated a conversation he had with Harold, in which he thought the young man showed signs of grace, to his brother, Joe said, " Rufe, did'st thou ever hear how Billy Sowerby tried to wash his sow ? " "No," said Rufus. " Well, Billy's brain machinery had a screw loose and he had a sow wi' big black spots, and Billy got the idea that she would sell better wi'oot the spots than wi' them. And some jokers persuaded him to buy half a crown's worth of scented soap and wash the sow wi' it. And so he did." " Well, what happened ? " asked Rufus, with a smile. " Oh ! " said Joe, " he wasted the soap and the sow caught cold and died." CHAPTER VII. THE RED ACRES. ' ' There is a Heaven and an earth in every man ; first in his nature, then in his practice." PHILIPS BROOKS. THE Red Acres was two miles from the village of Summerton, and was just over the boundary line of the adjoining parish of Stourbridge. Its master, Joe Wentworth, was the best farmer for miles around, and was not only proud of his farm, but made every man servant and maid about the place proud of it as well. He was irascible, easily angered, and sometimes lost control not only of his temper but of himself, and, then, woe to those who happened to cross his path. But withal, he was a good master ; paid his servants well, and fed them better than any other farmer in the district. Most of them had been with him for years, but there was not one amongst them who could not boast of having been dismissed three or four times at least, in some fit of spleen. Bill, the waggoner, said he had received his notice nine times, but added, * ' It generally ends in the maister buying me a present or thrusting a crown into my hand, and neither of us say anything more about it. He binna a bad sort, the boss, but I like to be three fields off when he gets into one of his tantrums. My stars, I shall never forget the floggin' he gave young Griffiths when he caught THE RED ACRES. 71 him mis-using a young hoss. I thowt he would kill him and nothin' less, and I know he carries the marks to this day." Joe not only farmed with success, but he was a horse dealer as well, and it was in the latter capacity that he was best known. Dealing principally in race horses and hunters he was known to the gentry for many miles round. He loved horses, as well as his brother loved roses ; and was held the best judge of horse flesh in four counties. Many strange tales were told of his bargaining ; some doubtless deriving an element of exaggeration from being passed from mouth to mouth, and some of which were not greatly to his credit. Rufus would occasionally take him to task, when fresh reports reached him of Joe fleecing a young lordling or squire, who tried to beat him at bargain making, but Joe would only grin ; admit everything, and make the story appear ten times worse than it was, and end with a humorous pretence of penitence, or else would try to shock his brother by an outrageous attempt at justification. It was generally admitted that Joe dealt straight and square with all those who trusted him, and there was hardly a farmer in the neighbourhood who thought of buying a horse without first getting * * Wentworth's opinion of him." " I inherited the gift from my father," he would sometimes say, " and it was the only thing I got from him worth having. He had lived among the gipsies and picked up a few things, and one was to know a hoss when he saw one," 72 ROSES AND THISTLES. Joe was never tired of talking of his farm and his stock. " There are some hosses that need the shafts to keep 'em up, poor things. Mine never want to stop and lean their heads against a tree and wonder if there will be a feed. I put the whip into the manger see." " I never clem (hunger) anything, for if a beast isn't worth feedin', it isn't worth keepin'. That's what I told the vicar of Whitehurst about the curate, when he complained that he couldna get one to satisfy him. I said ' You dunno put enough in the manger. Eighty pounds a year to be everybody's lackey, and to dress like a gentleman, and to cut a figger at bun fights binna quite a fattening salary. Let me see, it's nine hundred you get, isn't it ? and for every sermon you preach he preaches three, and the quality's better ; and for every time the poor folks see you he visits them half a dozen times. To a layman, it dunno square very well with the text, " Do as ye would be done by," tho' I've no doubt that you could explain it in Greek.' ' " But," said Joe, when telling the story, " he took the huff, and for six months would not look the side of the street I was on. I'm always gettin' into hot water for talkin' common-sense, because so few folks ever do. But I like to make the big uns wince a bit. It makes life worth livin'. The only one that I canna' get waxy is our Rufe, and it's not for the want of tryin'. Rufus' temper [is under lock and key, and the key is lost." It was this childish delight in disturbing the equanimity of others that made him the most THE RED ACRES. 73 feared, and the most hated man on the country side, especially by those whom he designated " the upper ten." The very mention of his name in certain circles would cause a shrug of shoulders, and his extravagant exploits formed the staple conversation at society dinners. At the weekly market at Whitehurst he was always the centre of a laughing circle, especially of young farmers, who enjoyed his chaff and practical jokes. The story went round of how he had treated Billy Stroud, a drunken profligate, who went hanging about Red Acres farm courting one of the servant girls. Joe caught him in the orchard one evening, and ordered him off. " I'll have no courtin' o' my girls," he said, " wi'oot my permission, and you are not the kind that will get any one of them. So put that in your pipe and smoke it." " She binna your daughter, anyway," sulkily replied Bill. " I reckon she can do as she likes." ' ' Oh, that's your tack is it ? " said Joe. " Well, Sarah and I have had a bit of a chat, and she says she isn't in the market at your price." ' ' I'm as good as she is anyhow. Her mother's on the parish," answered Bill. " So she need not give herself any proud airs." " Look here," cried Joe, " I'll tell you what you are a great hulking, idle, good-for-nothin'. You've a good cheek to think that any decent woman is goin' to hitch on with you. Want somebody to keep you, I suppose. Why man, you wouldn't earn enough to keep a woman in 74 ROSES AND THISTLES. hair pins. If one of them was so silly as to listen to thee, she would be able to give a rest to her jaw bones six days a week, and not have much work for them on Sundays. Get off, or I'll set the dogs on you, although there is hardly one of them which would not be afraid to bite you lest he got poisoned wi' dirt." Joe's tongue cut like a whip, and even the lazy ne'er-do-well felt its stings. He looked as if he could slay the farmer, but at length muttered something about " not being able to get a job." " I should think not," replied Joe, " unless somebody who isn't very particular employed thee to frighten crows off the 'taties. Take my advice, lad, and give up treating that public- house under your nose, and take a spell at stone breaking, and sweat the devil out of ye. Anyhow, I'll not have thee hangin' about after the lasses on my place. Sarah's a decent lass, and her mother's a widow ; and maybe, if thou gets a chance, thou might persuade her to say in a moment what she would repent all her lifetime. Women are curious creatures, and there is not one of them but what thinks she can do a fine stroke of business in the direction of saving the prodigal son, when he is somebody else's son. As if anyone could save a man who does not want to be saved. And so I am going to play the part of father to the girl, and once for all, I tell thee, if I catch thee here again, you won't want an almanac to keep the day in remembrance." A few weeks after Joe thought he caught sight of Billy hastily bidding good-bye to Sarah, as THE RED ACRES. 75 he rode in at the gate. He said nothing, but announced that in all likelihood he would be from home for a day or two the next week. On Tuesday he went away, saying that he might be back on Friday, but to everyone's surprise, he turned up on Wednesday, just after dark. He had hardly retired to rest when he heard a low whistle just below his window. Opening it cautiously he saw Bill making signals beneath to someone above, where Sarah slept. He dragged from under his bed a bucket of tar water, and the next moment the unfortunate man received it full on his head. " There," he shouted, " I gave you full warnin' something would happen if you came mouchin' about my place." Poor Bill was a long time ere he was able to rid himself of this strange baptism, which proved the death of his wooing so far as the maid at the Red Acres was concerned. It was harvest time, and Joe was on his way to the field to help the men, when he saw some- thing which made him rub his eyes. It was Harold Wincanton and Gwen walking down a bye-road, engaged in what appeared to be a very animated conversation. Their backs were towards him, but he was sure about their identity. " Rats ! " he said, " that is a sight for a blind man. Who'd have thought it ? Queenie and that scamp. Here's a game of cards at which I guess Joe Wentworth will have to take a hand." Joe, who had methods of his own of obtaining information, had got a pretty fair record of Harold's character. A spendthrift, a gambler, 76 ROSES AND THISTLES. and an idler, Joe knew him to be, and to see Gwen in his company made him very angry. He watched them for a time, and then walked on in brown study. " If Gwen has anything to say to him," he muttered, " her troubles will not be far to seek. And Rufe why it would break Rufe's heart." He made his way to a field where a number of men were busy. Bill, the waggoner, who knew all his master's moods, saw in a moment that he was in a bad temper, and predicted there would be storms. Joe stripped his coat off, and, seizing a pitchfork, commenced to throw the sheaves to the loader at a pace that kept him busy. " I say, Jim," he cried, at length, to one of the men, " ask Sarah to put a feather-bed in the waggon when thou comes for the next load. Here's one of these new hands needs a rest. He's short of breath, and has a don't-hurry-me pain in his feet. I've been watching him for half an hour, and I have been afraid he might sweat. He's been mercifully preserved from perspiration up to the present, but there's no tellin' what might happen at lunch time. Here, lazybones, " he shouted to the offender, ' ' here's your wages ; I'd as soon gnaw a bone wi' a broken tooth as work with a skulker." The man came sulkily forward and put out his hand for the money. ' ' Ready," said Joe ; ' ' that's the quickest job you've done yet. Take it, and dunno come within sixty miles of the Red Acres again, for idleness is infectious, and you've enuff hidden about your person to smit a county." THE RED ACRES. 77 " I want my lunch," grumbled the man when he got his money. " And want will be your master, my lad. Off you go, and if I never see your face agin I shall not be off my victuals. I'll manage to get on wi'oot takin' to drink because you are not around. Now then, lads, hurry up with this load, and we will knock off and have some bread and cheese." A few minutes after he exclaimed, " I declare, if yon is not Rufe come to give us a hand. He will show some of you young men how to handle a fork." The men went to their lunch, and Joe waited for his brother. *' Thought I would come and help a bit," said Rufus, after the greetings were over. ' ' Reet," said Joe ; ' * I'll give you ninepence a day and your meat. It's too much for a beginner, but the weather is a bit unsettled, and we are short of hands." ' ' Why, I met one at the gate who was looking as if his feelings had been hurt. Why did you give him a holiday ? " " Oh, he suffered from a disease which killed a chap I knew in America. It was an indis- position to do anything, aggravated by an active stummack. But I say, Rufe, who do you think was the biggest fool in the Bible ? " " Dunno," said Rufe ; "I binna much of an authority on fools. Daresay you will have an opinion on the subject." " Well, I guess it was either Solomon or Samson, and I am inclined to give the cake to the former. He was allus preaching aboot wisdom, and tellin' others what a precious 78 ROSES AND THISTLES. thing it was. Samson was like a hoss wi' the blinkers on, that tumbles into a pit before he knows it ; but Solomon walked into it wi' his eyes open and spectacles on. It's my opinion a chap that is always shoutin' how good fish is ought to be above choking himself wi' the bones." " It does seem like it," replied Rufus. " Well," said Joe, standing and looking full at his brother, " mind you are not a second cousin to Solomon. I guess you've done a grown man's share of runnin' about the county on Sundays givin' advice about bein' wise, and tryin' to persuade folks you were as full of understanding as a lad is full of vittals after a club feast, and if you dunno mind you'll find you're like a policeman I heard about away North, who was watchin' his neighbours' coals while the thief ran away wi' his own." " I dunno what you're driving at," said Rufus. "I'm trying to keep an eye on my own vineyard while I'm helpin' my neighbours to till theirs." " Well," said Joe, " if I were you I should be looking round the fences well wi' both eyes open, or the best bunch of grapes may go before you know it. A nod's as good as a wink to a blind hoss. But come and have a crust of bread and cheese. I always start new hands wi' a feed." " No," rejoined his brother, " I'll earn my vittals before I eat them. Missis and I had an early dinner. Gwen has gone to see a new pupil." " Ay," said Joe drily, " and a pretty THE RED ACRES. 79 promising one too, or I'm a sinner. Now I'm off to my lunch. You can go on turning yon barley over. The beer bottle is under the big oak tree, but be careful with it, and don't take too much. I don't want to find you lying drunk when I come back, or I shall have to report you to the next Quarterly Meeting. A little in moderation is good but I shouldn't like you to disgrace your family in your old age." " There is no such thing as moderation in an evil thing," said Rufus, who was a strict teetotaler. " It's time that farmers learnt that beer is the worst possible drink for harvest if they want to get the best out of their men." " Well, it may be," replied Joe ; " but, you see, we cannot afford whiskey." ' ' Try oatmeal and water," said his brother. " We give that to hosses," laughed Joe. " You wouldn't have men drink the same stuff as the gee-gees, would you ? " " Why not ? You give horses corn, don't you ? On the same principle you ought to be ashamed to give bread to your men to eat. Neither should you give them milk for breakfast, because it feeds calves." ** Rufe," replied Joe, " you've a wonderful mind. If you only had a bit of common sense you might have been a genius. You know a heap o' things, but you don't know human nature. If I offered my men oatmeal and water they would strike. They'd rather be poisoned with beer they like than have all the oatmeal or milk in the world they don't like. So there it is and all the preachin' in the world won't 80 ROSES AND THISTLES. alter it. Give men what they've set their minds on, right or wrong, and you'll get what you want from them and vice versa. If it harms them, that's their business, not yours. That's my doctrine." " And a fine devil's doctrine it is ! " exclaimed R u f us . If " Look here, Rufe Wentworth, if you are goin' to take to swearin', don't begin in my harvest field keep it for the pulpit. I can't have you corruptin' the morals of my men. It's nice language that for a bishop, ain't it ? Devil's doctrine, indeed ! " " Yes," answered Rufus, " that and nothing else. You have no right to give others what is wrong in order to get your own way, and you know it. Talk like that does an infinite amount of harm." " Did you come to the Red Acres to turn barley or to preach ? " asked Joe, seeing that he was likely to get the worst of the argument. " There's a time for all things, and now's the time for harvesting. Go and get on with your harvesting, my man, or I'll cut the ninepence down to sixpence." " And you go to lunch, and remember this that every man is his brother's keeper, and is answerable for putting temptation in his way," replied Rufus. " Hard lines that," shouted Joe, as he shouldered his pitchfork and walked off. 11 Strikes me that the only safe place to keep some of our brothers is in an asylum. CHAPTER VIII. HE THAT REMEMBERETH THE POOR. " The secret pleasure of a generous act, Is the mind's great bribe." DRYDEN. THE village of Summerton stands in the heart of as fine an agricultural district as can be found in England. In the spring the hedgerows are white with the hawthorn, and from thence on through the summer are beautiful with dog roses, and fragrant with honeysuckle. Every cottage has its own garden in which grow fruit trees of many varieties, plums, pears and apples : a delightsome sight when in blossom, and a very heartsome one when the fruit is ripe for gather- ing. Upon garden and pig the cottagers at the time of our story depended for their rent, for the wages were low ; barely enough to purchase food and clothing when there was a family. It happened that the first year after Lady Wincanton came to Stourbridge Hall, a calamity befell the cottagers. First a succession of black frosts came when the blossom was on the trees, and totally destroyed any chance of a fruit crop ; then the swine fever broke out, and many of the cottagers lost their pigs ; and shortly after an epidemic of typhoid smote the people and laid many of them low, and caused 82 ROSES AND THISTLES. the sexton to be busier than he had ever been known in the memory of the oldest inhabitant. Three tirnes in one week the tolling of the bell, which carried the news far and wide that another mortal had passed to his long rest, was heard. It was now that the village realised, for the first time, what a gift from God their vicar was. He went to every home where sorrow and loss fell, carried comfort and help, and wherever he went he found Rufus Wentworth had been before him, for in all these little homes he saw choice flowers that could only have come from his garden, and greenhouse. The winter came dark and lowering, and by Christmas time many were nearly starving. A fall of snow made matters worse, and the outlook was sombre indeed. Mr. Bird had used up his resources, and hardly knew where to turn, for he was a poor man, and had been too open-handed all his life to have much to fall back upon in time of need. He was there- fore greatly surprised and delighted when one morning he found a dirty envelope in which there were five bank notes, each of the value of ten pounds, thrust into his letter box with just the words " For the use of the poor" written across the outside. The good man forth- with thanked God, and hurried to tell Rufus Wentworth, who in those dark times was his guide, philosopher, and friend ; and the two immediately set out to assist the cases of greatest need. They had just visited a widow named Stephenson when they met Joe Wentworth riding on his famous roan " Briton." HE REMEMBERETH THE POOR. 83 " Hallo ! " exclaimed the little man, " what's in the wind this mornin' ? Is it a marriage, or a funeral, or a christening ? Two ' sky pilots,' church and chapel, hob-nobbing ; there is some mischief afoot, or I'm a Dutchman." " Mr. Wentworth, did you ever hear the motto, ' ' Honi soit qui mal-y-pense " ? replied the vicar with a smile, for he was getting accus- tomed to Joe's vagaries by this time. " No," replied the unblushing farmer, " but it was sure to have something to do with money if a parson quotes it. " Pense, pense," that is all their cry. What are you begging for now, eh ? " "Nothin 5 ," said Rufe. "Some good Samaritan has sent the vicar ^50 to be distributed amongst the poor, and we have been taking Widow Stephenson a few shillings." " Fifty pounds," exclaimed Joe, his eyebrows working furtively, and lifting his hands in astonishment, " fifty pounds, did you say, Rufe ? " " Ay, the Lord has touched somebody's heart, and " " I say, Vicar," broke in Joe, " you couldn't lend me ten pounds, could you, for a month ? You see, I'm a bit hard up, and I promise, honour bright, to return it in four weeks. " I'm very sorry, Mr. Wentworth, but you see this is trust money." " Say you won't and done with it," cried the farmer. " It's the first favour I have ever asked from you, and I think you might have obliged me. Nobody need know anything about it, and I will pay interest on it." " Mr. Wentworth, if I had ten pounds of my 84 ROSES AND THISTLES. own I would lend it to you with pleasure ; but this money belongs to the poor, and it shall be spent in harmony with the wishes of the donor. What do you say, Mr. Wentworth ? " he asked, turning to Rufus. " I say," laughed Rufus, " that he has as much need to borrow ten pounds as I have to go begging for a crust of bread. I shouldn't wonder if at this moment he has a thousand pounds lying at the bank at Whitehurst doing no good, but ministering to his love of getting and keeping." " Rufe Wentworth," cried his brother, " what is the Fourth Commandment ? " " Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy," replied Rufe. "Is it ! " exclaimed Joe. " You're wrong for once, old man, It is ' Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.' Ain't it, vicar ? A local preacher ought to know that." " I am afraid I must give the verdict against you," remarked the vicar, " your brother is right." " Trust parsons to hang together, but you are both wrong. Do you mean to tell me I don't know my catechism ? I'm surprised at your ignorance. But about that ten pounds, you will lend it me, won't you ? Our Rufe thinks he knows a thing or two ; and so he does about growing rhubarb and roses ; but I'll be hanged if he knows anything about my banking account." " I'll give you fifty pounds for your balance at the bank anyhow," said Rufus. " Fie for shame," cried Joe, " tha's gambling HE REMEMBERETH THE POOR. 85 if anything ever was. Rufe, you will have to go to the penitent form on Sunday night. I AM surprised." " Not nearly so surprised as I should be if you had accepted my offer," said Rufus. " Humph," cried Joe. " I would never think to take advantage of my own brother. It wouldn't be a Christian act, would it vicar ? But you might lend a fellow in a tight corner a helping hand." " Joe," began Rufus. " Shut up, Rufe, I'm not talking to you," said his brother. " Look here, Joe Wentworth," answered Rufus, " if you don't take yourself off this moment I'll tell the vicar something about you that will surprise you both." " You can't," cried Joe, " I'm an innocent, unoffending parishioner, who never speaks of my betters in the pulpit or out of it. Who was it, Rufe Wentworth, that said that the Church of England was a poor, shackle-bound thing, with blind guides as priests, hankering after the rags of Rome ; neither fish, flesh, nor good red herrin' ? Eh ! If there's going to be any lettin' cats out of the bag, I'll hold the bag." " Who was in Whitehurst yesterday, and drew five ten pound notes out of the bank and dropped them into the vicar's letter box in a dirty envelope, scribbled across with the words ' For the use of the poor, eh ? " answered Rufus. " Man do you think I dunno your writin' even when you try to disguise it ? " " It's a fib, a big, unmitigated, fifty-ton-fib, 86 ROSES AND THISTLES. Rufe Wentworth. I'll never speak to you again, you are a base fellow. Vicar, dunno believe him ; he's daft, real down crazy. Good morn- ing ! " " Ah," laughed Rufus, as Joe vigorously dug his spurs into the sides of his roan and galloped off, " I knew that would send him away." " Your brother is a strange man, Mr. Went- worth," said the vicar. " And do you really mean that it was he that put the fifty pounds into my letter box ? " " Ay," rejoined Rufus. " Gwen was reading somewhere that when God made Shakespeare he broke the mould. Well, that's true of brother Joe, anyway. There never was another man like him. He does more generous acts than any other man I know, and always by stealth. He would as soon be shot as accused of doing a kindness. I shall be in his black books for months to come. But I knew the writing directly I saw the envelope. I would have kept his secret if he had not tried to gull you, sir. I shall have to send Gwen over to make the peace between us." " I must correct my estimate of him, it seems," said the vicar. " To me, he has always appeared as somewhat flippant, a practical joker, without much heart, and sometimes positively rude and offensive." "I do not wonder," replied Rufus. " He is one of the men who always appear at their worst to others. He delights in shocking those whom he calls his betters, and enjoys nothing so much as ' baiting a parson.' But he has a good heart. Take one instance. A few years HE REMEMBERETH THE POOR. 87 agcTthere was a man named Scrimshaw whose farm joined on to Joe's. Well, he and Joe have lived a cat and dog life for years, more like heathen than Christian men. Perhaps twelve years ago things went wrong with Scrimshaw, he had several heavy losses, and then the rinder- pest took his cattle. He had one girl, a fine lassie, but she had been growing blind for years, and at length she had to be led about. It was a pitiful sight to see her sitting in the sunshine in front of the house, helpless. It nearly broke her father's heart. One day Joe was talking with the doctor about her, and he thought she might have a slight chance of regaining her sight if a celebrated specialist from London was brought down to operate upon her ; but the cost put it out of the region of possibility. Well, one day a stranger called at Scrimshaw's, and seeing Bessie sitting in front as usual, asked to be allowed to look at her eyes, saying ' he was connected with an eye hospital in London.' After examination he declared he could restore the sight if he were allowed to operate. Scrim- shaw sent for Dr. Gibson, who, of course, advised it should be done. And, sir, the girl got her sight back, married well, and her husband helped her father till the good times came. But nobody knows to this day, but Dr. Gilmour and myself, that it was Joe who went to London, brought the specialist down, and gave him a cheque for 150 for the job. You will keep it to yourself, sir, for though Scrimshaw is dead, Joe would be sadly put out if ever this reached the ears of the villagers. When the books are opened at the last day I guess there will be some sur- 88 ROSES AND THISTLES. prise when Joe's account is read out. There are heaps of folk who think he is a bad lot, and some of 'em have good reason ; but they have only seen one side of him. I wonder sometimes what God will do with a man like Joe. There are times when I hear of his sharp practices, and his bargain driving, and his swearing, when I am greatly troubled ; but there are others when I think that at last he will be far nearer the Throne than I am ; for he fair makes me ashamed of myself." The vicar listened with moistened eyes to this account of a man whom, truth to tell, he had almost grown to dislike, and despise as a vulgar buffoon. " He has his own way of doin' things," con- tinued Rufus. " When Jim Stirling died leaving his widow with a farm and a dissolute son on her hands, who was drunk on the day his father was buried, Joe went to the public house and fetched him out and gave him a thrashing, and told him he would do it every time he heard of his dabbling with the drink. He then helped him with the farm. And there is not a better kept farm, or a better and steadier farmer in the parish, as doubtless you know, than William Stirling. Joe saved him, and he will any time walk twenty miles to serve him. " On the other hand, I am bound to say that I think his influence over some of the young men of the neighbourhood is not healthy. His knowledge of horses leads many of them to seek his company more than is for their good. I am a little concerned about Lady Wincanton's son, HE REMEMBERETH THE POOR. 89 who is everlastingly hanging about the Red Acres buying and selling horses." " I must have a serious talk with your brother some of these days," replied the vicar. " In the meantime, we must be grateful to him for his very timely gift. It will help to brighten the lives of many of our poor people." " Yes," said Rufus, " only be careful how you handle him. There is more of the thistle than the rose about Joe. He is very prickly at times, and is never so dangerous as when he begins to pay compliments. I tell him I always put my spectacles on when he begins wi' any of his soft sawder. Whenever he starts to praise my preachin' which the Lord knows is very poor at best I say to myself, ' Look out, Rufus, he means mischief.' ' " What a strangely complex nature," the vicar replied. ' ' He is certainly a curious study in character." " Ay," rejoined Rufus. " Joe is a mixture of mud and marble, of dirt and Deity, of the moon and the midden ; but if ever you are in a tight place, and want a helpin' hand, I would pledge my hopes of heaven on it, if you went to him he would sell the shirt off his back rather than say nay. Maybe God Almighty can under- stand him, but he beats me. He often shocked my missus, who has everythin' a woman ought to have except the sense of humour, and the more horrified she looks the more wicked he will be, and then the next time he comes he'll make it up by bringin' her some fancy bit of crockery, or some women's fal-de-rals, such as ribbons or feathers. As for Gwen, she canno' 90 ROSES AND THISTLES. see any fault in him, and his kindness to the girl is beyond thinking about. He'd walk fifteen miles before breakfast to please her, that he would. So we mon just leave him to One who understands the workin' of the human heart better than we." Meanwhile, Joe had ridden off home, mutter- ing to himself, " The Vic. and Rufe were soon on the job when they got the cash. Straight as a yard of frozen water is the parson. No misappropriation of a chap's money wi' him. But as for our Rufe, I'll be even wi' him, the open-mouthed blabber. I'll upset his apple cart, see if I don't. He's as sharp as a wasp's sting newly ground. I hear the Methodies have a new parson comin' soon, and are going to have a tea fight to welcome him. I'll be there, and if I don't make our Rufe's whiskers curl, it won't be my fault. Gee up, Briton, old chap, there's some fun comin'." CHAPTER IX. THE HEARTACHE OF THE RICH. " Can wealth give happiness, look around, and see What gay distress, what splendid misery, Whatever fortune lavishly can pour, The mind annihilates, and calls for more." YOUNG. LADY Wincanton sat on the terrace in the sunshine, gazing down the avenue of lordly oaks and beeches, which stretched for fully a mile from the Hall. She was not a happy woman, and she had many things to disturb her at that moment. Life is not all honey to the wealthy. Gold brings with it its own curse in a multiplicity of cares and worries. The French philosopher, who declared the secret of happiness to be " a hard heart and a good digestion," was after all but a mere super- ficial observer. Lady Wincanton had both, and she was not happy. She had grown up in the belief that the whole plan of Providence was or ought to be adjusted to produce agreeable sensations for herself, and she was finding that somehow it did not work out that way. On the contrary, everything seemed to go wrong. She loved two things supremely money and her son Harold. Her early life had been spent in poverty. Her father an old Peninsular soldier had distinguished himself for a kind of dare-devil bravery, and for his wild excesses. 92 ROSES AND THISTLES. He quickly ran through a moderate fortune, and brought his family into the direst straits. Twice his name figured in the bankruptcy court, and she remembered, always with a flush of shame, the pitiful ruses that were resorted to in order to procure the necessities of life from the local tradesmen. Then her mother died, after a hard and disappointing life, and she had to be housekeeper. The remembrance of the two following years were branded as by red-hot iron upon her mind and memory. Always, and every day, she had to face the attempt to be genteel, and to appear well on a sum hardly sufficient to keep an artisan's cottage. Her father doled out shillings to her one at a time in a most grudging manner, and yet spent lavishly at his club, until his gambling debts became so notorious that it was hardly safe for him to show his face there. Then he, and another Society blackguard floated a bogus South African Company, and came out with five thousand each and a narrow escape from a prosecution which would have been ruinous. At some gathering he met Sir Harry Wincanton, the degenerate scion of a noble house a scrofulous youth, who lived so fast that at twenty-two he was an old man. He fell in love with Florence, and married her off-hand, on three weeks' acquaintance. Marriage brought disillusionment and he found the beautiful complaisant sweetheart a self- willed and domineering wife. She soon made it quite clear that if there was to be but one head in the house that head was to be hers. She had a hard, granitic intellect, and he had hardly any at all, and the fittest survived, after a short THE HEARTACHE OF THE RICH. 93 but decisive struggle for domestic sovereignty. She restricted his spending, she chose his comrades, driving off a hoard of harpies who had preyed upon his weakness ; and she managed his estate, so that in a short time it was providing one-half more than when in the hands of his agents. When Harold was born, she mapped out his future without any reference to his father's will, and, when old enough, sent him to Oxford, where, after two years fast living, he was sent down. Then that young man exhibited some of her own wilfulness by joining the army. His career was short and eventful. He was cashiered, under circumstances which nearly created a Society scandal of the worst type. But she comforted herself by saying that he was sowing his wild oats, and would surely settle down by and by. But his supply of that particular kind of seed seemed to be unbounded, and he did not weary of the pursuit, although some of the harvest was already garnered. She had brought him away from London to save him from a disgraceful liaison with a music- hall artist, a girl, whose graceful gymnastics on the stage were equalled by the vulgarity of her conduct in private life in the hope that in the country there would be fewer temptations. Lady Wincanton had not yet learned that a debased soul makes its own opportunities. When there is evil in the heart, it will find expression, even though in Eden. There were two main sources of anxiety in her mind. Harold displayed the same total disregard of the value of money that had been the bane of his father's life. He was constantly demanding fresh 94 ROSES AND THISTLES. supplies, over and above the more than liberal allowance she made him, and there was constant strife between them on this account. Several times she had paid gambling debts for him, and vowed each time it should be the last. She foresaw that notwithstanding the ample fortune that had come to her on the death of her husband, it would all disappear if Harold was allowed to have his way. But how to prevent it was the question, for although he professed penitence whenever a difficulty arose, he quickly forgot his promises of amendment. She earnestly hoped he would marry some heiress and fulfil her dream of being a public man. For this purpose she contributed largely to the funds of the Conservative party, for she had been told by a cynic that the surest stepping-stone to party favour was a big cheque. When she bought Stourbridge Hall, one of the considerations was that the present Parlia- mentary representative of the party was an old man, greatly respected and loved by all, but who might be expected to resign almost any time, and it had been hinted to her that if she wished her son to get into Parliament, here was probably a safe seat, provided he made himself known and acceptable to the local magnates in the division. But as yet Harold had made very little advance in the direction of her wishes. His knowledge of the political history of his country was a negligible quantity, and, indeed, consisted of a primitive instinct that the Tories were the gentlemanly party, and the Liberals represented a kind of embodied insurrection THE HEARTACHE OF THE RICH. 95 against the tenth commandment :] always coveting their neighbour's ox or ass, or what- soever he might possess. The Radicals repre- sented politics in fustian, and were best treated as you treat your neighbour's mangy dog either with a cold indifference or with a kick, if it came your way. But ignorance has never been regarded as a barrier to the House of Commons. He was acquainted with men who marched into the Government lobby every time they heard the crack of the Parliamentary whip, who knew as much about politics as they did about Mars. But they voted right, which, after all, is the great thing. For his part, he was quite willing to add to this band of political inefficients if any constituency cared to send him to St. Stephen's. But he would not lift a finger to bring about that result himself. And so it was left to his mother to do all the wire pulling, social hobnobbing, and subscription-giving that was necessary. She had succeeded so well that Harold's name had been coupled with the possible vacancy at the next General Election. An article in the local newspaper, inspired by the purchase of a large number of shares (which the editor had endeavoured in vain to sell for a long time), also confirmed the impression that he would be the candidate, although there had been no meeting of the party, and truth to tell, some of the older and more respected members were very much annoyed at the manner in which the matter was being engineered. But she had many things to disturb her equanimity. Harold had lost a thousand 96 ROSES AND THISTLES. pounds at the Derby, and there had been an unpleasant scene when he had come to her to find the money. Then Joe Wentworth had called and told her that he would neither pay a higher rent nor move, and intimated that her son was not only in his debt to a considerable amount, but that he was acquainted with more about his past than she cared for others to know. She could overawe all the rest of her tenants, but Joe was impervious to her frowns, and met her threats with counter threats, and the most downright plain speaking she had ever heard. " On the day you send in the notice that I must leave the Red Acres I will send in my bill," he said, " for what your son owes, and for un- exhausted improvement. Why, when I took that farm it was the poorest on the estate and grew nothing but docks and nettles, and had ruined the two previous tenants, and after I have put a little fortune into it I'm not going to pack up my traps and leave it for somebody else. And now I'm on with the leaving business I want to tell your Ladyship what everybody is saying behind your back, and nobody dares to say to your face, and that is there is a limit to human endurance, and if the screw is put on much tighter, you must not be surprised some night to find that you have sown the wind and reaped the whirlwind. There is some pretty rough talk in the publics, I assure you, and I should not be surprised if there is not a bigger fire at Stourbridge Hall than is needed to cook the next day's dinner." " You dare to threaten me," she retorted, THE HEARTACHE OF THE RICH. 97 now angry beyond all control. " I will have you sent to prison." "Nay, you won't," said Joe, "because if you did I'd have the reason your son left Egypt stuck on every gate post. But I am only tellin' you for your good. We are quiet, decent people down here, but if we get trodden on we are apt to turn, and so I bid your Ladyship good after- noon, and if ever there comes a time when you want to sell the Red Acres I'm the man that's willing to buy it ; but it will be at my own price." Then the wild Bremners had sent an insolent message, that if she wanted them to go, she must come and put them out, and intimated that they were prepared to resist to the last. And, lastly, the vicar of Summerton and Rufus Wentworth had caused her annoyance by calling to lay before her the petition of a number of tenants whose rents she had ordered to be raised, and the former had told her very plainly that she was more exacting than she was just. And so she was beginning to wish she had gone elsewhere instead of to Summerton, where the public interests were guarded by an over- scrupulous vicar and a very plain-spoken Methodist. " Seems to me she has hardened her heart and stiffened her neck," said Rufus Wentworth to Bedford Bird, as they turned home after a stormy interview. " She is like a good many more, she thinks what is lent her is her own. and she is forgetting that there will be a Judg- ment Day." "Mr. Wentworth," replied the vicar, "my a 98 ROSES AND THISTLES. heart is heavy because of the oppression of the poor, and we are so utterly helpless." " Dunno say that," said Rufus, " you've at least troubled her conscience, and that is something. Sir, I thank God every night that He has sent you to this parish, because you dare to stand up against wickedness in high places and, while condemning the sins of the poor, you are not afraid to tackle those of the rich."' " And I," murmured the vicar, " have offered thanksgiving because I have in my parish a man who is a light in a dark place, and as the shadow of a rock in a weary land. Sir, this village owes a thousand times more to you than it does to me. But I foresee there is a stiff fight before us, and we must stand together. I learn that Harold Wincanton is to be the candidate at the next election for this con- stituency. I am no strong politician, but with all my leaning towards the Conservative party, I cannot let a young reprobate like that represent my parish without protest. I have always held that we should send only men of the highest probity to make our laws, and that as a Christian people we should enthrone character in our national life." " Give us your hand, sir," said Rufus, " I am with you. I am an old Radical, but I voted for the present member because the folk in London sent down a big brewer last election. It is time we had men who fear God to make our laws." And the two men shook hands on the compact. When Joe Wentworth heard the news he THE HEARTACHE OF THE RICH. 99 laughed and declared, if nobody else put up against Wincanton he would become a candidate himself. " And if I got in the House of Com- mons," he said, " there would be some fun." There is no doubt there would have been, and for the gaiety of the nation it is almost a pity that Joe was never destined to enter the charmed circle of St. Stephen's. But whether his own side or the opposition benches had most need to be grateful is a moot point. CHAPTER X. TWO SERMONS AND AN APPLICATION. " I saw one man, armed with God's word, Enter the souls of many fellow-men And pierce them sharply as a two-edged sword, While conscience echoed back his words again." CAROLINE E. NORTON. RUFUS sat in his garden, musing over his Sunday's sermon. His plan was first to select his subject, and then to let it steep for a few weeks, then to choose a suitable text, and having done so, to talk it over with his wife, who usually had some valuable suggestions to make. Another season of meditation followed, then Matthew Henry was consulted, and the final stage was reached when he went into the garden with a pencil and a sheet of notepaper to jot down his thoughts. Hardly, however, was he seated when he heard the rumble of wheels on the cobble street, and, looking over the garden wall, he saw his brother driving in the gig. " Hallo, Rufe," he shouted. " Hard weather this for umbrella-makers. If it don't rain soon we shall have to wash ourselves in buttermilk." " The rain will come in the Lord's good time," said his brother. " There ain't much harm done yet." "Ain't there?" replied Joe. "Why, the turnips are getting as dry as that rich man you preached about, who wanted a lick of a beggar's TWO SERMONS. IOI finger. It's easy for retired folks, who have made their pile, to talk about the Lord's good time, but if you had your bread and butter depending on rain comin' I guess you'd sing another tune. The glass hasn't moved a point for a fortnight, and don't look as if it were ever goin' to move again. It vexes me every time I see it, until I feel like puttin' the thing under the pump." " Much good that would do. Better go down on your knees and pray for rain," said Rufus. " Naay," said Joe. " If I went on my knees, I guess all the angels would be tumbling over one another to have a peep. I pay the parson to do my prayin' for me." " Joe," said Rufus, " prayin' can't be done by proxy any more than eatin'. Every man must do his own." " That's rather hard lines, after paying tithes and givin' to collections. But what's that you're doing ? writing a novel ? " " I'm making a sermon for to-morrow neet. I'm planned at Summerton." " Well, then, I'm coming up to tea. Tell Queenie and the missis that I shall want some raisin cake wi' raisins in. The last they gave me they called raisin cake, becaas they stuck one raisin at the top, and divided it into four pieces. It was like old Croxby's pork and tatie pies, one half was taties and the other half taties and crust. But, mind, if I come to hear you preach, you must not put any brimstone in the sermon. I can't stand it. If, as you preachers tell us, we are to get a double dose by-and-by, 102 ROSES AND THISTLES. you might spare us from havin' it thrust down our throats now." " I wish," replied Rufus, " I could put in some word that would awaken you to a sense of your true position. I'm greatly troubled about you at times. But somehow, I think you will be one of those who will get hired in the eleventh hour." " Well," answered Joe, " short time and full pay is about my figure. There are lots of things I like better than work. But ta-ta till to-morrow." Rufus returned to his study, but somehow he did not get on with it. His brother's spiritual condition troubled him. If he could but lead him to the better life, he felt he could die happy. He, perhaps, understood the changeful, ir- reverent, flippant nature better than anyone else, but even he was puzzled at times. Sometimes he had great hopes that impressions were being made upon his mind for he would listen attentively to the most serious talk but then all at once he would end it by some poor jest or garish story. True to his promise, Joe turned up the next day at tea time, carrying a black coat over his arm, which he hung behind the door. " Where is the raisin cake ? " he asked, as he surveyed the table. " You naughty man, you are not to have any because you don't speak the truth," replied Gwen. " The last cake you had was full of raisins. I made it myself." " Did you ? Well, my dear it must have been somewhere else I got the inferior brand. TWO SERMONS. 103 I guarantee if you made it it would be the prime article, as good as heather honey and pancakes. Glad tea is ready. Now, Rufe, draw up. ' For what we are about to receive, etc.' " 11 How do you like your tea, uncle ? " asked Mrs. Wentworth. " One lump of sugar or two ? " " Two lumps of sugar, ma'am, a quarter of a cup of thick cream, the rest tea a good blackish brown. Sometimes I get tea so weak it can scarcely waddle out of the pot, and cream so thin you can see the pattern at the bottom of the jug. But yours is TEA. Plenty of the caddy, and not too much of the kettle." " You're very flattering to-day, uncle," said Gwen. ' ' What's the matter ? " " Why," said Joe, " I do feel a bit pleased with myself. You see, as I was coming to the village I thowt I would come an hour earlier and step into the church and hear the vicar. He is a good sort, and I like to encourage him, and, as he will soon be callin' for the tithe, I thowt he might take something off if I went to church, and, maybe, I might pick up a point or two to chalk up against him. And I did. He was preaching from : " If a man take thy coat away, give him they cloak also," and he said that was what we ought to do, fair and square. ' All reet,' says I, ' we will try how it works.' So directly he'd finished and given out the hymn I walks to the vestry. I knew he took his coat off when he put his surplice on this hot weather. And sure enough, there it was. I brought it away, and left a little note to say that if he wanted to act up to his sermon 104 ROSES AND THISTLES. he could make the trousers up in a parcel and leave it just inside the vicarage gate, and I'd call there to-night, and signed it ' A Tramp.' Guess I would like to see the vicar's face when he reads it. That's the coat. It will fit thee, Rufe, splendidly. So I will make you a present of it. Likewise the trousers, if they turn up." The listeners sat for a moment gazing at the gleeful face of the farmer, and then his brother burst into a loud laugh, and his wife exclaimed in horror, " You don't mean to say you stole the coat ? " " No, ma'am," he said, " I took it from the vestry wi'oot saying anything, but I've asked for the trousers. I guess the vicar will consider twice before he preaches that sermon again." " But you will return it," said Gwen. " Naay," he said, "I shan't. It's time parsons were taught to practice what they preach. Besides, I've given it to Rufe. It will make a minister of him complete." " But dad won't have it I'm sure he won't," exclaimed Gwen. " I shall take it back myself in the morning." " Well," said Joe, with a gesture of resigna- tion, " I've done my best to make the pulpit consistent ; but everybody is against me. But I meant well. What do you say, Rufe ? " His brother seemed greatly amused at the horror depicted on his wife's face and the astonishment of Gwen's. " I think you have interpreted the vicar's sermon too literally," replied Rufus. " He did not mean exactly what you think he did." * ' That's it," said Joe. ' ' One never knows TWO SERMONS. 105 how to take things from the pulpit. If a man in the market says that he will sell a horse for twenty pounds, we think he means four five- pound notes, or two tenners ; but in the pulpit he would mean thirty pounds. It is bothering to plain men like myself. My, but this jam puff is good. I could eat it four times a day for a fortnight, and then start again. When a fellow's got a clean conscience, and a jam puff like this, he ought to be a happy man. Rufe Wentworth, it's the right end of the stick you've got, my man. Two women to wait on you, jam puff for tea, and nowt to do but sit in the garden and listen to the throstles sing." " It's bearable," said Rufus, screwing up his face. " I've been wuss off, and then haven't had much to grumble at. There's men in prisons and workhouses I wouldn't change places with. But we must have some music. I always like Gwen to sing for me before I go to preach. It kind of helps me to the reet mood." "Well," said Joe, grinning, "I'll try and stand it wi'oot stufHn' cotton-wool in my ears, if she'll promise not to sing anything very comic. I can't stand comic songs on Sunday, havin' been brought up kind of religious." " I won't sing for you at all if you don't behave yourself," said Gwen. " You are a nasty, wicked old man to suggest I would sing comic songs on a Sabbath." ' ' Take no notice of him, my dear," said Mrs. Wentworth. ' ' Let's have Dad's favourite,^ ' Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing.' ' "My," said Joe, "if they were all like 106 ROSES AND THISTLES. Queenie's, what a concert there would be. It would be grand, unless they took to talkin' instead of singin'. Come, lass, I'll put in the bass and Rufe can put in the discords." For the next half hour the house was full of music. Joe had a good voice, and he and Gwen were never happier than when they were singing. Rufus sat listening, a look of supreme content on his face, whilst Mrs. Wentworth joined in occasionally with her thin soprano, as she put away the tea things. " Now, it is nearly time we were ready," said Gwen at length. " Let's have just another," said Joe. " Something lively to finish with, such as ' Come on, my partners in distress,' or ' Am I only born to die.' What's it to be, Rufe ? This concert's for your especial benefit, you know." " Lead, kindly light," answered Rufus. " If you don't mind, I should like Gwen to sing it alone." " Humph, missis," said Joe, turning to Mrs. Wentworth, " that's a nasty hit at you and me. Talk of unappreciated genius. Well, go on lass. I wish we could stop here all night, for anything is better than havin' to listen to our Rufe tryin' to preach." Gwen sang the hymn with great feeling, and even the irrepressible Joe had nothing to say at the close, but quietly patted her on the shoulder in token of his appreciation. The chapel was full that night, as it was every time Rufus preached, for his quaint, straight- forward, unconventional sermons were greatly TWO SERMONS. 107 liked by the simple-minded country people. His text was, " And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us," and for three-quarters of an hour he held his congregation in deepest attention. From hill and dale, from tree and garden, he culled his illustrations, and never once did his congregation weary. He con- cluded by describing an evening spent in his rose garden, just after a shower, when raindrops hung on leaf and flower, and the sun shot from behind the clouds, to flood the landscape for a few moments with a rich, mellow light, and God gave him this message to deliver. " I saw the fringe of his garment, friends," he exclaimed, " but, some day, I shall see His face, and shall understand how He, who can make a sunset, has only been giving us a hint of His own beauty." " Well, uncle," said Gwen, " did you not think Dad was grand to-night," as they wended their way home, leaving Rufus to conduct the prayer meeting. " My dear," said Joe, " there ain't a bishop on the bench that can hold a candle to our Rufe at preachin', only it wouldna do to tell him so. I'd back him on a preachin' match agin all comers for a thousand pounds, and then have no v/orry about losin' the money. I wish I was as sure of something else, larss." "What's that, Uncle Joe ?" ' ' That you'll marry a sensible man. Don't make the mistake a' thinkin' that because a hoss comes out of a fine stable that he is a good goer. And remember, lass, that the best lookin' nag often loses the race," io8 ROSES AND THISTLES. " I don't know what you mean," replied Gwen, blushing furiously. " Well, the next time thou goes walkin' down Blackberry lane, mind and look o'er the top of the hedges. Good-night, and give my respects to the vicar when you take his coat back," and ere Gwen could reply he was gone. " There," he said to himself, " the pig is out of the sty amongst the cabbages now. I guess there ain't as many raisins in my cake next time. I'd a good mind to call on the vicar and see what he says about his coat." Mr. Bird was just about to go to his supper when Joe was shown in. ' ' How do you do, Mr. Wentworth ? " he said. " I hope I see you well." ' ( Well enuff in body, sir," replied Joe, ' ' but troubled in conscience, and so I thought I'd call and ask your advice. " Sit you down, sir," replied the vicar. " If I can be of any service to you, I shall be pleased." " Well, it's this. Supposing a loyal church- man, who has conscientious convictions against dissent, and thinks it is heresy, is asked by a friendly neighbour to subscribe towards a new chapel, ought he to do so ? " The vicar took a moment to think, and then answered, " I should say not, Mr. Wentworth, if he has strong convictions." 11 Humph," said Joe, " thank you. Well, then, suppose a Nonconformist has conscientious scruples against paying tithes and church rates, ought he to do so ? " The vicar smiled, and replied, " I am going to have my supper. Suppose we discuss the TWO SERMONS. I09 matter over a cup of coffee, if you really want an answer." " I've no objection to pick a bone wi' you," replied Joe. " I should think preachin's hard work, ain't it ? " " Yes," said the vicar, " I always feel very exhausted on a Sunday evening." " So do I," said Joe, " when I go to church. There's only one thing harder than preachin' to my mind, and that's listenin'. I've heard two sermons to-day one a very good one, and the other just middlin' and I feel quite done up. They will last me for quite three months at least." ft I was glad to see you in church this after- noon. It is a duty you owe to yourself and God, Mr. Wentworth, to be found at worship oftener." " Ay," replied Joe, " I came just to en- courage you, sir. But I've been to the Methody Chapel, to-night, and I listened to a sermon worth walking ten miles to hear. Yours was all reet, but it was not practical enuff for me." 11 There was a tramp present who differed from you, for he took away my coat, and left a note asking for my trousers as well." " Did he ? " exclaimed Joe, rubbing his hands. ' ' Well, that's a good 'un. I guess you've set Benbow, the policeman, on his track." " No," said the vicar. " But I hope it really was some poor man who needs a coat, and if so he is welcome to the trousers." " Do you say that ? " said Joe. " You meant what you said then ? " ' ' Well, not exactly as this man seems to have I io ROSES AND THISTLES. taken it, but if I have not made myself sufficiently plain I ought not to punish those who misunder- stand my preaching. But you have not told me who has been preaching at the Methodist Chapel." " My brother," answered Joe. " And there binna a parson in the county can preach like him." ' ' Your brother is a good man, Mr. Wentworth, and one I'm proud to have in my parish. I can readily believe that he can preach, although I never have had an opportunity of hearing him." " Ask him to preach in the church some Sunday," said Joe. " It would be full, and I'll guarantee the collection." ' ' I wish I could ; but you know the Bishop would not allow it." 11 Bishop be hanged ! I guess the Bishop will want to go to the same heaven as Rufe. If he don't he'll be badly off." " Ah, you don't understand, Mr. Wentworth, how convention, and caste, and privilege keep men apart. I feel strongly myself the differ- ences between our Nonconformist brethren and ourselves ought not to make any difference either in worship or service, but many of the clergy think otherwise. But for your brother I have the highest regard, I can assure you, and count it an honour to number him amongst my friends. I wish there were more like him." "So do I," said the unabashed Joe ; " but if we were all like Rufe there would be nothin' for parsons to do. The more people there are like me, the more need for a parson." " Mr. Wentworth," replied the vicar, " I TWO SERMONS. in have had it on my conscience to come and see you for some weeks past. There are many stories afloat about you buying and selling cattle on a Sunday, which I hope, for your credit's sake and that of the parish, are not true." 11 Ain't there an old proverb which says * the better the day the better the deed ' ? " asked Joe. * ' There is a commandment which says ' Thou shalt remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,' ' sternly replied the clergyman. " I'll try and remember it in future," said Joe. " But don't believe all the stories you hear, sir, because some of them are lies, and some are half lies, and most of them are only three-quarters of the truth. I cannot help folks comin' squintin' round at my cattle on a Sunday, and I never bargained on a Sunday but once, and that was when I sold your coachman the nag you ride." " You don't mean to say that John bought it on the Sabbath ? I shall dismiss him in the morning. ' ' Na-ay," said Joe, ' ' he didn't bargain exactly for it on the Sunday. He came on Saturday and offered me a price for the nag, and said you were set on havin' the hoss ; but I didn't particular want to part wi' him, and I just clapped five pounds on the price. Well, we couldn't agree, but I promised to come and hear you preach on the Sunday. It was just after you came to Summerton. And I'll say this, you took my fancy that morning. It was like a change from winter to spring after your predecessor. But I suspect that was the best ii2 ROSES AND THISTLES. sermon in the box. You so worked on my feelings that when I got to the door I sees John and I says, ' He shall have the hoss at his own price,' and he says, 'I'll come for it on the morrow,' and so we fixed it. Now, who was to blame, sir me for offering the tit, or John for jumping at the offer ? Anyhow, it wouldn't be right for John to get it all, would it ? " " Mr. Wentworth," the vicar said, smiling, " really I can never understand you." " La', sir," said Joe, " that's nowt. I cannot understand myself. There's bits o' me that are first-rate stuff, and there are considerable pieces that ain't any better than they should be, and I never know which will come uppermost. But I'm not as bad as some make out, and not nearly as good as I might be. I once heard an old preacher say there were some folks too good for hell and not good enough for heaven, and I think he had his eye on me. But I might as well own up now I'm here. I took your coat, sir." 11 You ! " exclaimed the vicar. 1 ' Ay," said Joe ; ' * and I confess I thought you'd be a trifle mad when I took you at your word. But, seeing it ain't ruffled your plumes a bit, all the fun has gone out of it. Queenie has promised to bring it back in the morning. And here's a couple of guineas for the poor fund, but don't tell anybody I've given 'em. Good neet, vicar ; I've enjoyed my supper." As he trudged home the farmer muttered to himself, " Joe Wentworth, this parish wonno' be worth livin' in soon, wi' a vicar that isn't content wi' saying' you mon follow the light, TWO_ SERMONS. 113 and not the lantern, but is a light as big as a haystack on fire on a dark night ; all the fun will be gone, what wi' him and Rufe there won't be work enuff to keep the devil warm. It will be too much like the Garden o' Eden for a poor sinner like me. I shall have either to mend or flit, and it's not easy to mend, and I dunno' want to flit." CHAPTER XI. " AND HE SPAKE TO THEM IN PARABLES." " How far the little candle throws its beams, So shines a good deed in this naughty world," SHAKESPEARE. "CHUCK! Chuck! Chuck!" Joe Wentworth stood leaning over his farm gate, counting the black Spanish fowls, which were greedily picking up some corn scrapings he had thrown them. Having assured himself that their number was correct, he very closely scrutinised the fifty hens, one by one. " Seems to me," he said, " when all are black, it's very difficult to tell the thief from the honest hens, but I'll catch her yet. No less than thirteen eggs eaten, or broken yesterday. A hen that eats eggs I regard as a kind of cannibal and a cannibal binna fit to live. If I can find her out I'll boil the eggs inside of her. Our Rufe is great on sending missionaries to the cannibals, but my way would be to send the hangman. It mayn't be quite so Christian, but it is the more sartin." "Chuck! Chuck! Chuck!" " Ay, what is that ? " A hen was running round the group to get a better chance at the corn, and the farmer caught sight of a small speck of white on her AND HE SPAKE IN PARABLES. 115 beak. After she had settled to her feeding, he went quietly up to her, and laid his hands on her. She fluttered and flustered in protest, but was helpless, and he carefully examined her beak. ' ' Thought so," he said. ' ' Sorry to disturb you at lunch, but justice will not wait. Cir- cumstantial evidence is decidedly agin you. Bit of egg shell on your beak. Pity you didn't wash your mouth after eating. Small feathers all stuck together. That means egg for break- fast. Anything to say in self-defence ? Then good-bye," and the next moment the hen lay dead on the ground with a dislocated neck. 11 That's an object lesson," he said, addressing the other fowl, as if they were human beings, " agin developing an appetite for egg. Next as does it gets same sauce. It's a sure way to the pot. Hullo ! why yon's our Rufe comin'. Guess he's got a collectin' book, or prick-this- for-a-penny-card, or a shillin' block for sale, whereby he takes your silver, and gives you a bit o' fancy cardboard, if you are fool enufL Grand ideas has Rufe for clothin* savages in gingham and alpaca as if sunshine wasn't good enuff. Or else he's on for buildin' a little Bethel for somebody who wants to go to heaven, and makes other folks pay for it ; or otherwise he's beggin' for a preacher's salary from those who never go to hear him preach. Rum fellow is Rufe. I guess if there's any House o' Lords in heaven Rufe'll be on the front bench. Any- how he'd get my vote." " Hallo, Rufe, lad, what art thee up to this morning ? And how's the missus and the princess ? " ii6 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Toppin', Joe," replied his brother. " They are entering into a kind of conspiracy against you just now, so keep your peepers open." " What's in the wind, eh ? Going to marry me to a widow with fourteen kids, or send me as a delegate to the Methody Conference ? Ha, ha ! " " Na-ay," replied Rufus, joining his brother's laughter, " but they are going to have you up at our house on Gwen's birthday, and are for giving you chronic indigestion by stuffing you with birthday cake. Maybe you'll be glad of a widow to nurse you after that." "Right," said Joe, "I'm their man. I'll take a lot of stuffin' I guess before the crisis comes, and if the wuss comes to the wust, I'll die a martyr in a good cause. When does it come off ? " " Next Tuesday, and I've brought you the invitation." " Oh," said Joe, " I thought you'd come beggin' for a ruined chimney pot for some chapel, or for some money to buy Beecham's pills for the natives of Africa, or a motor-car for a Methody parson. I've got a bad three-penny bit, paid me by a churchwarden, and I started to find it directly I saw you." " Why," said his brother, screwing up his face, " now you mention it, it does go agin the grain not to increase your chances o' gettin' into heaven, by taking some of your money for a good cause. You owe a lot to the Lord for your prosperity." " Prosperity," exclaimed the farmer. " I'd a cow died last week, and a horse lamed the AND HE SPAKE IN PARABLES. 117 week before, and a pig died an unnatural death just a week before that ; and wi' a Liberal Government in power, wheat's goin' down, and labour up, the foreigner is gettin' all the cream off the milk, and we get what's left. Call that prosperity, eh ? " " Bosh," said Rufus, " Gi' me a farmer for grumbling, all the world over. The cow that was staked was certainly a loss, but the horse that was lamed was better in three days, and is now working on the land. And that pig that died an unnatural death is now being salted in your cellar. Is that so ? " " Guess," said Joe, " he did run up against a sharp knife and cut himself." " Thought so," said Rufus, " and as for the Liberal Government, and the forriner, and the cream, that is not your honest opinion, and you know it. See what a season you had last year. Two hay crops, splendid barley, wheat capital, roots superb." " It was a bad year for mushrooms though," growled Joe. " Ay," replied Rufus, " An' for crabs and sloes. If you told the truth, in these bad times you are saving not a penny less than five hundred a year." Joe shook his head. " Shake away," said Rufus, " you'd shake it off before you'd make me believe that your profits were less than that. And here you are grumbling at the rate of a thousand a year loss, and giving a few shillings away and posing as very generous for doing that." " Well, what is it you want ? Name the ii8 ROSES AND THISTLES. sum, and done with it. If a man's to be hung, it's no use keepin' him in misery wi' the rope round his neck." " Well, I want five pounds for the foundation stone laying at Keystone next week." Joe pulled his face into various shapes, and then said, " Humph, I'll give you a guinea." " No," said Rufus, " a guinea's nowt for you." "Two, then." "No." " Hang it, man, do you want to send me to the workhouse ? I tell you I have no end of losses. Why I've had to kill this hen this morning as fine a fowl as ever stepped." " What have you killed it for ? " asked his brother. " Eatin' its eggs," said his brother. " When a fowl eats all it produces, and shares the good corn given to others, it's time it was taught not to be greedy." " Ay," said Rufus, his eyes twinkling, " and what is good law for chickens is surely not very bad for farmers. Mind you don't get your neck screwed if you keep all you produce." "Gad," said Joe, "that's kind o' gettin' your shins cut with your own scythe. I'll give no more than a shilling towards your foundation stone, but I'll give you the other four pounds nineteen to keep it quiet. If I gave five pounds, I should have the place thick wi' trampin' parsons, and missionary collectors and hospital men, and orphans, and asylums, and societies for the Promotion of Wooden Legged Men, or for puttin' down organ grinding, AND HE SPAKE IN PARABLES. 119 and Anti-Spitting Societies, and Hatters' Leagues, and^Women's rights, and there will be murder donejbefore I'm through with it. Put it down as a donation from the old black hen, for I'll have saved something this morning by shortening the earthly existence of this one, who has been eatin' eggs, price a shilling a dozen, for weeks. But came in and have a bite o' bread and cheese, and a drink of ale." " Bread and cheese, yes. For your cheese is always worth eatin', but no ale for me." " Oh, I forgot," said Joe, " that you drink water like a beast." " That's so," said Rufus. " I don't want to go below the level of beasts in my drinking. They kind of turn their noses up at your drink." ' l Pooh ! " said Joe, * ' they drink water because they have no better sense." " It agrees with them remarkably well," rejoined Rufus. " Those horses of yours wouldn't look so well on whisky." " Dunno," said Joe, " I once knew a donkey that was wonderfully fond of porter. He'd take it three or four times a day, and enjoy it." " Likely," replied Rufus, " I've always thought if the beasts ever get demoralised, the donkeys would lead the way." " Gad ! " said Joe. " I wish I had been a preacher, it would have helped me wonderfully in sellin' horses. Answers come so ready when you're used to pattering. It's a great gift is that of the gab. But come in and have a feed, or the next time you are preachin' on the parable of the good Samaritan you'll be sayin' I'm like the priest who passed by on the other side." 120 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Not I," said Rufus, " I'd never be so foolish as to liken you to either priest or Levite. I should rather liken you to another character in the parable." 11 What, the man who had been robbed ? Ay ! I never thought of that. Capital ! " " No," replied Rufus, " but if I bought horses of you, the man who robbed. You should hear what young Markham says of you." " Why," said Joe, with a laugh, " I reckon I did young Markham a good turn by takin' the conceit out of him. He was boastin' nobody ever had, or could, get the top-side of him in hoss buying, and that what he didn't know about hosses wasn't worth knowing. He allowed I knew a thing or two, but accordin' to him, mine was second-hand goods compared with his. Well, I sold him a hoss that had fits, and charged him five sovereigns extra for the fits. You see, he didn't have them often, and when he was all right there wasn't anything the matter with him. Do his work, eats his vittals, and was as quiet as a lamb, and was the fastest goer in the stables. But about once a month that hoss seemed to go right down mad, and then he would kick his shoes off his feet. I'll tell ye he made matchwood of his stall in one fit, and in another nearly killed a young colt. The men were afraid of him, and nobody could do aught wi' him but me. But if I was about, and went and spoke to him, he'd kind o' cool down in a few minutes. Well, Markham fell in love wi' him one day when he was comin' from market. He tried wi' his big bay, which never lets mushrooms grow under his feet, to keep ahead of me. My hoss didn't AND HE SPAKE IN PARABLES. 121 like the dust, and made up his mind to give the other a turn behind, and, in spite of all Markham could do, he slipped past him on the common, and I asked him if he had any message to send, as I was going to trot on. I tell you he didn't like it, and the bay got more long oats than he cared for. Markham came up next day and wanted to deal. I held off, and told him the hoss was a rotter, and that he was not good enuff for him, and I named a stiff price to choke him off. But he wouldn't be said nay, and so I parted. Next week he had a fit and he kicked Markham's new gig into splints, and ran into a shop window, and upset the bottles, and Mark- ham had to come down handsome. Well, six weeks passed, and he had another, and this time he upset the whole show, and was so mad they sent for a gun to shoot him. But I happened to be passing, and I bought him back to please Markham, for about as much as I could sell him to make sausages. Markham's been kind o' shy wi' me ever since." " There don't seem to be too much of the golden rule in horse buying," said Rufus. " Dunno," said his brother. " It's my rule, ' Do as you are done by,' and a decent rule it is. I never cheat unless I see the other chap at the game, and then its diamond cut diamond. I don't wait to be bitten, I get furst bite." " That isn't the golden rule," replied Rufus. " It is to do as you would be done by." " Ay! that's all right for growing cauliflowers and roses, but it wouldn't do for hosses. There's more rascality in the hoss business than any other, and the man that wouldn't come out of 122 ROSES AND THISTLES. it as bare as a pig's back is of wool, must be up to the dodges." "Then I would be out of it," said Rufus. " I wouldn't have dirty money at any price." " 'Cept for foundation stones," said his brother with a chuckle. " But here's the bread and cheese. I suppose you won't refuse that because my cows got into Robbin's pastures and ate his grass. That milk wasn't quite honestly come by, and the receiver is as bad as the thief." " Well," replied Rufus, "I'll run the risk this time. If Robbins lets his fences down he deserves to suffer. Anyway, the cows didn't know they were doing wrong." ' ' Trust a Methody preacher to find a way out of a difficulty," said Joe. '* But how's the roses ? Good show this year ? " " There's a fine promise," said Rufus. " The stocks are good, and the buddin's all I could wish. A little more rain is desirable." Just then a lad entered the room, bringing a letter. Joe opened it, lifted his eyebrows, and the corner of his lips twitched nervously, as if he wanted to smile, and would not. " All right," he said to the lad, " you can go. Ask Mary Ann to give you a chunk of bread and cheese if you are hungry. Then take a paddle and cut the thistles in that nine acre field. And mind you DO cut them. A little extra trouble in the spring saves a big lot in the harvest." * ' That's true," said Rufus, * ' thistles and bad habits should be stopped when they're young. But who is that lad ? " AND HE SPAKE IN PARABLES. 123 " Widder Brassing's son." " What, the one that's been in jail for poach- ing ? " ' Ay, looks a desperate creature, doesn't he ? You see no one else would have him, and so I took him on. I get him cheap that way." " Go on," said Rufus, " I know all your tricks. You took him on because you like to do a kind deed, and don't like to own up. And I'll be bound you give him as much as he's worth." " One shilling a week and his keep, and he's worth four." " And you give the rest to his mother, or I'm a " " Rufe," said Joe, " you are gettin' too sharp to live. Do you ever shave yourself without a razor ? " Rufus laughed. " I think," he said, " you'd rather be shot than own up to doing a generous deed." " Pooh!" replied Joe, "if I do give the widder a little towards her rent, I don't want the dogs to bark it all over the county. But the lad's a decent sort, and the man that sent him to jail deserves penal servitude for life. He heard a hare in a trap squealing, and he went to let it out. Young keeper comes along and catches him, and accuses him of poaching. The lad declares he had no intention of takin' the hare, but was touched by its piteous cries. Well, he's summoned before a bench of fox- hunting' squires, who would rather hear of a lad killin' a baby than a hare. So they sent him to jail for six weeks, and the widow nearly I2 4 ROSES AND THISTLES. broke her heart. So when the youngster came out of jail, Gibbens tells him he is sorry, but the keeper has told him if he takes him on again he will lose his farm. That's real up-to-date English fair play. So I hears of it, and I sends for the lad and gives him a job. " But your farm is under Mrs. Wincanton, isn't it ? " " Ay, and I hadn't had the lad two days when I had Neddy Williams, the keeper, on my track. I think he'll not forget the interview in a hurry. I gave him a few sugar plums away in his pocket. Guess he'll tell the young squire my opinion of him in italics, and it won't bear puttin' in print, for I was warm, and hadn't said my prayers that morning. There are occasions when there isn't any religious word big enough to let out your feelings. " I hav'nt felt the disadvantage myself," re- joined Rufus drily. " There are a few psalms that supply all I have ever needed. But you'll likely get notice to quit." " Maybe," answered Joe carelessly. " But if I do, you'll not let me go to the wurkuss, eh, Rufe ? '" " Joe Wentworth," said Rufus, " I'm proud to call you brother. You've your own way of doing things, but you're nearer the kingdom of heaven than many make that a great profession. You'd make a grand Christian if you'd only come out on the Lord's side." " Why," drawled Joe, " if they were all like you I might ; but there's some really measly ones among you. The only time I ever got cheated was by a Christian. He was too fly for AND HE SPAKE IN PARABLES. 125 me, and he'd such a gift for quoting Scripture you'd have thought he'd a Bible inside o' him, and that he was too good for anything less than the company of angels." " Joe," said Rufus, " did you like them taties I sent you the other week ? " " Champion," replied Joe. " I had sum biled, and they turned out like balls of flour. I wish you'd sell me a sack." " Na-ay," said Rufus, " I wouldn't think of it. Why, man, when I picked them out o' the tatie pie there was nearly a peck of rotten ones. You'd never think of buying taties that has rotten ones amongst them, would you ? I wonder you'd eat 'em at all." ' ' Had agin, Rufe ; I see taties and Christians need soarting, eh ? That's the pint. But aboot this lad. I have not lost any sleep over him, and I'll tell you why. The young squire is pretty heavily in my ribs for horses, and a little sumthing he borrowed one day he'd run out, and he binna flush just now. So maybe my opinion of him won't cost me much, and will do him good. Anyhow, he's welcome to it. And if he cuts up nasty ; well, tell the princess I'll cum and offer marriage to her, and we'll live in a cottage, and eat taties and bacon, and cucumbers, for dinner every day. The lad's here, and here he'll stop. Going, eh ? Well, ta-ta. I'll bring the five pounds when I come next week." The brothers shook hands and parted. "Good man, Rufe," said Joe, "and he's let me off cheap this time. I thowt he'd ask fur a tenner. And he'd have got it. 126 ROSES AND THISTLES. Can't refuse Rufe any more than a cat can cream." " Wish Joe would join the church," muttered Rufus. " He'd make a front row Christian, if he'd give up horse buying." CHAPTER XII. < 'MANY HAPPY RETURNS OF THE DAY." " A young maiden's heart Is the rich soil wherein lie many germs, Hid by the cunning hand of Nature there, To put forth blossoms in their fittest seasons," KEMBLB. THE birthday arrived, or what was kept as such, being the day Rufus found Gwen in his garden, and Joe Wentworth turned up in what he termed his * ' going-to-meeting " suit, which consisted of a tight-fitting coat, a red waistcoat, and knee breeches, and a very showy necktie. The horsey man always carries the atmosphere of the stable about with him. He was riding the bonniest little Welsh pony that ever crossed the border. " Hallo, Rufe ! " he cried, " have you room in your greenhouse for a hoss that hasn't taken its growth properly ? " ' ' Why," said Rufe, ' * he does seem a bit dwarfed. He might get inside the pigstye with- out lifting the roof. Whatever made you buy such a hobby-horse as that ? " "Well," rejoined the brother, "I bought it for a young lady, and, as I wanted to be sure it was quite safe, and wouldn't want to jump every nine-foot wall it came to, I rode it here to-day. It binna as tall as a giraffe, but every 128 ROSES AND THISTLES. bit from nose to tail is hoss flesh, and Ai quality, and it can get over the ground quicker than a tortoise. We passed a few snails on the way." " It's bonnie," said Rufus. " There's is nothing in the old stable but a few tomato plants ; but I've nowt to give it to eat ; we must send for some wuts " (oats.) 1 * Oh ! he'll take no harm for a bit. He's been laying in a store all morning ; but you'll need to get in some provender, for I've no room for a nacker like that at my place, and I mean to leave him here." " What ! " exclaimed Rufus, " leave him here ? " " Ay," laughed Joe, " don't you let the cat out of the bag, but I've bought that animal as a kind of lover's present for the princess. Thowt you'd manage to house and feed it, and, maybe, find exercise enough for it to keep its legs from swellin' by ridin' it to your appointments. I'll send some hay and wuts for it now and agin." ' ' Joe," said Rufus, ( ' I can't have you comin' round here and spoiling my little girl in this manner. There's hardly any living' in this house with her now. Directly she knew you were coming, she starts and makes puffs and tarts and seed cake, and a great beef-steak pie, and spice bread, and tatie cake, and other poisonous stuff of that sort, and orders me into the garden, and when I tell her I won't stand it any longer, and give her a month's notice, she's as cheeky as you please. She says 1 Then I'll go to Uncle Joe's. He'd be glad enuff to have me.' It's a kind of conspiracy, nothing less, between you two." MANY HAPPY RETURNS. % 129 " Right," said Joe, laughing. " She knows that a way to a man's heart is through his stomach. For bribery and corruption there binna nothin' to touch a good beef-steak pie, served up with smiles. I daresay there are men that can resist it, but I ain't made that way. But yonder is the young lady herself, looking like an angel in her best clothes. Hello, Queenie ! " he shouted. ' ' Dad here has been givin' you a desperate character. He's a fine sample of a backbiter for a local preacher, and would take first prize for defamation of character. Of course, I don't believe one word of it. But if I were you I would comb his hair wi' the garden rake. But hanna you got a kiss for your broken- hearted admirer, eh ? You have not kissed me since well, I won't tell when it was." Gwen laughed, and said, " I don't mind what dad says about me. My character is above suspicion. But I'll kiss you on one condition." " I surrender unconditionally," said Joe. " I'm like Adam in the Garden of Eden, when Eve said take a bite. My opinion is that if it had been a milestone instead of an apple he would have tried his teeth on it. But what is it ? Another fiver for the foundation stone, eh ? Now, be merciful. " No, something easier than that." " You don't want me to put my hair in curl, do you, cos it wouldn't suit my complexion ? But let's have the kiss to be going on wi'." " Not till you promise." * * Well, it's hard on a chap, but I reckon I must. Hope you don't want the weddin' to be earlier than next week cos I shall want a new 130 ROSES AND THISTLES. pair of corduroy trousers, and a velveteen coat with pearl buttons, to be married in. I always said I would when I was a lad, and I will. There was a handsome widder down Shrewsbury way that once took a particular fancy to yours truly, and she got all fixed up, but when I told her what I wanted to be married in, she became kind o' huffy, and said it was an outrage, and threw up the cards. She thowt I should change my mind about the clothes, but I didn't, and so I'm still a poor lone bachelor." " You're a bad man, and I've a good mind not to kiss you at all. I only want you to promise that if the vicar calls and I expect he will you won't tease him. It's such bad manners you know." " Rats ! " exclaimed Joe. " Well, I promise to be as good as a Sunday-school scholar at treat time if the vicar leaves me alone. But it's a fact that parsons Church, Methody, or Bap- tist, never can keep off the bones of a poor chap like me. They are all so anxious either to save my soul or put their hands in my pocket that I've no peace. I mean to take out a protection order against them. The vicar's best of all I know. He never asked for anything but his tithe, but he's a rank Tory. The Methody fellow says nasty things in a nice manner, like takin' pills in jam, but the Baptist man, he goes straight for you, and tells you that it is either water in this life or fire in the next. I rather like him, although he doesn't hold out the faintest hope that I shall hear the singin' in the other world. I went to hear him preach one night, and I tell you his sermon was a scalper. He MANY HAPPY RETURNS. 131 was dead nuts on sinners, and the place fair smelt o' brimstone before he'd done. I gave an extra shillin' in the collection to help to pay for it. That's my way. If a chap's going in for a thing, whether it be stocks and shares in the Millennium or Derby winners, I like whole- hoggers." " You get worse, I declare," said Gwen. " Ay," said Joe, " 'tis so, I fear. I'm a walkin' commentory on the text, ' Evil com- munication corrupteth good manners.' Ever since I've known you I've gone the wrong way. But you have not given me that kiss yet, and I'm longin' for it as much as a boy does for chewin' gum." "There," said Gwen, kissing him; "it's more than you deserve. Now, remember, you've promised to be good." " My," said Joe, " that's better than straw- berries and cream, but you might have kept on a bit when you were started. It was hardly worth while getting your mouth into shape just for one. But come here, I want to show you a nice hoss I've bought for a lady acquaintance of mine, and should like your opinion. Only mind you don't tread on him. He's so small and you've sich big fe " Before he could finish the sentence he had received a smart box on the ears. " Oh ! what a lovely little creature ! " ex- claimed Gwen, as Joe threw open the door and showed the pony. " How I should like to ride on his back. Did you ride him here, Uncle Joe ? " "Well," said Joe, "partly. When he felt 132 ROSES AND THISTLES. faint and weary I let down my legs and walked a spell ; but he binna one of those ponies that wants to stop and lean himself against every gatepost he comes to. He can go. I overtook a man pushing a wheelbarrow full o' turnips, and we left him a few yards behind. You see, I couldn't bring him along any other way. If I'd put him in my pocket he might have smothered. Rufe there has promised to find him house room, and I'll find him something to keep his teeth from getting rusty, if you don't mind trottin' him out occasionally, and if you get tired o' him, make him into a rabbit pie. Nobody 'ull be any the wiser." " But," began Gwen. " It's a birthday present from Joe," said Rufus, " only he's too delicate to say it." " Oh ! you dear ! " exclaimed Gwen. " I'll give you a dozen kisses if you like. I am delighted. You could not have bought me anything that would have pleased me more. There one, two, three, four " " Hold on," said Joe, " I feel like a wasp that has found a full treacle cask. There is too much sweetness for a meal. Couldn't you divide 'em ? " " You shall have them all six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, and one more." " That's what I call capital punishment, as the lad said when his mother shut him up in the pantry and he found a raspberry pie. Now let us go in and have something to eat. I've passed the stage when kisses will keep me at working pressure." It was a happy birthday party that gathered MANY HAPPY RETURNS. 133 round the table in the parlour at tea time. There were all Rufus' special cronies and some of Gwen's friends, so, as Joe said, " both ends of life were represented." When the vicar came, Joe said, " Now, Vic., you've to keep your hands off me to-day. Fve promised not to molest you, on condition that you don't present an order for tithe, or want me to become a Conservative, or to come to church more than twice a Sunday for fifty-two Sundays in the year, or to vote against Disestablishment at the next Election. But if you begin on me, I'm sure to retaliate. I couldn't stand it any more than a bull can a red rag. I've given you fair warning." The vicar smilingly bowed to Joe, and said : " Mr. Wentworth, your sense of fitness of things is so well known that I can hardly con- ceive there could be any necessity for obtaining a promise from you not to introduce contro- versial subjects on such an auspicious occasion as this." Joe bowed in return, and said : "I told 'em so, but everybody thinks beca'as I won't be boiled down for tallow for foaks to make tuppenny ha'penny candles that I'm a pug- nacious man. There isn't a milder-tempered better behaved man in the parish, now is there, Vic., when I'm not trodden on ? " " Well," replied the vicar laughing, "I think I can say there is not a man in the parish who is more ready to give himself a good character, Mr. Wentworth." " Beca'as there's nobody knaws it as wellfas I do," replied the unabashed Joe. " I always 134 ROSES AND THISTLES. speak about what I knaw. If preachers did that there wouldn't be much in some sermons, would there, sir ? " " It seems to me, Mr. Wentworth, you are introducing one of those controversial topics you assured us you were so anxious to avoid. At another time we might possibly debate the matter, but to-day I have not time, I regret, to remain. I just called in to wish Miss Gwen many happy returns of the day, and to ask her acceptance of this book of poetry. It is written by an old college friend of mine, Mr. Arthur Tennyson, and, I venture to say, has in it great promise." " Oh ! thank you very much," rejoined Gwen, curtseying. " I am sure I shall enjoy it very much. But you will sit down and have some cake, and a glass of mother's elderberry wine." " I regret I must decline, thank you. News has just reached me that the poor fellow Stockall has been found hanging in his barn, having, I fear, taken his own life, and I am on my way to comfort the widow." Various exclamations of surprise and sym- pathy broke from the members of the company, and the vicar went on : " Yes, it's a bad case. He has been unable, through sickness, to pay his rent, and Mrs. Wincanton has sent and seized his two cows and given him notice to be out in a month. This so preyed upon his mind that the poor fellow has ended his life." Joe uttered an exclamation so forcible that the clergyman turned and said : " Sir, if I had not been a minister of the Gospel I should have MANY HAPPY RETURNS. 135 said the same thing, though it had imperilled my soul." 11 Can I be of any service if I come along, sir ? " asked Rufus. " At another time I should have said yes, but I must not take you from this happy gather- ing, or Miss Gwen will not forgive me. As it is, I must apologise for throwing a shadow over your happiness. I will call for your advice in relation to the poor widow and the fatherless children." ' * The old lord was bad enuff," said Joe, when the vicar had departed, " but this woman's wuss. He would skin a gnat for the hide, but she would make broth of the bones. The tales I hear about the way she is grinding down the cottagers would shame the Sultan o' Turkey. And her son is worthy of his mother. I never see him but I want to horsewhip him. He comes shambling about my place as though he was lord of the hemisphere. He has about as much sense in his head as he has money in his pocket, and that wouldn't take a bank clerk a fortnight to count." During this tirade on Harold Wincanton Gwen hung down her head and toyed with the rose in her dress ; but it was not lost on Uncle Joe that her cheeks were flushed and her fingers trembled." " I'm afraid," replied Rufus, " that what you say is true. He strikes me as poor stuff out of which to make a man, but the Lord may take a dealing with him some day, and there's no telling what he may become." " Even the Lord cannot make a lion out of 136 ROSES AND THISTLES. a mouse at least, I've never seen it done. I've heard that he was going away to be married, and I thought we should be well rid o' him, though God help the woman who gets him, say I, but I think it was only a country clash." The thin, nervous ringers of Gwen plucked the rose bud until it fell to pieces, and the beautiful face dropped, until it was impossible to see the expression upon it, and so he went heedlessly on. " If I had a daughter, I would give her a big dose of rat poison rather than that she should marry such a rake and fool. I wonder that any decent woman could be found to walk on the same highway as he, much less to love, honour, and obey. But it's strange the wuss a man is the easier it seems to get a wife. There's princess, I'll be bound she hallo ! the gal's gone ! " " Ay," said Rufus, " the vicar's news has upset her. She cannot abear trouble. Her heart is so tender." Joe did not answer, but sat for some time in a very thoughtful mood. After a time Gwen came back, and he noticed her eyes were red, as though she had been weeping. When he asked her to sing, she excused herself, saying she had a headache. When the party broke up, Joe refused to accept the pressing invitation of his brother to stay the night with him, and so Rufus walked part of the way home with him. " I'm thinkin' o' buying Stockall's place," said Joe, after a pause in the conversation. "What for? "asked Rufus. "Are you going to leave the Red Acres ? ' "No," said Joe, "not yet. But there's a MANY HAPPY RETURNS. 137 Staffordshire fellow after Stockall's farm, and I know Lady Jezebel would be glad of some ready money, for that young spendthrift of hers keeps her as clean as a pig trough after a sow and pigs have had their dinner, and Stockall got his notice last week. I guess that was in his mind when he put the rope round his neck. He was not a bad 'un, of a soart, but the soart wasn't very valuable. Well, I had a kind o' hankering to be a landlord myself, and I put the matter in Lawyer Neal's hands last week to buy over the Staffordshire fellow's head, if he did not stand over seven feet high. 11 I see," replied Rufus, " and you would have let Stockall stay on till he had pulled him- self round." "Well," replied Joe, " I don't say that I should have kicked his pots and pans into the ditch and turned his wife and children into a ten-acre field to feed on turnips. That binna my way. Stockall was not up the morning the Lord shared out gumpshun, that's certain. He woke when most of it was disposed of. But I thowt I could come to some arrangement with him, whereby I could put brains in, if he'd find the labour and manure, and between us we might have made a shilling grow into fourteenpence. But the silly fellow has gone and throttled my plan as well as himself. If there had to be hanging done, he should have hung his landlady. There would ha' been some sense in that." " What will you do now ? " asked Rufus. " Why, that's the question," he said. " You remember the time when you and I were sent 138 ROSES AND THISTLES. off on our own, when they talked o' taking us to the workuss, the day they buried mother I bolted. I would have taken you as well, but you wouldn't come. It was a bitter cold day, and I had nowt to eat 'cept a raw tatie, and half that was rotten. As I ran through the village, I saw a little girl sittin' on a doorstep, eatin' a piece o' bread and treacle. That pulled me up quick, though I was mighty feared they would be after me to take me to the workuss. Well, I stood looking hard, and the little lass saw me, and held out her piece for me to take a bite. I bit big, and it tasted good. Then I could not resist it. I snatched the bread out of the child's hand and scuttled hard, like a hare with a grey- hound at its heels. It was my first theft. I've never stolen since, not 'cept its been in the way o' hoss dealin'. But I guess if those who talk high and mighty had felt as hollow as I did, and had a piece o' bread and treacle thrust into their mouth, they would have swallowed it at a bite I heard the child cry, but I had urgent business in a plantation two miles away when I finished the piece and licked my fingers after. That girl grew up to be a decent lass, and she married Harry Stockall, the worst day's work she ever did. Well, do you see, I owe her for that piece of bread and treacle. I'm going to pay off an old debt. So I want you to step round in the morn- ing and tell her not to worry about the notice to quit. She shall stay as long as she likes. But mind, don't say anything about me. I donna want any widders, wi' gratitude an' all the rest o' it, coming gallivantin' about my place. I might lose my character wi' the vicar if he heard MANY HAPPY RETURNS. i 39 I was encouraging handsome widders round my farm." " But what if the other man has bought the place ? " asked Rufus. " You might be too late." " Oh ! I know he hasn't. He was comin* to see it on Monday, and if this thing binna settled by Saturday night there will be a prayer meetin' in Lawyer Neal's office." " But if Lady Wincanton knows," commenced Rufus. " Chuck," said Joe. " Your brother wasn't born on April 1st. I hold a bit of paper or two that would make Lady Jezebel open her eyes if she saw 'em. But now, Rufe, mind if you let anyone know I have anything to do wi' this matter, I'll " " What ? " said Rufus with a smile. " Cut your acquaintance. Pll disown you. Pll never look the side of the road you're on, and some day when you are preaching Pll get up and denounce you as a breaker of contracts. Pve come to you as my Father Confessor, and you've got to help me to make restitution wi'oot blabbin' either." " Pve always heard that public apology should follow public wrong, and that the con- fession should be as open as the crime," said Rufus. " Seems to me, Joe Wentworth, you want to sneak into heaven by a back door," "Well," replied Joe, "the front gate is blocked by foaks all yellin' out what good they've done. They are dreadfully afraid the Recording Angel was asleep when they gave their tanners and half-crowns to help a lame dog over a stile," 140 ROSES AND THISTLES. 6 I'll do it," said Rufus, ' and keep my mouth as close as a rat trap. But it will come out some day, as sure as cowslips in the spring. " Not till my toes are ticklin' the roots o' the daisies I hope," returned Joe. " Now, Rufe, you think yourself a wise man, so take this to think over as you walk home ' If I had a prize bunny at home, I should keep a sharp watch out for weasels.' " CHAPTER XIII. A SNAKE AMIDST THE FLOWERS. " All our actions take Their hues from the complexion of the heart, As landscapes their variety from light." BACON. THERE was to be a flower show at Summer- town. Rufus had suggested it to the vicar, who had fallen eagerly in with the suggestion, and soon a committee was busy at work, making arrangements. For many weeks it formed the one topic of conversation in the village and neighbourhood. " Rufe Wentworth knew what he was about, " said Bill Newhams, who never did a generous thing in his life, and could not understand generosity in others. " He'll get all the prizes himself, and nobody else will have a chance. He was not born yesterday." "Well, Bill," rejoined John Cartwright, " there's one thing that Rufe conno beat you in, and that's nettles. I had a look into your garden yesterday, and I'll be prepared to back it for rankness and quantity of weeds against anything in this parish." " It wonno grow nowt," replied Bill. " It's as poor as poverty itself, and the rent I pay for it is shameful." " All nonsense," replied Cartwright, " there isn't a bit of better land in the village, if it was I 4 2 ROSES AND THISTLES. properly worked. All it wants is manure and elbow grease. I wish I could get hold of it, that's all." 11 Thou's welcome to it for all I care. I never had a good crop off it yet. It was starved before I got it, and I found time and money wasted on it. It wonno sprit a wut (oat)." " No, it binna likely," rejoined Cartwright. " It's wi' the ground, as wi' everything else. You get as much out of it as you put in. Treat it badly and it will treat you badly. Use it well, and it will use you well. At least that is what I have found. There's Jones' patch just over the hedge, it's a credit to any man, and better crops I never wish to see." " Ay," answered Billy, " so would mine be if I had stolen the manure to put into it. But I'm too honest for that." " Thou binna too modest to blow thy own trumpet," Cartwright replied, as he moved away. " If they would give a prize for brag and laziness at the flower show, I could guess at twice who would win it." When this conversation was repeated to Rufus, he was much amused. " No," he said, " I didna think of competing in the class where Bill would shine ; docks, and thistles, or squitch. Solomon, long ago, saw that a fool couldna have a garden wi'oot it telling everyone that he was a fool. It would come hard on Bill if he took the ague, for he would be too lazy to do the shaking himself. If his head itches, I guess it's too much trouble for him to scratch it. There is only one thing he isn't too lazy to do, and that is stick his nose A SNAKE AMIDST THE FLOWERS. 143 into a pint pot. But about this flower show. I shall not compete in anything 'cept grapes. No poor man grows 'em, and I guess the rich have as good a chance as I. Lady Wincanton's Jim has been swaggering that there binna no grapes in this country that wouldna look like black- berries alongside of his. A man that grows grapes is like a man that grows daughters, he thinks they are non-suchers. There is not any- thing I know that will give a man colour blind- ness in the matter of size like grapes. His own somehow seem always bigger and richer than his neighbour's. So I wouldna like to brag, but I've an opinion that mine will make Jim whistle on the wrong side of his mouth. But there's no saying, for Jim's as confident his grapes will get first prize as I am that Setterday comes after Friday. So there's nowt for it but to let the judge decide between us. But as for any- thing else, I shanna enter. It would be a mean advantage to take of men who are not as well placed as myself." When this decision was known, some who had held back entered, and the flower show promised to be a success in every way. A brass band from Whitehurst, noted for the vigour of its attack, was engaged for the occasion, and the whole countryside had holiday. Rufus and the vicar took a preliminary walk round. It was only when inspecting the roses that his face clouded. The best stand was undoubtedly Billy Porter's, a drunken ne'er- do-well, who had once been a gardener at the Hall. ' ' What is the matter, Wentworth ? ' ' asked 144 ROSES AND THISTLES. the vicar, as he saw him look unusually close at this collection. " I thowt I saw a sarpint among those flowers," said Rufus, " and sure enuff he's there." " Where ? " exclaimed the vicar, peering closely at the moss. " It must be a small adder." "Nay, sir, it binna," replied Rufus; "it's the same owd reptile that crept into Eden. It's the devil, and nowt else." " You don't mean to say " "Ay," said Rufus, "I do. Billy Porter ain't got a stock in his garden that produced that rose. I sauntered round last week and had a look at his lot. He'd some decent Marechal Niels and some Indica Odorata, but his Catherine Mermets were not worth twopence a dozen. And that binna his'n either. If I don't mistake I've seen it growing not forty yards from my own back door." The vicar's face lengthened, and he said, ' ' Wentworth, I'm sorry, if what you say is true. Are you sure you are not mistaken ? ' " Well," he said, " roses is much alike, I allow, but I can generally pick my own out any- where, for you see I live among them. There binna many buds but what I watch grow until I know their shape and size, and colour exactly. There is one flower that never grew in my garden, or Billy Porter's either. It's come from the vicarage or from the Hall." " Mine ? " gasped the vicar. " It surely hasn't come from my garden." " Well," said Rufus, " I won't say it has, nor it hasn't, but I will say Billy Porter never in all A SNAKE AMIDST THE FLOWERS. 145 his life grew a flower as perfect as that. He has only three trees of that species, and I gave him them, and they never did produce anything beyond middlin' or fair." 1 ' What's to be done ? ' ' asked the vicar. " He ought to be disqualified, of course, but how can we prove it ? ' "Easy," said Rufus. "We will give him the credit o' the nine, but we will take these three, and go and look where I think they came from. This has been cut with a knife that wasn't too sharp. You see, instead of being clean cut, the bark is ragged, and he has had two tries at it. Guess the tree will show it. Then we will go and see Billy's garden, and ask him to show us where it grew." So the two hurried off, first to Rufus' garden. Amidst a score of trees all bearing roses, Rufus, at the first trial, picked out the tree from which the stolen blossom had come, and pointed at once to the place from where it had been cut. " Don't need much more evidence," he said. " They fit together like foot and slipper. Billy has made a good choice, though he did it in the dark. There is only one better rose on the tree than that. I know'd it as soon as I set eyes on it." " Your knowledge is most wonderful to me," said the vicar. " I grow roses, 'tis true, but I could not tell whether any particular blossom had come from the vicarage, any more than I could tell what field a particular blade of grass grew in." " I love 'em," Rufus explained, " and I've K 146 ROSES AND THISTLES. heard Gwen read from Shakespeare, " Love gives a priceless seeing to the eye." " But so do I love them." " Ay," said Rufus, " in a general kind o' way. But you love roses, and I love the rose. Every particular one. I often think that is what the Saviour meant when He said, ' I know My sheep, and am known of Mine.' There are many who love men in the lump, but Christ loves them separately." " Thank you, my friend," said the vicar, " for a new light upon an old text. But what shall we do next ? ' " Humph, no need to go to the vicarage for more evidence, I think. Look, here is another proof, a footprint in this bed. That binna mine, and nobody's about the place. Heel plates and toe plates ; five rows of nails. There binna nobody 'cept Billy and Ned Porter with a foot fourteen inches long in this village, which I calculate is about the length of this one. Seems to me Billy ought to have had his bedroom slippers on if he didn't want tracing." The two straightway made their way to Porter's cottage. Billy's lad was cleaning his father's boots for the show. " Hallo! Eddie," said Rufus. "Nice job that you've got. Like it, eh ? ' The lad looked as if he had been crying, and did not relish the work at all. " You'll never get a shine that way. Let me have hold of it. Now then, this is the way to rub blacking in. Know the best thing to make blacking shine ? Well, it's elbow grease. I learned to clean boots when I was no higher than A SNAKE AMIDST THE FLOWERS. 147 badly I got a rap on the head wi' the brushes. I was brought up on blows, and hard words, and table scrapins. Here you are, lad. Got a ticket for the flower show ? No. Well, here's one, and a penny to buy ginger nuts wi'. Now don't forget the elbow grease. Father in ? Just run and tell him the vicar wants him. These are Billy's best boots, but the size is fourteen inches." Porter came out, and touched his cap to the vicar, but his face dropped when he saw Rufus. 11 We've been admiring that stand o' roses o' yours up at the show," said Rufus. " The vicar and I are agreed thet, all in all, they look like furst-prizers. So we've walked round to see if you've any more like 'em." " Sum," replied Billy, his face brightening. " Of course, I've sent the best, but I have got a few more left. I have half a dozen thet would take some matchin', even in your garden, Mr. Wentworth." "Glad to hear it," replied Rufus. "I've a few Marechal blossoms that needn't blush to show themselves. But if it won't take too much of your time, the vicar and I would like to see your posies." " Come this way, then. That's a good 'un, that Marechal Niel. I did think I'd send it, but I sent a Souvenir d'un Ami instead. It wasn't so good, but rarer." " Right," replied the vicar. " Well, I must say you've got a decent lot, and there is great credit due to you. 148 ROSES AND THISTLES. j-* ^" Great credit," said Rufus. ^After Porter had shown them round, and they had duly admired and praised all that was worthy of praise, they were about to wish him good morning, when Rufus, as though he had for- gotten, said, ' ( Oh ! but do you mind showing us your Indicas and Catherine Mermets ? I am specially interested in them just now." Bill looked about as comfortable as a live eel in a frying pan, and shuffling from one foot to another , said, ' ' Well, there binna nowt to look at. I've cut the only fine one there was for the show." " Come," said Rufus, " you're too modest. A man that can grow a Catherine Mermet like that in the Show ought to have his tree in the front of the garden. Show us the trees. The vicar and I are specially anxious to see 'em." Bill turned red and then white, and stood silent. " Now, vicar," said Rufus, " it's your turn. I caught the fox. It is for you to put salt on his tail." The next ten minutes were the most uncom- fortable of Billy's life. " I didn't know," said Rufus afterwards, " that the vicar could get angry. He gave Billy Porter such a lecture as I hanna heard for a piece. If he would preach like that I'd go and hear him. He would empty the church the first Sunday and fill it the next. I felt sorry for Billy before he had done with him. I said nothing except I gave him the advice the next time he came gathering roses not to wear fourteen inch boots with toe and heel plates and five A SNAKE AMIDST THE FLOWERS. 149 rows of nails. But he did not look very amiable, dida't Billy, so we left him. The last words of the minister were calculated to stick for a bit : ' It may be interesting for you to know,' said the vicar, and he looked nine feet high when he said it, ' that if you had been honest you would undoubtedly have won the first prize. Now I shall take care that your exhibits are disqualified, not only from this, but from succeeding shows for three years to come. I feel humbled that I should have a man in my parish who would condescend to do such a thing.' " ' You won't see Billy at church for some time to come," said Rufus, as the two walked back. " You've rubbed him a bit sore, but maybe it will do him good." The show was in every way a great success. Rufus carried off the first prize for his grapes, and even the gardener from the Hall admitted the fairness of the award, and congratulated him upon his success. But that night Rufus had five of his glasshouses broken, and a number of valuable trees damaged. Sad havoc was also made of a promising lot of young and rare plants. There was no doubt in the mind of Rufus to whom he was indebted for this mischief, but when the policeman called to investigate he refused to allow him to proceed further in the matter. " No," he said. " I havn't much faith in prisons as reformatories, and Billy has nothing to pay with. It might make him better, but it may make him wuss, and he's poor stuff to experiment on. I can afford to bear the loss better than he can afford to have it upon his conscience." ISO ROSES AND THISTLES. The vicar especially was very angry, and went to see Porter, but that worthy found it convenient to be absent from home. But the next Monday, when a group of farmers were standing in the Market Place at Whitehurst discussing the price of wheat and other matters relating to their calling, Billy was making his way towards the Market Hall with his hands in his pockets. Suddenly a little man was seen to dart out of the parlour of the Red Lion, bareheaded and horsewhip in hand. It was Joe Wentworth. " Hallo Billy," he said, " have you broken any windows lately ? ' " Dunno what you mean, mister," growled Billy. The horse whip whistled round his head and came with a vicious cut across his shoulders. " Perhaps that will help to revive your memory," said Joe, and for the next few minutes nothing was heard but the savage swish of the lash, as blow after blow fell in rapid succession. The farmers crowded to the window of the bar, and those who were in the street formed a circle about the little man, who danced round the big hulking fellow, and seemed the very personification of angry justice. Some laughed, others shouted approval, while the rest looked on in silent interest. Billy tried to protect his head with his arms, but at each succeeding blow of the whip he cried out " I didna do it. I didna do it." At length the limit of human endurance was reached, for the merciless lash cut him across the cheek, and with a bellow like that of a bull he A SNAKE AMIDST THE FLOWERS. 151 made a mad rush for the Market Hall. By accident rather than design his great foot caught Joe on the shin, which made him limp for a week after, and rendered it impossible for him to pursue Porter even if he had wished. "There," he said, as he looked round, " I feel as good as if I had been to the Sacrament. Guess Billy won't rub the marks off this side of Sunday," and then he went back to finish his dinner. Rufus was very displeased when he heard of this encounter, and soundly rated his brother. " I would not have had this happened for five pounds," he said. " And I wouldn't have missed it for twenty, replied Joe. " There binna no pleasure greater than letting a measly fellow like Billy taste a bit of the Judgment Day." " Then leave it till that time," said Rufus. " Na'ay, then I should miss the fun. Look here, Rufus, you are a bit too good for this world, and foaks take advantage of you because you are too tender to flog a scoundrel. You might as well try to make a pig sweet by spreading honey on its back, as waste kindness on such fellows as Billy. A horsewhip will do more good for 'em than all your gospel o' forgiveness. Ask the vicar. I met him comin' down, and he didn't say I had done wrong, but just said, " Wentworth, we must have you on the Com- mittee for the flower show next year." " All reet, Vic.," I said. " You've a pretty good mixin' o' black sheep in your flock, and it'll take us both to manage 'em. So you see it's all reet. A good horsewhip is a powerful instru- 152 ROSES AND THISTLES. ment for teachin' rogues to be honest men." " I don't believe it," said Rufus. 11 Jesus Christ did," said Joe, " for He laid on to those fellows who sold doves in the Temple. Guess you are gettin' on Rufe, when you know more than Him. Billy Porter won't go smashin' glass again in a hurry." And Joe was right in his conclusion, whatever may be said of his premises. CHAPTER XIV. CALLED TO BE A MINISTER OF JESUS CHRIST. ' "Tis thine to watch thy Master's budding vine. Till the ripe fruit in purple clusters falls ; The ever radiant threads of truth to twine A golden clue to those celestial halls Where, when the kingdoms of the earth decay, And suns are dim, thou'lt live in endless days." EMILY JUDSON. ONE of the periodic changes in the ministry so common in Methodist churches had just taken place in Whitehurst Circuit, to which Summerton was attached. Mr. Wyvern, the outgoing minister, had been greatly respected by all sections of the community and much beloved by his own. Rufus, whose judgment carried great weight in the circuit councils, had recommended the Rev. Stephen Evans as his successor, and he had been elected. Mr. Evans was a rising man in the denomination. He united unusual pulpit gifts to a charming personality, and, without claiming to be either a great scholar or a .profound student, never- theless had considerable scholastic gifts. He had also a versatile pen, and had written several popular young people's stories. It was the reading of one of these that first led Rufus to consider the possibility of securing his services. " He writes as one who loves children," he said 154 ROSES AND THISTLES. to Ms wife, " and the man who can win the hearts of the children is making the history of the future. I learned long ago that if you look after the buds the blossoms will be all right." It had been decided to have a welcome meet- ing at Summerton the first time Mr. Evans was planned. It was an innovation borrowed from the Congregational Church, and some of the older folk were not quite sure about the advisa- bility of it, but at length consented under pressure, and for weeks it was the talk of the village. " I dunno believe in these new-fangled notions myself," said Thomas Surton, when he took his wife's china with the lilac spray upon it down to the chapel for the tea, " but I'm only ONE." Mr. Surton might easily say that with truth, and hardly one in his own home ; for it was well known that his wife, a little woman just over five feet, and weighing six stones all told, controlled and directed him, although he stood six feet, and weighed fourteen stones. The way she ordered him about, and the dumb, unresisting obedience he paid her, was a stand- ing joke in the church, and, as Rufus put it, " furnished a splendid example of mind con- trolling matter." " Now, then, dunno yo' break that chancy," she called out from the end of the table to where Thomas stood uttering his objection. " There's nowt so clumsy as men," she con- tinued ; ' ' they canno do anything wi'oot breakin' something. I tell our Thomas his fingers are all thumbs, and thick 'uns at that, for he smashes more pots in a month than I do CALLED TO BE A MINISTER. 155 in twelve. There was that beautiful glass bowl our Sally brought from Southport. You re- member it, Miss Wentworth wi' the sea on one side and ' A Present from Southport ' on the other. If he didn't go and break that one night, though I handled it a thousand times. Then he broke my mother's cream jug. Though it was badly cracked, it stood on the shelf where nobody could see the crack and did as well as a new 'un, except that it wouldna' hold cream. And then one Sunday after being at chapel and hearin' a good sermon on Cain and Abel he came straight home and, it's as true as I'm here, if he didn't knock a looking-glass off the table that I had been using to put my back hair up with, and all his excuse was, ' I didna' see it.' ' Didna' see it ? ' says I ; ' then you ought to see it what are your eyes for ? ' I wonder where we should ha' been if I had gone knocking things down because I didna' see them. We should have neither stick nor stone in the house. And to break a looking-glass is bad luck, every- body knows that, and what wi' the children having the measles and the pig the swine fever I think we've had bad luck enough, I don't know what you think about it. ' Stuff and nonsense,' says he, ' it's all superstition.' ' ' ' ' Thomas Surton,' says I, ' if you are goin' to go in the teeth of the almanac and of Provid- ence, say so, and I'll clear out, for I won't have you talk such blasphemy in MY house. I broke a looking-glass once myself, and I know what I'm talkin' about.' ' And what happened, woman ? ' says he. ' Happened,' says I ; ' why, I met thee at my brother Lyjah's and yo' 156 ROSES AND THISTLES. would go home wi' me, and I promised that neet to be your wife, and that's bad luck enuff for a lifetime, I reckon.' ' ' ' Well did anything specially unlucky happen after Thomas broke the glass ? " asked Gwen, immensely amused at this conversation. ' l Ay ; we had a letter next mornin' from my brother in Amerikey sayin' that the City of Chicago had been burnt down. It's true he'd left only a week before for Boston, but then that was as it might be. It is easy to see that he might have lost everything." " But the breaking of the looking-glass cannot have had anything to do with the Chicago fire," said Gwen, " because the fire must have taken place weeks before." " Well, miss," said the little woman, " I'm not one of them folks as sets myself up to explain the ways of Providence. Lots of things happen in this world that would take a cleverer head than yours or mine to tell. Here, Thomas, bring that chaney this way." " That's right," she said, as she uncovered the basket and saw the precious china with the lilac flower upon it which had graced the table at every Methodist tea meeting for twenty years. " I was all of a dither for half an hour lest you tumbled down wi' the basket. Now go home and clean yourself, and feed the pigs, and make the fire up, and " Alas for human nature ! Just then a shadow appeared in the doorway of the chapel, and Harold Wincanton looked in. The surprise so completely took her attention off the china that the basin she had in her hand fell to the CALLED TO BE A MINISTER. 157 floor and was broken into a hundred pieces. With an exclamation of horror she turned red, then pale, and forthwith burst into tears. * It's a good job you did it yourself," was the rational but unwise remark of her husband, who began clumsily to pick up the pieces. ' If you'd ha' been here when you ought to ha' been it wouldna' ha' happened," she retorted. " To think that I should have kept the whole set until now, ever since my old mistress gave them to me, and this should be the end of it ! Don't sit grinning there like a gorilla ! What's broken canna be mended, but I wouldna' have had it happen for five pounds." Poor Mrs. Surton was not the only one who had flushed by the totally unexpected appear- ance of the young man. Gwen blushed to the roots of her hair, and commenced furiously wiping the china, regardless of the fact that it was no duty of hers. " Oh, Miss Wentworth," he said, " may I speak to you a moment, please ? " Gwen, with a face as red as a peony, went to the door and closed it behind her. " I fear," he said, " that I have come at an inopportune moment. But I had a message from my mother to deliver, and, calling at the house, I was informed that you were here, and that probably I should find you alone. I there- fore ventured to look in as I was passing." Gwen simply bowed her head, for she had not yet recovered self-possession. " Had I known that you were engaged in so interesting an occupation I should have hesitated to have intruded," he continued. 158 ROSES AND THISTLES. looking steadily into her face all the time ; 11 but I hope you will forgive me. My excuse must be the urgency of my mother's request. She is having a house party next Friday, and she desired me to ask you to come and help her to entertain by singing for them. I'm not to take back a refusal." As a matter of fact, Lady Wincanton had only consented after a scene to invite Gwen. Harold had declared if she did not invite her he would not remain at home that day, and very reluc- tantly she had yielded. 11 I'm afraid I cannot say yes," replied Gwen. " Friday is a busy day, and I have two pupils in the evening." " But you really must," replied Harold. " My mother will not forgive either you or me if I carry back a refusal. You can surely arrange for your pupils to come some other time.' " Well, I'll ask father and let you know. But you must not build any hopes on my coming, for I fear it is impossible. " Oh, don't say that, Miss Wentworth. If you only knew how much my happiness depends on your presence I'm sure you would come." Gwen's eyes sank under the bold penetrating gaze of the young man as he uttered these words, and she was about to reply when she saw the keen inquisitive looks of Mrs. Surton peering out of a side window. " You will excuse me," she said ; "I cannot stay any longer. I will write you to-morrow. Good-bye." " Farewell," he replied, seizing her hand, and lifting the finger-tips to his lips. She as hastily CALLED TO BE A MINISTER. 159 withdrew them, knowing well that every detail of the scene was being eagerly watched, to be repeated with embellishment all over the village in a few hours. The tea proved an unqualified success. Just as the large company which had gathered were seating themselves her father came in, bringing a stranger with him, who was introduced as the new minister. Outwardly there was but little of the cleric about him, and he might easily have passed for a well-to-do business man. At first sight Gwen thought him the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was above the medium height, and had a good- humoured look in his hazel eyes as he bowed to the company. Rufus brought him to the head of the table, where Gwen was serving, and introduced him. " I am glad to make your acquaintance, Miss Wentworth," he said. " I have been told at no less than four places on the circuit of your wonderful singing. It has made me quite anxious to hear you." " I fear you will be greatly disappointed when you do hear me," she rejoined, with a blush. "I am really only a very ordinary singer, suffering from being extra-ordinarily advertised." " And this is one of your most enthusiastic advertising agents," he said, smiling at Rufus, " is he not ?" " Oh, dad is incorrigible. Anybody would think to hear him talk I was an angel minus the wings. He really makes me ashamed to go about with him." "Well," said Rufus, "if you've a middlin' 160 ROSES AND THISTLES. bad article on your hands you have to talk it up to get rid of it. If I was to go about and tell how badly I'm treated by the two women at home, and how I've not been able to keep my hair for worry, and what sauce I have to take with every meal, do you think I should ever be likely to get rid of either one or the other ? Another lump of sugar, please. You needn't stint me to-day. I've paid my shilling, and I can have as much sugar as I like. You'd be surprised, sir, how they tie me down at home. It's only when I come to a tea meeting I can get a full allowance six cups of tea, and five lumps of sugar to each cup." Gwen was about to reply when a voice was heard at the door, and, turning round, she was surprised to see Joe Wentworth, laughing heartily, and trying to pass the ticket collector. " No ; I call it a downright swindle," he exclaimed, loud enough to be heard all over the place. ' ' A shilling for a man my size is robbery. There's Slought, you charge a shilling for him. He's seventeen stone and I'm eight. By either size or weight I should have some consideration. Why not half price ? " Everybody stopped eating, for they knew that there would be sure to be some fun now Joe had come. " It's only children half price, sir," said the ticket collector, " if you like to sit amongst them." " Here, take it," cried Joe ; " it's downright robbery under the name of religion. Where's the new parson ? I'm going to sit by him, and put him up to a thing or two. He doesn't know CALLED TO BE A MINISTER. 161 what sort of a lot he's come amongst, or he would have gone to Timbuctoo before he came to this circuit." Making his way across the room to Gwen's side, he said, * ' Hallo, Queenie ! I want some tea with cream in. None of your Methodist blue milk, seven times watered, for me. But where's the new parson ? I don't see anybody that looks as if he were tired of this world and afraid to go to the next, here. I guess he's repented and has not come." "He's here," said Rufus. " Let me intro- duce you. Mr. Evans, this is my brother Joe." " Humph," said Joe, " this is a queer throstle to be in a blackbird's cage. How are you, sir, and how's the missus, and the kids ? " " I'm very well, thank you," replied the minister. " There's doesn't happen to be any missus or children in this case, so that I've no one to be responsible for but myself." " You are a sensible man I find. But you must keep your eye on Queenie," replied Joe. " She falls in love with all unmarried ministers right off the reel ; wins their affections, breaks their hearts, and then throws them aside like old crocks." * ' For shame, Uncle Joe ! I'll not give you any tea now for slandering me. You are a most untruthful old man." " Well, well," replied Joe, " least said soonest mended. But I'm sorry to see you, sir, for you are in for a bad time. I've known this circuit ever since I was as tall as a mushroom, and the ministers either die, or run away, or something else nearly as bad." ' * Take no notice of him, sir," said Rufus ; 162 ROSES AND THISTLES. "he is always joking, and he is never to be believed when he speaks like that." 11 Look here, if you are a betting man some ministers do bet on the sly I bet you a guinea to a penny that they either marry you or bury you before you leave this circuit," replied Joe. " Well," said the minister, " if you have as many young ladies as beautiful and as clever as Miss Wentworth, there are more unlikely things than the former. Anyhow, I hope it will not be the latter." " Smitten already, are you ? I'll make the bet five guineas if you like. But look here, seriously now, you will have to beware of our Rufe here. He bosses all the parsons that come, and he's the most unmitigated tyrant that ever trod in shoe leather. He's bishop and you are the curate, and if you want to keep straight, butter him up ; he's as fond of being praised as a cat is of cream. It's the only way to get on with him. I told him I should warn you against him, and I have. Now, Rufe, what have you to say in self-defence ? " " Nothing. Mr. Evans will find out for him- self what we all are soon enough ; and until then I am quite content that he should take what you say as correct." " There isn't a word of it true," exclaimed Gwen warmly, " and I call it disgraceful, Uncle Joe, for you to talk about dad like that. He never bosses anybody, and he doesn't like being praised." " There's a Miss Spitfire for you," replied Joe, laughing. " I thought I should set the pot a-boiling soon. You musn't say a word CALLED TO BE A MINISTER. 163 again Rufe, or up goes her claws and she's a tartar. I'll tell you what they do with the parsons here. The first year they idolise 'em, the second they tantalise 'em, and the third they scandalise 'em. Nobody ever stops longer than three years. Another cup of tea, please. That's only the third, and I've a shilling's worth to dispose of." All through this conversation Mr. Evans looked up from one to another with an amused and puzzled expression on his face, but said nothing, but having as he thought, taken the measure of the talkative little man, he now said : " Your description is certainly not very com- plimentary to our people, but I've generally found those who have most fault to find with their fellows are far from perfect themselves." " Right," said the unabashed Joe, " that's on the principle of setting a thief to catch a thief. But there are exceptions to all rules, and I'm an honourable exception in this, I assure you. I came along out of sheer charity to warn you as to what you might expect. Did you ever preach from this text, sir, * But every fool will be meddling ' ? " " No," replied Mr. Evans, " I might promise, however, to do so if you would come and hear the sermon." ' ' Humph ! " muttered Joe to his brother. " The fellow has his head screwed on right," and then, turning to the minister, replied : " It's a bargain, let me know, and I'll come. I'd like to come. It would be as good as fresh strawberries to hear some of your flock get a good talking to, for they are a meddlesome lot, 164 ROSES AND THISTLES. who mind their own business and everybody else's besides." " Mr. Wentworth," replied the minister, " I am a little tired of hearing about the faults supposed or real of my people. Suppose we change the subject." ' ' All right," said Joe, ' ' I thought it was only neighbourly to put you on your guard. Do you know anything about hosses ? " " A little," replied the minister, smiling at this rapid transposition. " Well, come along some day to my place, and I will show you the grandest lot of gee-gees in the county. Can you ride ? " " Yes," replied the minister. " Humph ! bit proud of his horsemanship," Joe thought. 1 ' I'd like to see him on the back of King Jim, or handling George the Third, there'd be some fun, I reckon." 11 Are you going to stop to the meeting, Uncle Joe ? " asked Gwen. " No, no, lass, they will all be tellin' the minister what a fine fellow he is, and what a lot of saints he's come amongst, and making all sorts of promises they never intend to keep, like they did at the Congregational Church. For the first month honey wasn't sweet enough for their little fellow, but by the end of three months they dropped to treacle, and now it's vinegar ; all vinegar. He came to me the other day, poor chap, and he says : ( Mr. Wentworth, I wish I'd been a farmer, or a market gardener instead of a parson.' ( Ay,' I answered, ' yo' look a likely soart of man to grow good cabbages,' CALLED TO BE A MINISTER. 165 but when I seed it hurt him I dropped it. ' What's wrong, anyway ? ' says I. ' Binna the money comin' in, cos if a sovereign's any use ' He blushed to the roots of his hair, and says : * No, it is not money. Perhaps I ought not to have mentioned it,' and then he stopped, and wouldn't open his mouth an inch farther. ' I know,' says I, * it's lack of appre- ciation, binna it ? They don't see your strong points, eh ? You trot your best, but they want you to go faster. They binna fond of work themselves, and think you are, and show their love by piling it on. They want twenty-ton gun sermons, but only pay for powder enough to fire a rifle. They talk about you as their 1 ' dear minister " to strangers and then straight- away tell all your little weaknesses, and how you don't give them the right kind of doctrine, and what a dear man your predecessor was, who lived the life of a toad under a harrow all the time he was with them. And they are always wondering why the chapel don't fill up, and telling you what grand congregations they used to have. That's about the size on't. I know the breed and I advise you to clear out and take to hoss dealing. It's a clean, honest business compared to that you are in. There'll be more hossdealers in heaven than other traders, I guess.' But the little chap is real grit and is sticking to his post like sealing wax. I did hear he was going to ask Queenie there to share his lot, I know he's as sweet on her as our Rufe is on roses." 11 He will be greatly to be envied," said the minister, "if he succeeds, I'm sure." 166 ROSES AND THISTLES. 11 That's all you know, young man," replied Joe. " You should see her with her warpaint on. She bites. Tat-ta, I must be going. And remember you call on me soon, and come to dinner. We've buttermilk and taties the first part of the week, and taties and buttermilk the second." " You musn't take any notice of Joe," said Rufus when he was gone. He talks, but he has a heart of gold. There is nothin' he likes so much as what he calls ' raggin' a parson,' but if there's a man who does more kind deeds on the sly than Joe Wentworth I'd like to know him." " I think I understand," said Mr. Evans, " but he certainly is rather a curious study." " Ay, he is not easily classified and put into a catalogue, ain't Joe. I think his one great joy is to shock folk by doin' or sayin' outrageous things. But I think he has taken to you." ' ' Well, he certainly has a queer way of show- ing his liking. But I daresay we shall get on all right together. Does he often come to the ser- vices ?" "No," said Rufus, "he ain't a regular worshipper by any means. He drops in now and again when the maggot bites him." " He always comes when dad's preaching," said Gwen, " because he says that he knows that the preaching and the practice go together." " Pooh," answered Rufus, " that's Joe's way of keeping up the family pride. He has never forgotten that we were children together." The meeting following the tea was a great success. Rufus took the chair, and his speech was characteristically original, witty, and yet CALLED TO BE A MINISTER. 167 profound and spiritual. Mr. Evans thought he had never heard it equalled. Gwen sang, and as her sweet voice filled the building the minister was thrilled, and fell in love with the singer forthwith. As for Gwen, his presence affected her in a different way than any other person had ever done. She did not attempt to analyse her own feelings, but she was conscious that she was indifferent to everyone else in the place. She wanted to please him, and when she sat down amidst a tempest of applause, she observed that he clapped loudest and longest. * ' Well, dad," she asked over the supper table, " how did you like Mr. Evans ? " " I think he is A.I ;| top class," he said with a smile. " And what do you think, eh ? " he queried with the light of expectation in his eyes. " I think he has very big feet," she replied and laughing kissed her father " Good-night." CHAPTER XV. THE GUILE OF A HUMORIST. " I notice that when a man runs his head against a post, he curses the post furst, all kreashun next, and sumthing else last, and never thinks ov cursing himself." JOSH BILLINGS. FOR many years the Methodists of Stourbridge had held preaching services in the kitchen of a farmer named Jackson a man who walked with God, and enjoyed the respect and esteem of all who knew him. Jackson's kitchen was the Bethel of many a soul, the place where heaven and earth touched. And the church grew until the spacious kitchen would no longer hold the congregation that assembled. It over- flowed into the parlour, then into the yard, the window being open to let those who could not get inside hear as much of the sermon as was possible under these disadvantageous con- ditions. Many attempts were made to get land on which to build a chapel, but the only two landowners in the village, Lord Forrester and Mr. James Deakin, refused to sell. When Lady Wincanton first entered into possession, a depu- tation was appointed to wait upon her, to lay the case before her, but she peremptorily dis- missed it, saying that she had no sympathy with dissent of any kind, and least of all with Metho- dism. The vicar, unlike his brother at Summer- ton, was a narrow-minded man, and, having THE GUILE OF A HUMORIST. 169 heard of the proposed deputation, had fore- stalled it, with the result named. Squire Deakin, as he was called, was a soured old miser, a retired moneylender, whose life had been spoiled by a woman who jilted him, and whose companions were a dozen large dogs of various breeds, with which he surrounded himself popular rumour said because he was afraid of being robbed. He had little inter- course with the villagers ; an old man, nearly as surly as himself, and his wife, being the only in- door servants he employed. A hater of his kind, he lived a solitary life, his sole recreation being the pursuit of certain occult sciences, which gave him rather a fearsome reputation with the simple villagers. The only man with whom he held intercourse was Joe Wentworth, who occasionally called and spent an evening with the recluse. When questioned about what he had seen and heard, he would put on an air of mystery, and give some such reply as this : " Doing ? Oh, I found him trying to make a silk waistcoat out of cobwebs. He managed all right till he had to make the buttonholes and stitch the buttons on, and, finding he couldn't do it himself, he sent for me to help him. Queer chap is the squire. Guess what we had for supper ? No, you couldn't if you had a fortnight. We had soup made out of rats tails, and roasted hedgehog. Fact you ask him." And, laughing, Joe hurried away. Although everybody knew that Joe was drawing the long bow, nevertheless the fact that he gave such whimsical replies added to the mystery that gathered round the squire. When 170 ROSES AND THISTLES. questioned as to the squire's wealth he said : * ' Ay, he s trying to make gold sovereigns out of lead ore, but he hasn't quite managed it." One day Farmer Jackson met with a fatal accident, and the farm was taken by a man who had no sympathy with Methodists or their ways, and they were speedily told to find another meeting-place. That was much easier said than done. So long as the summer lasted the services were held on the village green, but winter was fast approaching, and it seemed as though the little church would be compelled to disband. Many anxious meetings were held. Three cottagers, who in turn opened their houses when the weather was unsuitable for them to be held outside, received notice to quit from Lady Win- canton's agent. The case became an open scandal. Letters appeared in a local paper which greatly annoyed Lady Wincanton and the vicar, and made them more determined not to yield. The broad-minded Vicar of Summer- ton, after a conversation with Rufu?, attempted to intervene, only to be told by his fellow cleric that he was a traitor to his Church, and by Lady Wincanton to mind his own business. When the agitation was at its height Squire Deakin was taken ill, and in a few days died. He left the whole of his wealth to certain charities with the exception of a life annuity to his two household attendants, and his horses and personal goods to his friend Joe Wentworth. When it was understood that the estate was coming into the market the hopes of the Methodists rose, for there were two sites of land eminently suited for building purposes. One was opposite Lady THE GUILE OF A HUMORIST. 171 Wincanton's park gates, and it was thought that she would be prepared to give a pretty stiff price in order to prevent having a chapel built there. The other was in the centre of the village. Very many meetings were held, and it was de- termined to purchase one or the other site unless the price was prohibitive. But in order that they might not appear in the matter Rufus suggested that his brother Joe should be asked to attend the sale and purchase on their behalf. When, however, Joe was approached he flatly refused to have anything to do with it, very much to the astonishment of his brother. " Naay," he said, " I'll have nothing to do with it. In all probability Lady Wincanton will buy one or both plots, and if she does not the vicar will." When further pressed he answered : " He was not going to bring a hornet's nest about his head ; he had enough on hand." Rufus was utterly taken aback by this attitude of his brother, for he thought that it would be just the kind of thing that would appeal to Joe, but in spite of persuasion he remained obdurate. " He did not want to be mixed up with a religious row," he said. " Let the parsons settle it themselves. If they would take off their coats and fight it out like men, he would give a donation towards the purchase, but he saw no reason for interfering. He would, however, give them a hint. There was old Jeffries, of Stemford, a Conservative, and a friend of his, who had married a Methodist wife nobody would suspect him, as he was an entire stranger in the district. Undoubtedly he would act for 172 j ROSES AND THISTLES. them for a small consideration." And so Jeffries, a retired lawyer, was approached and consented, a fact that Rufus duly communicated to Joe. The next day Joe was riding on horseback when he met the vicar driving. He lifted his whip for him to stop, and said, " Nice day, vicar. By the way, I've got a bit of news for you, if you'll promise to keep it quiet. The Methodists are likely to get a footing in Stour- bridge after all. I hear they are going to purchase the croft opposite the park gates to build a rippin' new chapel steeple, 'lectric lights, and all up-to-date appliances. Guess they'll lick the church, then, into fiddlestrings. I'm not sure if they dunno mean to set down a minister in the village, to look after the sheep that jump over the fence." Joe was, of course, drawing on his imagination for these particulars, but a favourite maxim of his was, ( ' If you don't know the facts, invent them." The vicar replied, " I thank you, Mr. Went- worth, for the information. It will be my duty to prevent such a calamity happening if I can. I'd as soon have the pestilence in the parish as have more Methodists." " But, look here, vie," said Joe, with an anxious look on his face ; " you'll be jannock you won't let on that I told you ? " " Certainly not," answered the vicar. " You are quite sure your information is correct ? " " As sure as that I'm sending twenty of my best cheese to the market to-morrow. It's a dead cert, and I'll bet you a twenty pund note that they'll have a chapel up within the next twelve months. They are set on it, and when THE GUILE OF A HUMORIST. I?3 Methodists say a thing, you may take it that it's as good as done. They have a way of prayin' themselves into believing furst, that they ought to do a thing, then, that they can dp it, and then that they will; and the devil himself cannot stop 'em once things get to that. And they are jamb up to that point about this chapel." " I don't bet," said the Vicar, " but " ' Pity tfiat," said Joe. " It kind o' adds a bit of spice to daily providence like Worcester sauce to cold meat." ' It's the pastime of fools," said the vicar severely. 1 ' Thank you," replied Joe, lifting his hat. * I'm kind of your opinion. At least, it is to bet with me. The fact is, I always win. Funny, ain't it ? I never lost a bet but once, and that was when I had a bet with a bishop. He had a face like a cherub, but, law bless you, he knew all the ropes. I never took a bishop on again ; they know too much. But, sorry I interrupted you, sir ; go on." " I was going to inquire if I might know how you obtained your information." " Well, you know, my brother is a kind o' ganger amongst them. It's a pity, for if he'd only stuck to the mother Church there is no tellin' what he might have become Archbishop of Canterbury, or something of the sort. I tell you, he can whip you all at preachin' as easy as winking. He just gives out his text, pulls his spectacles off, rubs the back of his head, and fires away. None of your paper bullets for him. And I assure you he makes it pretty hot 174 ROSES AND THISTLES. for the sinners. There binna many fleas left on 'em when he's done with them." 11 And your brother told you," the vicar impatiently broke in. But Joe would not hear. " I once heard you preach, sir, and it was like cold cabbage and lard on a winter's day, nothin' warm about it. You should get Rufe to give you a lesson or two." The vicar was getting very red in the face, and he angrily shook the reins, but, wishful to get all the information he could from the gar- rulous farmer, he restrained his rising anger and simply said, " I have some knowledge of your brother, Mr. Wentworth. He is a market gardener at Summerton, I think. The vicar speaks very highly of him." " He need to," answered the unblushing Joe, ' ' for when the last vicar was dangling after fine ladies at dances, and drinking with old Lord Forrester, Rufe kept the folk up to concert pitch, visiting both church and chapel alike, and seein' that they went reg'lar to the place o' worship. Rufe's topsawyer in Summerton in religion, and it pays the vicar to keep on the sweet side of him." " And it was your brother who informed you of the intended purchase of land at Stour- bridge, was it ? " " Ay, it was Rufe who let the cat out of the bag. And so you see," continued Joe, " it wouldna do for my name to appear, or Rufe and me might have a few words. So I'll rely on you, sir, to keep it quiet." ' ( I pledge you my word on it, Mr. Wentworth. THE GUILE OF A HUMORIST. 175 But I don't quite understand why, if your brother is so eager for a Methodist chapel at Stourbridge, you should have so great an objection." ''Now that's real cute," said Joe. "But you see, because I care a bit for Rufe, it is no reason why I should carry all the Methody parsons of the country on my back. Rufe sometimes says, ' Joe, I love you, but I don't love your companions.' ' Ditto, Rufe,' says I, ' so we are equal.' I haven't any objection to the Methodists having a church at Stourbridge. I'm a Churchman myself, because it's the only church where a man can swear when he's vexed, and gamble when he pleases, and have a fling without being called to account. That's the kind of church I like. Not one where the members are going about wi' a microscope in- specting one another's characters, to see if they are fit for the New Jerusalem. But I've nowt agin the Methodists only the harness is too tight for me to pull in. And now I've told you so much, I'll tell you a bit more. They wanted me to appear at the sale for them, and when I refused they have got old Jeffries of Stemford to come and bid for them. He's a tall man, with a beard like a billy goat, and rusty black hair. It was grey before he married a young wife, but it's turned black since. Usually marriage acts the other way. If you are at the sale you'll see him, and he will make the runnin' in the biddin'. Good afternoon, sir, and remember that a friend in the bush is worth two in the open." " Thank you, Mr. Wentworth. I'm greatly obliged for the information." Joe rode on, a quizzical smile on his face, and 176 ROSES AND THISTLES. muttered to himself, " Guess the Vicar rose to the bait like a wasp to the honeypot. He'll try and put a spoke in Rufe's wheel. He won't sleep for thinkin' of the Methodist chapel wi' a steeple." The vicar, instead of going straight home, drove to the Hall, where he had a long interview with Lady Wincanton. The latter next day sent for her agent, and told him that she had determined to buy both plots of land which belonged to Deakin's estate. He was to attend the sale and bid up to a certain sum, and then, if they went higher, withdraw ; but he was to arrange for someone else to carry the bidding on, and purchase no matter at whatever price. Two days before the sale he informed her that the arrangements were complete. A lawyer's clerk from a London firm would represent her. An hour afterwards he came back with the news that a strip had been pasted over the sale bills stating that the plot in the middle of the village had been withdrawn from the sale. Could this mean that the Methodists had been and purchased by private contract ? Nobody seemed to know, and, after consulting the vicar, he set off to see Joe Wentworth. 1 'Well, vie," said the latter, "all going right ? " ' ' I came to ask you if you had seen the sale bill for Thursday. One plot has been with- drawn from the market." " Has it ? " said Joe. " Well, seems to me the Methodists may get their nose in after all. Rufe Wentworth ain't got his wisdom teeth to cut." THE GUILE OF A HUMOURIST. 177 ' Do you mean that they have bought it by private contract ? " asked the vicar. ' ' Well, such things happen," said Joe. ' ' But I wouldn't venture an opinion." ' But can an executor sell by private con- tract any part of an estate left as Deakin's was ? " " Depends on the will," said Joe. " But there may be other reasons for withdrawing it from the sale. Keep your pecker up, sir. I'll go and see Rufe, and let you know how the land lies." * ' I'm greatly obliged to you, Mr. Wentworth. It will be very annoying to find that, after all, we have been forestalled." * ' Like drawin' a front tooth wi'oot gas, eh ? " said Joe, with a wink. " I told you that the Methodists, when they got to prayin' aboot a thing, were ugly customers. Seems to me, sir, there's not been much prayin' being done on your side. Couldn't you have a prayer-meetin' ? " It appears to me you might, if the Methodists are as bad as the pestilence. If you'd call a prayer-meetin' I'd be sure to come, just to see how you'd get on. There's the churchwarden, Grindling he couldn't pray to save his life and Sowerby he might, but I guess it would surprise the angels and the schoolmaster he'd try, if he was hard put to it. But you could send the prayer-book round." " Mr. Wentworth, there are subjects that are not fit for profane wit, and this is one of them." " Why ? " said Joe. " I beg your pardon if I have given offence. But I'll stake my best horse against a gooseberry that Rufe has been i;8 ROSES AND THISTLES. on his knees forty times over this business. I've a kind of notion that if I were a Christian, instead of a Churchman, I'd lay my money on the prayin' side. But every man must run his own funeral as he likes." Late that night a note was handed into the Vicarage, which ran : " Dear Vic, Rufe Wentworth knows nothing about purchase of land so Methodies have not got it, for what Rufe don't know about Methody business ain't worth knowing. Again I say, ' Keep your pecker up.' If you take a walk on Friday morning, about ten o'clock, through the village, you will see something that will warm the cockles of your heart. J.W." " What an insufferably coarse and rude man he is ! " exclaimed the vicar. " I never met with his equal. What does he mean, I wonder, about Friday morning ? But it is a great relief to know that so far we are not out-flanked." The day of the sale arrived, and the large dining-room in the Wycliffe Arms was crowded when the auctioneer took his stand. " See," said one, " there is old Jeffries from Stamford. What's he after, I wonder ? Keen old bloke ! Shouldn't wonder if he is in for buying land and building a villa for his new wife." " Oh, Lady Wincanton will purchase. She won't have anybody building either villa or anything else at her park gates." " I've heard say," said a third, " that the Methodists were going to purchase for a chapel, but I guess the figure will be too high for them." " Oh, they will wait for the other plot to be THE GUILE OF A HUMOURIST. 179 sold if it is ever sold. It will suit their purposes and pocket much better." The auctioneer took his place at the head of the table and called his clerk to read the con- ditions of the sale. Then the bidding com- menced. Lady Wincanton's agent led off with a bid for four hundred pounds. " Four-fifty," said the deep bass voice of Jeffries. " Five," said the agent. " Five-fifty," continued Jeffries. " Six-hundred pounds," replied the agent. " Six- twenty-five," from Jeffries. "No, I've done," replied the agent, in reply to an invitation of the auctioneer to continue bidding. * ' Six hundred and twenty-five pounds bidden. Once, twice, the third and last time six " Something like a thrill broke through the audience as a shrill voice broke in with " Six- fifty." Everybody turned to see who the new bidder was, and discovered him in a beardless youth, who stood carelessly twisting his watch- guard round his finger. Seven-seventy-five, eight hundred was reached. Then came a pause. The last bid was the young stranger's. Jeffries had reached his limit. Just then a small piece of paper was thrust into his hand, upon which he read " Go to a thousand," and was signed by the Methodist minister. And so the bidding went on, until Jeffries sprang at one leap from nine hundred to a thousand pounds. The price was now nearly double the worth of the land. Excitement found expression in a slight stamp- ing of the feet and clapping of the hands. There was another moment's pause. " It's against you, sir," cried the auctioneer. " Eleven hundred," he cried. i8o ROSES AND THISTLES. 11 Twelve," cried Jeffries, for he was carried out of himself. " Fifteen hundred," said the youth. An ominous silence followed, and the auc- tioneer lingered, went through his usual parrot cry, and the hammer fell. " The buyer's name, please ? " shouted the clerk. " Spears and Sons, for Lady Wincanton," was the reply. HE AND LORD SHEPFORTH WERE SHOT HEAD FOREMOST INTO THE STREAM. Chap. 16. CHAPTER XVI. A RACE. ' ' You may as well physic the dead, as advise an old man." ANON. " KEEP your pecker up, Rufe. There's more fish in the sea than was ever caught," exclaimed Joe Wentworth, as he joined the little group outside the hotel consisting of the Methodist minister, his own brother, and several other Methodists, who were discussing the auction. " The fish in the sea binna much use to a hungry man, Joe, and in this case the sea is only a millpond, and the one fish in it seems to have got hooked." ' * Not on your line ? " said Joe. ' ' That's the pity, I thought you believed in prayer, Rufe Wentworth." "Ay," rejoined Rufus, "so do I." " How many prayer meetings have you had over this business ? " " A good many,' replied Rufus. " And a large number of the Lord's people are praying to-day about it." " And the land is Lady Wincanton's after all. Seems to me that either you are shootin' at the wrong target, or you are good at missing. I think you'd better give up those prayer meet- ings, for all the use they are." " I confess," said his brother, " I cannot 1 82 ROSES AND THISTLES. understand it. I have prayed for hours about our cause at Stourbridge, and I got the assurance that all would be well ; but somehow things to-day have gone wrong, and I'm nearer doubt- ing God's Providence than I have been for years." ' ' I am sure that it will come all right, Brother Wentworth," said the minister. " God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain." " Humph," said Joe, " seems to me that this is a case where somebody will need to lend a helping hand at the explanations. But I want you, Rufe, to come over to my place in the morning on particular business. You can bring the parson here if you like, and I will give you both a spin round the country, behind the smartest trotter in tjie shire. Nine o'clock, if you want breakfast ; half-past if you don't." " I'm not sure that I'm at liberty," said the minister. ' ' Pooh ! nonsense ; parsons do nothing before dinner, as a rule. They generally begin business when other folks leave off, and very little satisfies them." " That is not true," answered Mr. Evans warmly. " I am down every morning at seven, and in my study at eight. I can compare my work ' " Well," exclaimed Joe, " there's no need to let off a charge of dynamite. Suppose, for quietness' sake, we admit that you are an exception to the rule, and that you prove it by being at the farm in time for ham and eggs in the morning. You don't seem over-fed. I guess those good men expect you to preach A RACE. 183 three times on Sunday, and six times a week, and then tell you to trust to Providence for your salary. ' " No, it's not quite so bad as that. When I complain it will be time enough for others to champion my cause," said the minister. " I did not enter the Methodist ministry for a fat living." " If you did," said the unabashed Joe, " you would be the biggest fool on two feet between John o' Groats and Land's End. But, ta ta, till the morning. I guess the vicar is blowing a big horn to-night." Joe was perfectly right. Directly the sale was over the vicar hastened away to acquaint Lady Wincanton with the result of the sale. He met her driving through the park. Her joy was somewhat chastened by the big price of the land, for money was not too plentiful just then, but nevertheless she was a happier woman than she had been for many days. She took the vicar home to dine with her, and every detail of the day's proceedings was repeated. Next morning, punctually as the clock struck ten, the vicar turned the corner of the street leading into the middle of the ^ village At precisely the same moment a trap in the shafts of which was a high-stepping horse swept round the corner at the other end. In the trap was seated Joe Wentworth and the Methodist minister in front, and Rufus and Gwen behind, for directly she had heard of the expedition she had insisted upon joining it. Joe, on seeing her, pretended to be very angry, and muttered something about he did not want a parcel of 184 ROSES AND THISTLES. women around, who would be far better at home mending stockings. But she laughed at him, called him a grumpy old bear, and told him he could stop at home if he liked, for she was going. Then Joe scored as a man of unbounded impudence always can by saying, " that he could quite understand that she would be glad for both him and her father to remain behind, but that while he disliked being a spoil sport, he was not going to let her go gadding about the country with a single young minister in HIS trap," and then insisted upon putting her behind with Rufus, who was made responsible for her good behaviour. " Where are you going, Uncle Joe ? " she exclaimed, as soon as they started. 11 Ask no questions, and you'll be told no lies," snapped Joe. " You are a nasty, cross-grained old man," she answered. " I'll not speak to you any more this morning." 11 This is peace purchased at small cost," said Joe to the minister. " But I dare say to you the sound of a woman's tongue (if she is young and beautiful) is delightful enough, no matter what nonsense she talks. " Is it quite fair to insinuate that Miss Went- worth talks nonsense ? So far as I have heard, her conversation is both interesting and sensible." " Humph, then," said Joe, " she must keep her sense for her friends, and her nonsense for her relatives. A more addle-pated and con- ceited " " I'm listening, uncle," cried Gwen. " Mr. Evans, don't believe a word he says." A RACE. 185 ' How much money have you got in hand for the new chapel at Stourbridge ? " asked Joe, suddenly changing the conversation. ' In money, eighty pounds, in promises two hundred ; but you know our people have been discouraged by the unfortunate circumstances in which they have been placed." " And yet you bid one thousand for the land. Where was the money coming from if you had bought it ? " " I don't know," replied the young minister, " but I would have tramped the country through if we had been fortunate enough to have obtained the land, rather than not have built the chapel. But it is no use talking. Our last chance appears to have gone." " It seems like it," rejoined Joe. " Get on " (this to the mare.) ' ' She does not stop to gossip, this one, does she ? " " She is as fine a horse as I have seen for many a day." " You know something about gee-gees," queried Joe. " A little," replied the minister. " I was brought up amongst them. The fact is, I have a great passion for horses. To my mind, they are the finest animals on four legs. A great preacher says his recreation is to go out and watch the big carthorses in the street." " Sensible chap that," says Joe. " I should like to know him." " Well," said Mr. Evans, " I'm pretty much the same. When I was a boy there was not a text in the Bible about horses I did not know, from the wonderful description in Job of the 1 86 ROSES AND THISTLES. war-horse, to those in Revelation about the horses in heaven." " Horses in heaven," said Joe. " I didn't know they kept a stud there." " My dear sir, I expect that one of the great joys in heaven will be riding on fine horses, as fleet as the wind, and ' 1 1 Hear that, Rule," shouted Joe. ' The minister says there's to be hoss racing in heaven. Guess I'll have you a turn, if we are allowed to choose our own mounts. I thought heaven was a kind of everlasting concert, but it seems they do something sensible after all. I must look that up when I get home." " You are not the only one," said the minister, " who thinks God's heaven is a poor place, instead of one full of ever-changing delights. I don't think there is any pure joy here, but what will be repeated up yonder." 11 That's so ? " inquired Joe. " Guess I shall have to get a ticket after all. There have been times when I have thought the other place would be more interesting, but if there's hosses in heaven I might get a job in the stables, and lend my harp to somebody else." ' l Mr. Wentworth, listen " and the minister repeated the description of the war-horse from the Book of Job, the 39th chapter, the i8th to 25th verses. " Where did you hear that ? Ay, that's fine, though." " That is from the Book of Job," rejoined the minister. " Well, if you'll preach from it, I'll come and hear you," exclaimed Joe. " Say it again." A RACE. 187 The minister repeated it once again. He had barely finished when they entered the village. ' ' Hallo, there's the vie, I declare. And hang my hat if yonder isn't LadyWincanton. Better and better. And what's here," he con- tinued, as he pulled up opposite the site which had been withdrawn from the sale. Three men were pounding soil around a post, upon which was nailed a board. Over this was hung a piece of old wrapping. " Good morning, vicar," he cried to the ecclesiastic, and at the same time lifted his hat to Lady Wincanton, whose carriage stopped as she leaned forward to speak to the clergyman. " What have you got there, John ? " he shouted to one of the men. " Pull his jacket off, and let's see if it's another sale." All eyes were turned on the man, who gave a pull, and off came the wrapper, and then the following notice was revealed : " SITE FOR NEW METHODIST CHAPEL." Lady Wincanton stood up in her carriage, while she uttered a slight cry. The vicar turned white. The minister sat speechless, while Gwen clapped her hands, and Rufus uttered a tri- umphant " Hallelujah." Joe alone was un- disturbed, glancing from one to another, and evidently enjoying the scene. The vicar was the first to recover himself, and walking up to the trap, said, in a voice suppressed with passion, " This is one of your tricks, Mr. Wentworth, and you have brought us here that you may enjoy it." ' ' There are more unlikely things," said Joe. " I can't say but what it is better than ice i88 ROSES AND THISTLES. cream when it's snowing. I told you if you'd come, you would see something to warm the cockles of your heart, and if you are a true minister of the Gospel, it ought to cheer you to know that there is a prospect of fellow Christians getting a suitable place of worship." " But you don't mean to say that the Methodists have bought this land," gasped the minister. "If so you have cruelly deceived me." " No," said Joe, " they haven't bought it. They never will buy it. I've given it 'em. I've the deeds in my pocket, and I want to hand them over to my brother and this minister in your presence. Here, Rufe, catch hold. I give and bequeath, and all the rest of it, to you and your heirs for ever, etceterer." " But how about Mr. Deakin's executors," said the Vicar. " This is a huge joke, and the farce had better end." "Think so?" said Joe. "Well, ta, ta. I told you that the Methodists' prayer meetings would win, and they have. But you'd like to know about the executors ? Well, I guess I'm the only one there is under Squire Deakin's will. Sole boss of the job. You see there was nobody else he could trust in the parish. But Squire Deakin's will has nothing to do with this bit of land, or the other you bought yesterday. He sold them to me a month before he died, signed, sealed and delivered." " I must see the will," said the vicar. " I shall put the matter in the hands of my solicitor forthwith." "Do," said Joe. "It will find 'em some- A RACE. 189 thing to do, and you might as well spend your money that way as any other. Spears and Co. are decent fellows as lawyers go, though lawyers are like a field o' frozen turnips, there's not much to choose among 'em." " You are a low trickster, sir. You are a liar and a cheat." Joe's eyebrows went up, and he pushed the reins into the hands of the minister. " Here, hold these reins," he said, " and I'll be down." Lady Wincanton screamed, and ordered her coachman to seize that dreadful man ; but he, thinking discretion the better part of valour, remained on his seat. Rufus, fearing his brother's impetuous temper, also sprang to the ground, with an agility that did credit to his years. But there was no need for alarm. Joe once on the ground faced the clergyman, and said, " You have called me a liar and cheat, in the presence of these ladies. Now will you apologise to them and me ? " " Really, Mr. Wentworth," stammered the vicar. ' ' Will you apologise ? Yes or no," thun- dered Joe. ' ' Yes ; ladies, I beg your pardon, and yours Mr. Wentworth, but the circumstances are so peculiar that you must allow I have had great provocation." " Granted," said Joe. " Now that's settled ; but don't do it again." By this time quite a little crowd had gathered, wondering what was the matter, and most of all at the strange board with its inscription. ' ' This looks like a camp meeting," said Joe. 190 ROSES AND THISTLES. 11 Suppose we adjourn. Rufe you tell the folk when the new chapel will be built, and I will walk a little way with the vicar, and explain some things he does not understand. Come, sir, unless you want to give the first donation towards the building fund." The vicar did not reply, but stepping to Lady Wincanton's carriage he held a few minutes' conversation. Her carriage then drove away, and he followed Joe down the street. ' ' Now," said the latter, ' ' I guess there binna much to tell you, except that when I heard Deakin was ill I called to see him in a friendly way, and he was troubled about his will. He'd neither kith nor kin that he cared to leave it to, and so I suggested that he should leave it to the hospitals and orphanage of his native town. It was all in money and shares except these two pieces of land, and I offered to buy them at his own price, which was a thousand pounds. He wanted to tie me up at first to some con- ditions, viz., that I would not sell to Lady Wincanton, but I explained the little scheme I had in my head, and he smiled, and I think it helped him to die easy, for though he would not sell to the Methodies in his lifetime, he had nothing against them, while he liked her ladyship as much as a cat likes poison." " But you made me believe that you were an honest Churchman, and did not want the Methodists to buy this site." 1 'The other site," corrected Joe. "Neither did I, because I knew Lady Wincanton's heart was set on it, and I never like to disappoint a lady. Besides, if the Methodies bought that A RACE. ,0! site, my little game would have been spoilt." ' I must say, Mr. Wentworth, I think you have not treated either Lady Wincanton or myself fairly." " Na'ay," said Joe. "I told you nothing but the truth. It's a case of the biter bit. Give my regards to her ladyship, and tell her I am glad she bought the other site. I cal- culated she would, because a Methody chapel just outside the park gates would have been an eyesore to her, though why it should be is a bit of a puzzle to me, seeing that there is a public- house on the other side. But rich folks have their whims and fancies, and, of course, they are prepared to pay for them. I reckoned on that when I bought the land, and I made a guess that I could get one thousand for the one site which would just keep matters square if I gave the other site to the Methodies ; and when I saw how set on it my brother Rufe was, I said to myself I would do it, and be neither richer nor poorer. But it upset my calculation when the park site fetched five hundred more than I bargained for. I was completely flabbergasted, but you see there was a woman in the case, and you never can calculate to a hair's breadth where they are concerned." " Mr. Wentworth," replied the vicar, " I consider you have treated both myself and Lady Wincanton very shabbily. You have made us your dupes." " Well," said Joe, " I allow you've been had, and all things considered I say it serves you right. You've behaved pretty mean yourself towards the Methodists, so if there is to be any 192 ROSES AND THISTLES. stone-throwing and glass houses broken, look out for your own. But before I say ta, ta, I want to ease my conscience." "Conscience!" exclaimed the vicar. "It would apear to me you did not possess a conscience." < i ( c Oh ! but I do," said Joe cheerfully, although I don't trot it out every day for any dog to bark at. Indeed, there are times when I think I am about the only man on this country-side who has one, the others have worn theirs out, while mine is as good as new, 'cause I only bring it out on special occasions. And this is one. Now, I've told you I didn't cal- culate to make any profit on this deal. But I've got five hundred pounds, which seems like virtue rewarded. I propose to give the Methodies half towards the new chapel, and as you want a new heating apparatus at the church which is one reason folks won't come, the coldness gives the folks rheumatics, and skyatics I'll give you the other two hundred and fifty for that object." " Really, Mr. Wentworth," said the vicar, " I hardly know what to say to your strange proposal." " I know thou doesn't," said Joe. " You are the vicar of the parish, but the real vicar lives at the hall and wears petticoats. She'll have her say. But it's all one to me. It is a case of ask and have. If you don't want it, there are those who will not refuse a cheque for 250. Now, I think Rufe will have got his sermon over, and I've promised the parson a ride behind the fastest trotter in this county. So, 1 Good morning.' ' A RACE. I93 Joe was hurrying away, and then suddenly recollecting something, he shouted "Hi!" The vicar turned, and Joe walked back a pace. He asked, ' ' Do you think, Vic, there are any hosses in heaven ? " The vicar, thinking Joe was ' ' having him," as the latter put it, turned on his heel and walked off. " I've kind of hurt his feelings," said Joe. ' But I should like to have heard his opinion. I'll ask the Vicar of Summerton. Now Rufe," said he, when he joined the group. " Jump in aside me. You are too heavy at the back. The minister and I have more above the neck and less below than most folk. He is light weight." "Why," said Mr. Evans, "I believe I'm just one pound heavier than your brother," nevertheless eagerly jumping into the seat behind. " Young man," said Joe, " you may have your own weight, but you haven't the weight of Brother Rufe. He'd weigh three men your size and five the size of the vicar. Besides, there's Gwen never given me anything but black looks since we started. She wants to do a spell at courtin'. She never can see a young man but she wants to go for him, and as for parsons, she's dead gone on 'em." " Uncle Joe," she exclaimed, " if you don't hold your tongue I shall box your ears." "That's it," said Joe. " If I speak the truth I'm bullied, and if I hold my noise I'm sulky. There's nothing for it but fibbing if you are to get on with her. Tell her she's an angel and she'll smile like the mornin' sun, N 194 ROSES AND THISTLES. but tell her the plain honest fact that she's a flirt, and look out for thunderstorms. Now, Rufe, hold tight. We are going to make this tit understand that she is not to let the daisies grow under her feet. Git." Mr. Evans never forgot that ride. Joe simply gave the mare her head, and she flew along, pass- ing everything on the road. Her master watched her with a critical eye for the first mile or two, contenting himself with clicking his tongue occasionally and murmuring, " Git on, lass." Rufus sat silent and happy over the unexpected good fortune that had befallen the Stourbridge Methodists, and reflecting on the complex character of his brother. Joe was certainly a surprise packet. It was impossible to measure him by ordinary standards, or to expect him to conform to conventional methods. The minister and Gwen were engaged in animated conversation on the respective merits of Southey and Wordsworth. The sun shone gloriously, and the fine October morning seemed to make all nature glad. Joe nodded or shouted to everybody he met, and seemed in the best of tempers. " He's never as happy as when he's taken somebody in," Bill, his waggoner, used to say, and it certainly did seem to add to his enjoyment of life. At length he turned to his brother and asked, " Well, how do you like the site for the new chapel ? " " Could not be better," replied Rufus. " Seems some use in praying after all," said Joe. " But the vicar's hipped." " He will get over it," said Rufus. A RACE. I9S "Might get jaundice, though. He looked like it," replied his brother. ' Joe," said Rufus, after a pause, " I want to thank you, but I don't know how." ' ' Do you see that hedge ? If you say another word, over you go," snapped Joe. " Now lassie, a bit faster, Git." ' Where are you going ? " asked Rufus. " To Hawkrock Castle. Never been there since we were lads. Do you remember how we dined off blackberry pie wi'oot crust, and told our fortunes by blowing dandelions ? You said you'd like to be a parson, and I wanted to be a jockey. I thought I'd like to see the place once more and give the youngsters behind a treat. This is my birthday." " Oh, is it ? " replied Rufus. " Let me see. You're fifty-six and I'm sixty. I don't feel anything like that age." " Never felt younger in my life. I can eat well, drink well, and sleep well. I ought to be thinking about getting married, but I'm too busy, and am afraid I'm too callow yet. I might get taken in," said Joe, and he grinned from ear to ear." " c He that findeth a wife findeth a good thing,' Solomon says," replied Rufus. " Well, if experience counts for ought, he should know," said Joe. ' ' All right there behind. Got day fixed yet ? " "Yes," replied Gwen. "The stone-laying is to be on Christmas day, and the chapel opening on my birthday July yth." "Hang my hat up. That girl's ready for anything," he replied. " The man that marries 196 ROSES AND THISTLES. her won't have to keep his wits in cotton wool. He'll get razors for breakfast if the harness galls." After a twenty miles drive, they arrived at Hawkrock, a quaint old world village, and driving up to the hotel Joe ordered dinner for four. When it was over, they wandered about the park and old castle, Joe taking an almost childish interest in hunting up the places where they had sat or played nearly fifty years before. After a most delightful afternoon they returned to tea. Never was there a merrier party. Joe told story after story, until Rufus begged him to desist, for he had laughed until his sides were sore. Here his brother surprised them still more by flinging a cheque for two hundred and fifty pound at the minister, and telling him to enter it as an anonymous contribution to the building fund. Mr. Evans could hardly believe his eyes, and Gwen jumped up and kissed her uncle. " Here, stop that, young lady," he cried. " You ought to be prosecuted for taking a man unawares in that violent fashion. I shall not get over the shock to my nerves for a week. Besides, I've a confession to make, and it's heavy on my conscience." He then told the story of how he had acquainted the vicar of what the Methodists intended to do in relation to the sale, and gave an account of the whole course of events that had taken place. " So that is ' conscience money,' ' he said, " for splittin' on Rufe and his little scheme ? He binna no good at scheming. He never was. A RACE. I97 It takes a man wi' a spice of the devil in him to win on a move like this. But mind, no blabbing or not another farthin' do you ever get of my money." They started home in high spirits and had just reached the top of the hill, about two miles from the village, when Joe suddenly gave a shout. ' ' Yo, ho ! yonder's Harold Wincanton driving Briton, the roan. He bought it from me at the beginning of the season. He's a capital horse, but I guess this mare can trot his tail off. We will see which is the best bit of horseflesh fore long. Swish, lassie, Gee," and he touched the mare lightly with the whip. Flinging her head up, as if insulted by the lash, she sprang forward at a rate that made her former pace seem crawling in comparison. " Good," exclaimed her master. " She's off. Hold tight there behind. Easy, there, mare, too fast is as bad as too slow." Gradually they gained on the yellow gig before them, in which sat Harold Wincanton and Lord Shepworth, one of the wildest young sparks, and the despair of his parents. For a time they did not notice the trap behind. It happened that just at that moment Harold was boasting to his companion that his roan could beat anything on four legs. " I got him from a queer little chap who lives on the estate, who knows a good thing in horses when he sees it. He made me pay pretty stiff, but I've had a good bit offered since for my bargain, but I will not part." " Somebody's coming behind yonder, driving like old Harry," said Shepworth. 198 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Gad," exclaimed Harold, "it's Wentworth. The chap I've been speaking about. Talk of the devil, eh ? I hear he has bought a new mare that he thinks can trot. We will let him see how to handle the ribbons. Get on, Briton." Briton responded nobly to the call of his master, and for the next two miles there was no appreciable lessening of the difference be- tween the two parties. But Joe, having come to the conclusion that Harold meant racing, had slackened the pace a little ; knowing the extra staying power of the roan, he did not want to take too much out of the mare. In a few minutes there they were on the common with a straight road for four long miles before them. Directly they entered on this Joe again touched the mare with the whip, and she res- ponded as before. " Gad," exclaimed Lord Shepworth, " he is gaining on us. Give him beans." Little by little the trap drew up, until but a few yards divided them. Harold kept the middle of the road, and Joe shouted to him to make way for them to pass. His only reply was to lash the horse ferociously, which was now doing its best. " I'll take the paint off his wheels, if he does not get out of the road," cried Joe. " Hi, there, what are you crawling at ? " For half a mile they continued, the nose of the black mare being close to the gig, Joe shout- ing and raving at Wincanton, who took no notice. But suddenly the road widened, and with a shout to his horse, Joe shot past, shaking his whip in triumph as he did so. A RACE. I99 Harold politely took off his hat to Miss Went- worth, and smiled ironically. Inch by inch, the distance widened between the two vehicles, until Joe seemed to be in a fair way of leaving his rivals behind altogether, when suddenly the black mare floundered, nearly pitched on her knees, and with difficulty recovered herself. A stone had wedged itself in one of her shoes, and the party narrowly escaped a serious accident. With his usual promptitude, Joe was out in a moment, and having discovered the cause, set himself to extricate the stone. In a few minutes Wincanton overtook them, and pulling up for a moment, shouted, " If Miss Wentworth is in a hurry, we will take her with us." It took a few moments to get the stone out, and then Joe jumped up and looked ruefully along the road, where the yellow gig was fast disappearing in the distance, " Let 'em go," said Rufus, " and don't dis- tress the mare any more." "Hold hard there," was Joe's comment. "This is my funeral, and I'll run it as I like. Git, lassie." Once more the mare threw up her head, and sprang forward at a rate which fairly alarmed the minister. "Mr. Wentworth," he exclaimed, ''really I must protest. It is neither safe nor seemly to drive like this." But Joe either did not hear or took no notice. His eyes flashed under his bushy eyebrows. His jaws were set, and his sinewy fingers clutched the reins, as though he would impart 200 ROSES AND THISTLES. some of his own determination to the horse through this medium. Very gradually but surely the distance again lessened between the two conveyances, the plucky mare thundering away with nose dilated, and eyes aflame, as though she was determined to win or die in the attempt. Joe, in his eager- ness, partly sat and partly knelt, humouring her as a fisherman does a shy fish, and saying nothing but an occasional " Gee, lassie," as a lover might speak to his mistress. Meanwhile the occupants of the gig had not failed to note that once more he was gaining ground. Harold did not spare his horse. " A level tenner he catches you," said his companion. " For the last three minutes we have been gaining ground," said Harold. " When we get to the Stourbridge Hill we shall leave them behind. I'll take twenty to one that I'm at the village pump first." " Right, he's coming like a thunderbolt. Gad, I should like a mare like that. Three to one in hundreds he overtakes you." " Done," cried Harold, setting his teeth. "The horse is just finding his speed. Go it Briton." " He's getting nearer," cried Shepworth," excitedly. " I'll double my bet." " Treble it if you like," replied Wincanton. " This horse is noted for his staying power, and yonder is the hill." All this time, at intervals, Rufus, and the minister and Gwen had entreated Joe to give up the race, but they might as well have spoken A RACE. 20I to the wind. He heard neither entreaty nor expostulation, but simply waved his hand, and shouted to the mare. Three hundred yards, two, one, and then a few strides separated the two conveyances. ; ' Double again," shouted Shepworth. " Done," said Harold, lashing his horse un- mercifully. They had now reached the bottom of a long, steep hill, and a brief glance told him that the mare behind was showing signs of distress, while his own horse was going strong as ever. Joe was too skilful a driver, however, to let his horse take the hill at the tremendous pace at which it had been travelling, and eased up. Again, the distance between the two widened, for the roan hardly altered his long swinging stride. " Britan's the best hill climber, I know," muttered Joe, ' ' besides we have a heavier load. We must let them go ahead." " Ay," said Rufus. " You have shown what the mare can do. I've never seen anything like it." "Yes," said the preacher, "let them go. Undoubtedly yours is the faster horse, but it is not fair to distress her farther." By this time the yellow gig was leaving them well behind, and Harold turned with a leer on his face to his companion, and said, " Double again ? " "No," he said, "I've had enough. Gad, I think you are going to win." ' ' I told you so," was the answer. ' ' Why, Wentworth told me himself that this roan is the 202 ROSES AND THISTLES. best thing on the road, and he knows. See how splendidly he is taking this rise, and has not turned a hair." " Splendid," replied the other, who never- theless wished that the horse was a little less plucky, seeing what he had on the result of the race. Looking behind, he saw the mare was taking things very easily, and that the driver was chatting and laughing with his companions. But the brow of the hill was reached, and there was a mile straight run down into the village. When the trap reached the top Harold was thundering down at a break-neck pace. " Git, lassie," shouted Joe, and away went the mare once more like an arrow. 11 Stop," thundered Rufus, now thoroughly alarmed, " Do you want to kill us all ? " Joe, tense and eager simply shouted to his horse, which was flying along at a most terrific speed. ' ( This is madness," cried the preacher. ' ' Sir, I command you to stop." Joe took no notice. The monotonous, " Git, lassie," was falling from his lips at intervals, and he kept his eye on the church steeple down in the valley. The trap rocked from side to side, and the occupants had the greatest difficulty in keeping their seats. Gwen, in real terror clung to the minister's arm, and her face was drawn and white. Rufus, had shut his eyes, and was praying, assured that it was no use of further remonstrating. The minister rose with some dim notion of stretching over and clutching the reins, but was A RACE. 203 flung violently against Miss Wentworth, and but for her, would have fallen out of the trap. For the third and last time, the two convey- ances drew close together. A little ahead there was a bridge over the river. It was barely wide enough for them to cross together. The roan was a full neck ahead, as they approached the narrow pass. ' Draw up, you fool," shouted Wincanton. ' Git lassie," hissed Joe. With one supreme effort, the brave little mare shot ahead. The roan swerved half an inch, and the trap was on the edge of the bridge. A cry broke forth, at the same instant from the occupants of both conveyances. The wheel scraped the shoulder of the roan. Harold lost nerve for a moment, and the next, he and Lord Shepworth were shot head foremost into the stream as the wheel of the gig struck the parapet of the bridge. The wheel was wrenched off, and the shafts broken, and the terrified horse fled like lightning, passing the occupants of the trap, who sat horror-stricken by what had occurred. Joe pulled up as quickly as he could, and leaving his horse in charge of his brother, he and the minister went back to render what assistance they could. In the meantime Lord Shepworth, who was not badly hurt, managed to wade to the bank, for fortunately the river was not very deep, and was trying to pull his companion out of the water. " Give a hand," he cried. " I'm afraid he is badly hurt." They drew him on to the grass, and his com- panion pulled a flask from his pocket, and poured 204 ROSES AND THISTLES. a little brandy into his mouth. Slowly he recovered consciousness, and when he opened his eyes he saw Joe bending over him. He attempted to say something, and then swooned again. When he recovered a second time, Joe saw his lips moving, and bending down he caught the words, " How much will you take for the mare ? " In the meantime the villagers had been alarmed by the clattering of the runaway horse through the village, and after stopping him, they came along to see what had happened, and with them the doctor. He quickly examined the prostrate man, pronounced no bones broken, but found a bad bruise on the left shoulder and head. " He will be all right in a few days," he said, much to the relief of the occupants of the trap, who, somehow, all felt a measure of condemna- tion for what had happened. They lifted him into the trap, and drove him to the hotel at the park gates, by which time he had recovered consciousness. " Where is Lord Shepworth ? " he asked. " Here," answered his companion, gloomily enough. " I've won. It was my bet," he said, raising himself up, and then fainted. CHAPTER XVII. SHE SANG OF HOME. Some songs have power to quiet The restless pulse of care, And come like the benediction That follows after prayer." LONGFELLOW. " HAROLD, where are you going ? " " I am thinking of running up to London, mother mine. I'm sick to death of this place. One might as well be buried alive." " You must do nothing of the kind. I have invited Lord Fortesque and his daughter Evelyn to come and spend a week-end with us. Un- fortunately his lordship cannot leave his Parlia- mentary duties, but Evelyn is coming to- morrow." ' ' And what has that to do with me ? " he asked almost insolently. " Much, very much," replied his mother in answer to his rude question. His mother and he had quarrelled very fre- quently of late, and on the previous evening there had been a very disagreeable quarter of an hour when, armed with information supplied by Adele, she had charged him with frequent meetings with Miss Wentworth. It had ended in Harold leaving the room in high dudgeon, declaring that he would do as he liked, and marry whom he liked. Hence the tone in which he 206 ROSES AND THISTLES. met the information now given him. At any other time he would have been delighted to learn that the monotony of the life at Stour- bridge was to be broken by having such a charming visitor as Miss Fortesque, whom he had met on two previous occasions in London. But he was in too ill a humour to be propitiated. " Evelyn Fortesque is one of the most charming girls in our set, and when her father dies will inherit his vast estate, and vaster fortune. If you would only be sensible, and make the most of the opportunity which is thrown in your way, there is no reason why you may not be the owner of both, and a beautiful young wife in the bargain." " Thank you for nothing, mother mine. If I remember rightly, half the young lordlings in London had entered into a race for Miss Fortesque when we met last, and with young Stewart of Glenalmound making the running, I have no desire to figure as the tail-end man. Then, if I am not misinformed, Miss Evelyn is puritanically inclined like her father, whose religion turns sour on my stomach and, with the very best intentions in the world, I could not get on with a wife who spent half her time between meetings at Exeter Hall and slumming in Whitechapel." " Don't be absurd, Harold. Though one might think you had Methodist tendencies, considering the quarter to which you have directed your attentions lately. As for the rest, I think you have as good a chance as any of Miss Fortesque's admirers. But, in any case, you will see how impossible it is for you SHE SANG OF HOME. 207 to go away under the circumstances. Beside I have it in mind to have quite a large house party during Evelyn's visit. I must have you to help to entertain. You cannot go to London at present, that is certain." " Well," replied Harold, " let it be so. ' But I must have some cash, and " Lady Wincanton made an impatient gesture, and was about to speak, but Harold continued : ' ' Very well, then I must go to London. Lord Welby owes me two hundred and fifty, and I must hunt him up. I have several accounts that must be paid." " I will let you have the money," replied his mother, " but I wish once more to warn you that I cannot be constantly meeting demands of this kind. Your allowance is a liberal one, and should cover all your needs." ' ' I've been deuced unlucky lately," grumbled her son. " I very nearly pulled off a couple of thousands at Doncaster, and should have done so if the fool of a jockey who rode Firefly had understood him. And then that new hunter I bought from Wentworth went wrong and had to be shot, through the carelessness of the groom. Besides, I have had other losses. But I have some information of a sure thing for the Derby, and I stand to gain a pot of money, and then I will pay you back." Lady Wincanton sighed, for she knew how vain such promises were. But she forthwith went and filled up a cheque for 300, and kissing her son as she handed it to him, said, * ' Now be a good boy." " All right, mater," he exclaimed, as he 208 ROSES AND THISTLES. glanced at the amount. " I will be as good as a sexton on Sundays. By the way, I gave permission to the Secretary of the Hospital Fund at Whitehurst to use your name as one of the patronesses of the concert they are going to hold next week. I had forgotten all about it till the tickets came by post this morning. It is going to be a big thing. Madame Catroni, the prima donna, and one or two other stars are coming. I hope you don't object." " Oh no, not at all ! " she replied. " I shall be delighted, and we will take Evelyn with us. I think it is right we should patronise all these local institutions, if it does not cost too much." But Harold did not tell her that he had another reason for wanting her to be at the concert namely, that Gwen was to sing. She had successfully passed her examination, and was now entitled to write L.R.A.M. at the end of her name. But this concert was the greatest event of her life. To sing in company with a prima donna nearly took her breath away, and she was on the tip-toe of excited enjoyment. ' ' There will be no touchin' her wi' a long pole now, Rufe," said Joe Wentworth, when she informed him of the engagement " You and the missus will have to live in the back kitchen and give her the parlour." " Tra la la ! lal ! lal ! alah alah," sang Gwen in sheer lightheartedness, laughing all the time at Joe's grumpishness. "Rufe, you'd better come up to my place till she gets over it," he continued. " Fancy being compelled to listen to that for a fortnight. It's at bad as toothache. I'd as soon attend SHE SANG OF HOME. 209 four funerals a day. Guess she'll want a new dress for this squealing contest," he continued as Gwen put her fingers in her ears and ran upstairs, filling the house with music. ' ' We monno let her disgrace the family. I'll foot the bill, seem' I've no wife to keep me poor, and no children to keep me humble." " Why," said Rufus, " she's plenty of dresses. She looks well in anything." " You know nowt about it," said Joe. " If she has plenty of dresses, she's the only woman in the county that has. But whether or no I'm the buyer. Only tell her to let it be something neat and modest a good poppy red, or orange yellow, would be my choice." " Get out," cried Rufus, " you want the girl to set fire to the Public Hall wi' your poppy red. She has far too much sense to buy anything of the kind." " Well, well, have it your own way. Tell her I shall come and drive her over, and if she does not sing her best I'll run the trap into a ditch coming back, and land her in the mud." The eventful evening arrived, and as Gwen, radiant in health and spirits, took her seat by the side of Joe, she certainly looked very beauti- ful, and a prouder man than the farmer it would have been difficult to find. ' ' I'll pray for thee, lass," said Rufus, as^they started. To him there was nothing incongruous in asking a blessing on Gwen's gift of song. " Praying always " was not difficult to him. On the road they overtook the carnage of Lady Wincanton, in which, seated by the side of Harold, was the most beautiful young lady 210 ROSES AND THISTLES. Gwen had ever seen, whom she heard as they passed laughing at something he was saying. A spasm of jealousy shot into Gwen's heart as she coldly returned his bow. " That will be Miss Fortesque," said Joe, " the young lady, it is said, young Wincanton is to marry. If she knew as much about him as I do she'd set up a laundry and take in washin' sooner than have him." ''Why?" asked Gwen. " You've heard," said Joe, " of the man who sold a hoss wi' only two faults. When he was asked what they were, he said the first was ' he was hard to catch,' and the second was * he wasn't worth catching.' Guess that's the measure of yon young spark. I heard the vicar say the other Sunday, ' ' Most men are a mixture of mud and marble.' Well, if there's any marble about him, it's his heart ; but I'm thinking the rest of him is all mud, only it's baked hard. There was a bookmaker wi' a nose like an eagle's beak lookin' him up the other day, and I happened to run agin him in the train goin' back. A March hare is perfect sanity where he came in for down-reet madness. It seems Wincanton was in his ribs for some pretty big amount a racing debt and when he went for it the young man coolly set the dog on him, and he was threatened by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob what he would do. But see, here's Whitehurst. Now, lass, sing like a seraphim at a picnic, and you'll sweep the floor with the lot of them." Gwen had been greatly perturbed at the idea of meeting Madame Catroni, the famous SHE SANG OF HOME. 211 Australian soprano, who had been induced to come down to Whitehurst by Lord Wolvers (a local magnate), with whom she had formed a friendship in Italy. The whole of the nobility and gentry for miles around had turned out to do honour to the occasion, and the great Public Hall was packed to its utmost capacity. Gwen was greatly relieved when, on going into the dressing room, she was introduced to a sweet little lady about thirty, who greeted her warmly, and assisted her to remove her cloak, and then forthwith began to question her about her songs. " I'm fearfully nervous. I'm afraid I shall break down." she replied. " I've never sung at a big concert like this before." " Oh, you won't, dear," replied the great singer. " You will do well, never fear. Don't think of yourself, think only of your song." The concert proceeded through several items, and at length it came to Gwen's turn to sing. She had chosen " Home, sweet home." She received an encouraging welcome, Joe Went- worth leading the clapping The song exactly suited her voice, and she sang it to perfection. She fairly captured her audience, and when she had finished the demand for an encore was over- whelming. Her second song was, if anything, a greater triumph than the first, and her cup of happiness was full when the prima donna came and, putting her arm round her neck, kissed her, saying : ' ' Splendid, my dear. You have a great gift." Upon leaving, she was overwhelmed with congratulations. Among others, Harold Win- 212 ROSES AND THISTLES. canton pushed his way through the crowd, and, holding out his hand, said : " I wish to offer my congratulations to the star of the evening. Miss Wentworth, your singing was superb. " Pooh," replied Joe, who came up just at the moment, " it might have been better. That top note was as flat as a pancake." " I don't agree with you," answered Harold. <c It was magnificent, as far as my opinion goes." ' ' Which is not very far," broke in Joe. ' ' But anyhow, Queenie, to stand here in this draught will make you as hoarse as a crow, so you had better come. Besides, the mare is getting as im- patient as a hungry man at a club feast. The sooner she gets her tail turned to the North Pole and her head towards the Red Acres, the better she will be pleased." " I cannot stand that fellow at any price," he said when Gwen got seated in the trap. "But, my stars, you did make things hum to-night." " I thought you said just now that it might have been better," Gwen answered. " Well," replied Joe, " there binna owt that can't be improved on, except its my hosses and your dad's roses. I was not goin' to let on afore strangers that you had given anything out of the common." " Well, I think its downright mean of you to speak as you did to Mr. Wincanton before all those people. I won't go with you to a concert again no, never." * ' Well," replied Joe, ' ' if a bracelet the best you can get in Whitehurst will settle the matter between us, we will say it is bought. Gee, up, lassie. Yon is Lady Wincanton's SHE SANG OF HOME. 213 carriage coming. If you let her pair of bays catch you, I'll sell you for dog's meat and drive a donkey. Git away, old girl ! " In the meantime Gwen was being discussed in the carriage behind. ' ' How did you like the prima donna ? " asked Lady Wincanton to Miss Fortesque. " Oh, she was very good, but I think I liked the young lady who sang ' ' Home sweet home " better. What do you say, Harold ? " ' I certainly agree with you," he said. " I never heard that old song rendered with so much feeling or with better effect. Miss Wentworth has a remarkable voice." ' ' I thought she was very stilted and affected," answered his mother, who did not like this un- stinted praise of Gwen. * ' I do not think so," rejoined her son. ' ' She seemed to me to be the embodiment of rustic simplicity. And the audience certainly did not share your feeling, mother." " Oh, there is a good deal to be put down to local sympathy. She is altogether too self- conscious ever to be a great singer. But certainly for an untutored country girl she did very well. I think I will invite her to sing at my home party next week." " You couldn't do better, mother," replied Harold so eagerly, that at once his mother regretted having made the suggestion, which she determined she would not carry out. That night Gwen dreamt of being a prima donna herself, and winning great conquests, but all through her dreams the beautiful face of Evelyn Fortesque seemed to haunt her. CHAPTER XVIII. LADY WINCANTON'S PARTY. " Dearly bought the hidden treasure Finer feelings can bestow ! Chords that vibrate sweetest pleasure Thrill the deepest notes of woe." BURNS. " WHAT a magnificent voice. Who is she ? " The questioner, Lady Cecilia Gordon, bent eagerly forward as she put this question to Lady Wincanton. " Oh, she is a discovery of mine. A rustic prima donna," was the reply. " She certainly sings very well considering her opportunity." " She sings divinely," replied the other en- thusiastically. ' ( I never heard so fine a render- ing of that old song. You must introduce me.'* The large old-fashioned drawing-room of Stourbridge Hall was filled with the elite of the county, and a few London notables, who had been induced to spend a week or two in the old country hall, formed part of Lady Wincanton's house party. Viscount Henderson, a bankrupt and dyspeptic, who was credited with designs upon the heart and fortunes of his hostess ; Lord Wolvers, a rising young Conservative, who some day it was expected would be in the Cabinet, and who owed his position to a fortune made by his father out of beer, and to an in- heritance of brains from his mother ; Mr. Crow- LADY WINCANTON'S PARTY. 215 thers, a minor poet, who wrote pathetic little poems about childhood and heaven (and punc- tuated his ordinary conversation with oaths) ; and Mr. Graham, a Scotch lawyer and historian, who was a candidate, three times defeated, for Parliamentary honours for a border constituency. These, with Lord Fortesque and his daughter, were amongst the most notable guests present. Everyone of them had been invited down with some particular reference to Harold's future. Viscount Henderson, because he was supposed to have influence with the Prime Minister, Lord Wolvers, as a kind of imposing example ; Mr. Crowthers because it was the fashion to patronise him just then ; and Mr. Graham for no other reason than that Lady Wincanton wished him to give Harold some hints upon how to obtain a constituency. It was late in the evening when Gwen, who had been sitting unnoticed by everyone save Mrs. Stewart, a plain motherly lady, who owed her invitation to the fact that her husband was the chairman of the County Conservative Associa- tion, and who had taken pity on the beautiful young girl because she seemed to be so lonely. Truth to tell, Gwen was not happy in her new surroundings, and wished a hundred times she had not consented to sing. Lady Wincanton had received her with studied coldness ; so marked, indeed, that a few angry words had passed between Harold and his mother on the subject immediately afterwards. He had tried to make up by attentions which were so notice- able that they made her feel uncomfortable, and led her to resent them. Many times she 216 ROSES AND THISTLES- wished herself at home, but Mrs. Stewart, with great tact and good breeding, drew out the nervous, sensitive girl until, to her own surprise, she found herself laughing, and making a con- fident of the lady, whose motherly face and white hair won her heart. " My dear," she said, " you must come and see us at Hirsthome. I am not musical myself, but we often have musicians down, for my husband, Colonel Stewart, is very fond of music and poetry, and it may be of service to you to meet some of his friends." " Oh, thank you, I should so dearly like to visit you." " Well, then, we will regard it as settled," said Mrs. Stewart. When Harold came to take her to the piano to sing, she blushed violently, but when her rich, clear voice rang through the room, in the old- fashioned song " She wore a wreath of roses," the talking ceased, and all eyes were fixed on the singer. Dressed in simple fashion, with a beautiful moss rose relieving the whiteness of her dress, she stood and poured forth her soul in song. "Gad," said the old Viscount, "a pretty girl a charming singer. Encore ! Encore ! " The applause that followed the ending of her song was quite temptestuous for such an audi- ence. Without affectation or pressure she sang again. This time selecting Tosti's ' ' Good-bye," which was also well received. The face of Harold Wincanton fairly beamed. He felt her triumph was his own. He led her to a seat, and sat by her side, while his mother LADY WINCANTON'S PARTY. 217 jealously watched them from the other side of the room. " You have excelled yourself to-night," he whispered. ' ' We are all greatly obliged to you." "Thank you." " Miss Wentworth allow me to introduce you to Mr. Carver." It was Lady Wincanton who spoke. " Harold dear, do you mind showing Lord Fortesque to the library. He wishes to write some important letters." Harold did mind, and pulled a very wry face, but there was nothing for it but to obey. His mother took care that he did not get another opportunity for conversation with Gwen, and Mr Carver kept by her side the greater part of the time. The night might be described as a decided triumph for Gwen. She was called upon again, and again, to sing, until she was really weary, and begged leave to retire. * ' Thank you so much, Miss Wentworth," said Lady Wincanton. " You must come again to see me soon. I have ordered James to drive you home." ' * Oh, I could walk quite easily," replied Gwen. * ' Indeed, I would prefer it. I am quite accus- tomed to walking." ' ' No, I could not think of allowing it," replied Lady Wincanton. "The night is chilly, and you must take care of your voice. It really is exceptional. My foolish boy has quite fallen in love with it ; but, then, he is always falling in love with something or other. I tell him his affections are always too absorbing to last. He 218 ROSES AND THISTLES. is like the butterfly sipping the honey from many flowers, and constant to none." " Perhaps that is an inherited tendency,'* Gwen could not help but reply, for she felt Lady Wincanton's words were intended to convey more than they expressed. " Indeed no," was the reply, " if there is one thing our family is noted for, it is constancy of purpose. But once more, good night." Gwen rolled herself up in one corner of the luxurious carriage, and busied herself with musing over the events of the evening. For the first time she had awakened to the full consciousness of her powers as a singer. The Divine gift within her had been stirred, and she was longing for larger opportunities and greater triumphs. She had tasted the sweets of praise of an educated and critical audience, who had been won from indifference to interest, and then from interest to genuine admiration. But the night destined to be fateful for her in more senses than one. From that time Harold Wincanton's infatuation for her increased, and it was only his mother's influence over him which kept him from making an open declaration of love. In a few weeks Gwen received a kind note from Mrs. Stewart, formally inviting her to Hirst- home. She always looked back on the week she spent there as the happiest in her life. Mr. Stewart was a fine, gentlemanly old man, who, having made a fortune as a cotton importer, had taken to politics as a pastime. He described himself as a Liberal-Conservative, and often experienced the great difficulty and danger of a LADY WINCANTON'S PARTY. 219 man who tries to sit on two stools at once. The strong party men on both sides distrusted and denounced him as a time server, and an Oppor- tunist. But his magnetic personality, his ex- ceptional gift as a public speaker, and his wealth kept him at the head of the party organisation. For the rest, he was a kindly man, a generous host, and a clever musician. il Delighted to see you, my dear," he said to Gwen. " My wife has fallen in love with you. And she declares your singing is better than Madame Gavun who paid us a visit last week. ' " I am afraid Mrs. Stewart has formed altogether too flattering an estimate of my ability," replied Gwen. " I have had very little training indeed." " So much the better as average training goes. You have less to unlearn." The week sped all too quickly, and the in- vitation was extended to another, and would gladly have been accepted but for some engage- ments which called her home. On the last day of her stay she was surprised to receive a visit from Harold Wincanton. He and his mother had quarrelled over Miss Fortesque, and in high dudgeon he had hasted off to offer marriage to Gwen forthwith. For the first time she got a glimpse into his real character, when she refused to be a party to a runaway match. He coaxed, then stormed, and finally threatened, until in sheer fright she declared she would call in Mrs. Stewart. Truth to tell, he had expected a ready accept- ance by this humble village maiden without a name of her own of his offer, to go to London 220 ROSES AND THISTLES. straight away and be married ; and that he had only to ask in order to have. But the religious training of years was behind the timid, but firm, negative with which Gwen met his request ; and he found it impossible to move her from her decision. Flinging himself out of the house, in a perfect fury, he left her in tears. Mrs. Stewart, directly Harold had gone, made her way to the drawing-room, and finding her prostrate, bit by bit, got the whole story from her. " My dear," she said, " you have had a narrow escape. My husband who never speaks ill of any unless it is absolutely necessary has been quietly making some investigations res- pecting young Wincanton, for the reason that his mother, when we were at Stourbridge Hall, desired Mr. Stewart's interest to get him adopted as the candidate for the division at the annual meeting of the Conservative party next month. Before pledging himself to this, he felt it wisest to make some inquiries, and the result is that he has written frankly to Lady Wincanton to say he cannot do so. The details are not fit for a young maiden's ears, but my husband used stronger terms about him than I have ever heard him use about any man since we have been married, and he declares that if his candidature is pushed he shall withdraw from the party, sooner than countenance it. My dear, take an old woman's advice, and have nothing to say to him. He is a bad son. I gather that from Lady Wincanton herself, and a bad son never makes a good husband. Now dry your tears, and come and have a cup of tea." When she returned home, and had time to LADY WINCANTON'S PARTY. 221 think over matters and to probe her own heart, she, too, came to the conclusion that Harold Wincanton did not possess the qualities she would most desire in a husband constancy, honesty of purpose, the courage of high conviction, and that manliness that puts the crown on all other qualities. She saw how nearly she had been carried away by a superficial charm of manner and the glamour of social position, and she resolved that, henceforth, she would be more careful in her conduct, and guard diligently against being enticed into an equivocal situation. She threw herself heart and soul into her pro- fession, and realised a great uplifting of soul in the surrender of self to a great passion. As for Harold, he returned home after a fortnight's dissipation in London, leaving behind him debts that taxed his mother's resources for six months to pay. He was soon frequenting the old paths, where he had often met Gwen in the past, but she seemed to have deserted all her old haunts, and when he ventured to call at the Rosary, thrice in a few days, he failed to get a glimpse of her. CHAPTER XIX. THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. " But poverty, with most who whimper forth, Their long complaints, is self-inflicted woe, Th' effect of laziness, or sottish waste." COWPER. A POOR, pitiful object came shambling along the street from the direction of the railway station. Even in a village where a sack often covered the shoulders of a labourer instead of a coat, the outward covering of the stranger excited pity, and remark, from those who saw him. John Crun, for example, boasted that his best hat saw the light in the year of Waterloo, and having since served him for half a century, was still a good, presentable article, except in one place, where a voracious moth had eaten away the nap, and left it bare ; but Martha, his wife, had carefully pulled the nap off where it was plentiful, and stuck it on with gum where it was needed, giving him strict injunctions not to wear it in wet weather. Timothy Brunyard had walked two miles between his cottage and the Methodist chapel every Sunday for thirty years in the same boots, always entering just when the church clock struck the hour, for if by chance Tim came a few minutes early he spent them in leaning over the wall of the mill pond, looking at the water lilies when there were THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 223 any, and at the pond itself when there were none. To be early would be like officiousness in the sight of heaven, and to be late was not respectful. There was something so distressful in the man's appearance, that it immediately arrested attention. His broad-brimmed hat was thrust down over his brow as if he would hide his features as much as possible. His coat, wrinkled and brown, hung loosely on him, and the bottom of his trouser legs were worn into ribbons ; and fell over a pair of boots whose soles seemed anxious to bid good-bye to the uppers. He saw nobody until he arrived opposite the rose garden of Rufus, where he stood for a moment as though the sight arrested him. But, at least, half a dozen women and twice as many children had seen him from behind window blinds and doors. Rufus was busy binding young rose trees to their staves when he suddenly became aware of the figure standing looking at him, and his left hand involuntarily sought his pocket for a coin, while his right nipped off a rose bud, which he intended to give along with his offering. There are degrees in poverty, this was the superlative degree, and it touched the old man's heart. The tramp stood blinking his eyes until Rufus reached the wall, and then exclaimed, ' ' Well, Mr. Wentworth, you bin still alive then ? " ' ' Why, Jack ! " exclaimed Rufus, after gazing for a moment at the object before him, " Is that you ?" * ' Ay, it's me, at least all that's left of me, which binna much except skin and bone." 224 ROSES AND THISTLES. 16 You dunno seem to have been in a very fat pasture," said Rufus. " No," replied Jack, " you wouldna think that I have dined with Lord Mayors and Mem- bers of Parliament, would you ? I have though, but that was when the sun shone on my side of the hedge. There's one thing a man may reckon on in this world, and that's that he'll have abundance of friends while he has plenty of money, but when that's gone, they'll go as well." " True," replied Rufus. " Had any break- fast, Jack ? " " Well," replied Jack, " I could pick a bone wi'oot bursting. The day before yesterday I had hot coffee and a penny bun." " Poor chap," said Rufus. " Come in and see our missus. I guess there's ham and eggs if nothin' else, or may be a soft place or two on the leg of mutton we had yesterday." " And so you thought you'd come back and see the old place once more," said Rufus, as he opened the gate for him to enter. " Ay," he replied. " I kind o' hankered to see the village once more, and some of the old faces. Is Benson still going to church and cheating the public, or has old Nick got him ? " ' ' Hush, Jack ! You should'na speak that way. He's dead this ten years. It is not for us to judge the dead." " If ever there was a double-faced hypocrite he was one," said Jack, the remembrance of a thousand little injustices rankling in his soul. " I'd say it with my last breath. I could tell THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 225 you stories ; but faugh ! his name tastes like bilge water ; but Mary is she " " Still here, Jack, and living in Madox's cottage at the end of the village." * ' Married ? " asked Jack, looking up with an eagerness that fairly amazed Rufus. ' Nay, Jack. She gave her heart to one man many years ago, and she's never wavered. I wish I could think he had been as true to her." The tears welled up in the poor fellow's eyes, as he swept his sleeves across his face, and muttered, " Bless her." " I'm sorry," Rufus continued, " that you've done badly for her sake. If she saw you in your present guise I think it would break her heart. We must try and rig you out with something more decent before you go to see her ; that is if you mean to see her." ' ' Well, Mr. Wentworth, I'll not deny it. For years I've thought of the time when I should see her once more, and it was like a star shining on a dark night ; and I've come all the way from London now, and I must see her before I go back." " Well, come in. Here Missus, here is an old friend in need of some breakfast. You remem- ber Jack Crookworth who used to be at Benson's. Well, this is Jack. Like the prodigal, he's a bit down on his luck, and in the far country they dunno ' grow apple dumplings on goose- berry bushes, or tweed suits on hickory trees, and so he's suffered some. Get the frying pan and give him a slice round the ham and three eggs, and then he'll be about ready for his breakfast, and you can say ditto to the first 226 ROSES AND THISTLES. round, and a slice or two of buttered toast will finish him off, and make him feel as though he wasn't all outside like an empty walnut." Mrs. Wentworth, after greeting Jack, went to work, and soon he was sitting down to a cup of steaming coffee, and a plate ladened with ham and eggs was placed before him, He set to work with right good will, and did ample justice to the cooking, Rufus sitting by and superintending supplies. " Feel better ? " he asked, when Jack positively refused to take another bite. " I never knew a man but what felt his chances of getting to heaven increased when his stomach was full. Now, missus, can you find Jack an old suit of mine ? Seems to me, with a few tucks, we can fit him out." But Jack manifested a strange reluctance to part with his rags, and although Mrs. Wentworth found a really decent suit of pepper and salt, he resolutely refused to change, offering one excuse after another. He sat by the fire in a kind of a doze for some time, and then Rufus said, " And what's your programme now, Jack ? " ' * I'm going round to look at the old place and see a few of the old cronies, and I want to go to the church and see my mother's grave ; and after that I shall try and get a peep at Mary, and then well, it all depends. Most likely I shall go away and never come back any more." "Well," said Rufus, "we will talk about that after, but if you want supper, bed, and breakfast, come back, lad. We have no bed at liberty, but there's the sofey. The missus THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 227 makes me lie down on it every day after dinner, and I generally manage forty winks, just to oblige her." Mrs. Wentworth was nudging his elbow all the time he was speaking, and, when Jack was not looking, gave Rufus a look which plainly in- timated she did not join in the invitation. To give a starving man a meal was one thing, but to let him sleep in the house all night was another. Nobody could tell what he might steal, or what harm he might attempt to do. But Rufus never did things by halves, and so he took no notice, and pressed his invitation on the wanderer. " It's very good of you, Mr. Wentworth," said Jack, his voice trembling. " There have been times when I have been in rough company, and I have heard religion derided, and good men laughed at. I should have laughed myself like the rest of them, but that I remembered you and Johnson, and Dickens, and Davies, and a few others. The missus need not be afraid that I shall trouble you, but I'm obliged to you all the same. I should like a word with you in private if you could spare the time." " Come into the garden," said Rufus. "|There's room enough, and something pretty to look at, and sweet to smell ; and though we read the sarpent first found Adam in a garden, it's my opinion that he's oftener found in the house among the furniture than in the garden among the trees and flowers. Mrs. Wentworth watched the two walking up and down, their heads bent together, and she wondered what the tramp could have to say, which was of so much interest to her husband. 228 ROSES AND THISTLES. Once or twice she heard Rufus laugh one of his hearty laughs, and, by and by, she saw Jack hobbling down the street, his rags fluttering in the wind, his hat pressed over his eyes, and a rosebud between his fingers. Rufus went and leaned over the wall, and watched him for a time, and then came back again into the house, and she heard him chuck- ling at a fine rate. " What is the matter, Rufe ? " she asked, surprised at his hilarity. "Ha! Ha!" exploded her husband. "I felt as though I'd had my feet tickled with a feather. Ha! Ha!" " Don't be rude. Tell me, what's the matter ? " " Promise to keep a secret if I tell you," he queried. "Yes." " Honour bright. Sure as pippins make good apple jelly." " Yes, I promise." " Then Jack is goin' to propose to Mary Benson." " What ! exclaimed Mrs. Wentworth, " and you think that is a matter for laughter. Rufus, I'm downright ashamed of you." " Ha ! ha ! " laughed Rufus. " I'm sorry, my dear ; but it's a bit funny. Kind o' tickles me under the fifth rib." ' ' I say it's a burning shame. Poor Mary ! After all these years for him to come and offer marriage to her is an insult. If I had known that was his errand he should have had neither bite nor sup." THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 229 "Poor fellow," said Rufus. ''He was a pitiful object. Seemed to have plenty of storage for ham and eggs. But he couldn't complain about ventilation in his clothes." "Yes, he would like to go and sponge on that poor woman, and live on her earnings. That's what he is after," said Mrs. Wentworth. ' He wanted me to go and speak for him," said Rufus, and he grew red in the face as if he would explode again. ' ' Humph ! I'm glad that at least you had sense enough to refrain from that. I'm going straight along to warn Mary against having anything to do with him." " But you promised you wouldn't split," said Rufus. " Honour bright now." " Such a promise ought not to have been extracted from me. I'm ashamed of you, Rufus Wentworth." " That's the third time, you've said it, my dear, so any more would be a waste of breath, and I'll try to think what it means. But here comes Gwen, bright as the morning, fresh as the daisy." ' ' Oh, dad, I met with such a queer looking man down in the village, and he was a tramp," exclaimed Gwen, coming, in, radiant with the exercise she had been taking. " He's been here to breakfast, dear," said Mrs. Wentworth, " so you need not tax your powers of description. Your father has a taste for low characters." ' ' So had Jesus Christ," replied Rufus. ' ' But what was he doing, Gwen ? " " Oh, he had gone into Harris' shop, and 230 ROSES AND THISTLES Mrs. Harris ordered him out, and^then the boys began to pelt him with mud and stones." " Shame on 'em," exclaimed Rufus. " To pelt a stranger. It was his clothes they pelted. But I must go and see to it." 11 He took refuge in Widow Harrison's," said Gwen, " and she shut the door, so he is all right now." The conversation in the ' ' Lion " that night revolved round the return of Jack Crookworth, whom many remembered as a bright, frolicsome youth in the employ of Benson. He had gone to the door and made himself known to Alport the landlord, and requested permission to sleep in the outhouse that night. This had been refused, and when he asked if he might come and sit down, Alport had not only refused, but threatened to set the dogs on him if he found him hanging about. He then trudged down to Harris' in the hope of seeing the old man ; but he was in bed with a cold, and the two young men in the shop had made game of him, and when he resented it had turned him into the street. He had been driven for refuge into the cottage of Widow Harrison ; who, when she knew who he was, wept over him, and made him promise to come back to tea, although she hadn't in the house more than half a loaf of bread and a bit of cheese. " You're as welcome as the flowers in May," she said, as she put three parts of the cheese on his plate. I nursed your mother when you were born, and I've spanked you many a time, lad, though I dunno think it did you much good. But I'm glad to see you, and I wish I'd better THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 231 to put before you." That was the only gleam of brightness the poor fellow met with, for old friends had no desire to renew an acquaintance which promised only to tax their pockets and cupboards, and to most of the villagers Jack was only a name. Just as the day was dying, a whitehaired woman, who was sitting looking into the fire, and thinking of what might have been, was brought back to the hard, crude realities of actual life by a quick rat-tat-tat on the door. Strange, it made her heart beat faster, for it was the kind of knock, quick and impetuous, that long ago an apprentice of her father's always used when he brought the letters in the morning, and the memory of it lingered with her after many years. She went to the door, and saw a beggar standing without, who said in a piteous whine, " Please, will you give me a crust of bread ? " She was accustomed to such appeals, for many called, and none went away empty- handed. And straightway she went to the pantry, and finding there a half loaf and a piece of cheese, she brought it out to give to the mendicant. She was startled to find that during her ab- sence her visitor had stepped inside the cottage, and was sitting warming his hands at the fire. He mumbled something about being starved. Her alarm increased when, thrusting the bread and cheese into his hands, he proceeded to pull out a large knife, and open the blade, which was four or five inches long, and looked very formidable as the light of the fire fell on it. 232 ROSES AND THISTLES. Determined, however, not to show the alarm which was fast overcoming her, she reached the lamp, and was taking a match to light it when in a gruff voice the stranger bade her not to mind the light, but be seated. Trembling in every limb she dropped the light to the floor. It was useless to cry out, and she realised the best thing was to obey. There was always hope that some of the villagers might call, or she might hear some one passing. So she sat on the opposite side of the tramp, who putting his hat further over his eyes, commenced munching his bread and cheese. There was silence for a few seconds, during which she was listening intently in the hope of hearing footsteps. If she could only get past him to the door, she would make a rush for it. At length he spoke again, this time asking for a drink. She again went into the pantry, and brought him a cup of milk. Her hand trembled so much that she could hardly hold it, and spilt some on the hearthrug. For the first time he looked up, and seeing that she was greatly agitated said gruffly, " Don't be frightened, missus, I mean you no harm. I only want a rest and a warm.' Somewhat reassured, she again took her seat, when the stranger looked at her a second time, and said, " Your name is Benson isn't it ? " " Yes," she replied. " So they told me in the village," he replied. " Any relation to Enoch Benson, who thirty years ago was a builder hereaway ? " IV His daughter," she answered, ' ' but he's dead for fourteen years. Did you know him ? " THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 233 " I once met an apprentice of his that ran away. Stole some of his master's money, or something, I understood. The lad's name was Crookworth, and he was a bad lot." " Excuse me," said Mary, " he was nothing of the kind. He was as honest as the day." " Then why did he run away ? " asked the tramp. 4 ' For nothing, he had any need to be ashamed of. When, and where, did you see him ? " She leaned eagerly forward, and just then the fire blazed up, and either by accident or design the broad brimmed hat fell off. Then she gave a cry " Jack." " Ay, Mary," he said, " I've come back at last. It has been a long time, and now I'm here I'm not sure I shall be welcome. I'm not a very presentable looking object, and I've not a penny in my pocket. I've received so far, a very poor reception from everybody but Mr. Wentworth and old Widow Harrison. If I had come back with my pockets full of gold, my old cronies would have clustered about me like wasps round a treacle pot ; but because I've come in rags, and seeking a crust and a night's lodging, they have set their dogs on me, and laughed at me when the lads pelted me with mud." ' ' Shame ! " said Mary, her eyes filling with tears. " Oh, Jack, why have you been so long in coming ? " ' ' Because I was not sure what had become of you," he replied. But why did you not write as you promised ? Write!" he exclaimed. "Did I not 234 ROSES AND THISTLES. write ? Not once, but a dozen times, and never got any answer." " I did not get your letters," she replied. " Not one ever came to me. To whom did you address them ? " " To you. Care of the post-mistress, old Mrs. Allen, as we agreed." ' ' And I went again and again, and she declared she had never received any." " I wrote at intervals for more than two years. Your father must have bribed her not to hand them over to you. And the only reply I ever got was that short, curt reply of yours that you wished all connection with me to cease." " From me, Jack ? I never wrote any such letter." The man bent forward towards the fire and gazed for some minutes without speaking. Then he said, " Is the old woman living ? " " No, she died two years ago." " Ah," he said, " I am always too late. My God, if I had but known. I might have been spared years of suffering," and he fairly broke down. The next moment the woman's arms were round his neck, and her kiss touched his cheek. The pent up love found expression, as, again and again, she kissed him. She did not see the rags, the dishevelled beard, the worn out shoes, but the man whom she had enshrined in her heart for years. She had often pictured his coming back, but always as a prosperous and happy man ; but now he had returned broken in fortune, dressed in rags, it made no difference THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 235 to her, save that her love was touched with a pity which hallowed it. It was Jack who first awakened apparently to the realities of the situation. ' * Mary," he said, ' ' I came back to see if you were still alive. My heart hungered for a sight of you. And now I have seen you I suppose I must go on the tramp again ; but I shall die happier because of one brief moment I have held you in my arms." * ' Go away ! " she exclaimed. ' ' What for Jack ? ' " Because," and he stopped, looked at his clothes and lifted up his coat. " Nonsense," she said. " If you are poor, all the more need why I should succour you. If you are sick, why should I not nurse you ? If you are friendless, why should I not be your friend ? I have enough to keep us in comfort, though not in luxury. No, no, Jack, don't talk of going away again." " And what do you think the villagers would say if you took in such a poor miserable-looking wretch as I am ? " " Jack," she answered " if you had prospered and come back to find me starving, perhaps in the workhouse, what would you have done ? " " Before God," he said, " I would have married you, if you would have had me. It was my dream for years to come back and say, ' Here, Mary, I kept to my promise, and I come to claim you as mine. But when that letter came I lost hope, and for a time I did not care what became of me." " Jack," she said, " I want to make amends 236 ROSES AND THISTLES. for the injustice my father did you. Here is my purse. Get yourself some decent clothes first of all, and then we will talk about the future." ' ' For God's sake Mary," he cried, * ' stop ! " and he broke down like a child. Next morning Mary sought an interview with the vicar, and greatly surprised him by asking him to publish the banns next Sunday between Jack Crookworth and herself. As a comparative stranger of course, he did not know her history ; but he had heard hints which led him to remon- strate in his gentle way with her. But he could see it only pained her, so he let it go. Soon the news was all over the countryside that Mary Benson was going to marry that ne'er do well, Jack Crookworth, and already the gossips of the village saddled him with drunken- ness, gambling, and other vices, none the less certainly because they knew nothing positively, judging only from appearances. As for Jack, he disappeared as he came, none knew where he went. All agreed in calling Mary a fool, and quite a number of women felt it incumbent upon them to go and remonstrate with her. She listened to all they had to say in silence, smiled, and woman-like went her own way. " She will rue it by every hair of her head," said Mrs. Wentworth to Rufus. " He's nothing but a common cadger, and will spend all she has ; and then she may go to the poorhouse. She is old enough to know better. For aught she can tell he's been in jail a score of times. And his hands and face were filthy dirty." THE RETURN OF A WANDERER. 237 1 He didn't look as though he used many tooth powders," Rufus replied, " or spent much in scents or gold studs. Those shoes of his hadn't been blacked for a week of months ; and his hair looked as though it had not been in curl papers lately. And yet I recollect he was a smart lad, as sharp as a Sheffield razor. I remember him climbing the church steeple to get an owl's nest. Any other boy would have broken his neck, for there was only a bit of ivy to cling to, but he came through all right." " He's an impudent fellow," said his wife. " However Mary could consent to marry him surpasses my comprehension." " Ay," said Rufus, " Mary is marrying not the man you saw, but the one she has had in her heart for years. Love is a wonderful thing. Sometimes it has eyes sharp as eagles, and sometimes it can see no better than a mole. The Apostle says, ' It believeth all things as well as beareth all things.' ' At this point Rufus had one of- the attacks of hilarity which had seized him lately at odd moments, and he laughed till he chinked again. " Rufus," said his wife. " You are hiding something. You know more than you say." " My dear," he said, " you are sharper than a hornet's sting. It binna fair on a poor, slow- witted fellow like me to have a wife with eyes like these X-rays I've heard tell on. You just clap them on a man's back and you see all that's goin' on inside. I shall be afraid to do any thinkin' just now outside the greenhouse. It's kind o' awful to live in the same house with the Judgment Day in petticoats." 238 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Don't be ridiculous," she replied. " One does not need average perspicuity to read you, my man. You cannot deceive me." " No, Fm like a book in big print with illus- trations," grinned Rufus. ' ' But those who live longest will see most. I tell you something's going to happen in the village as will make the women's tongues wag like church bells when the ringers are tipsy, and it won't be forgotten for the next forty years." " What is it ? " asked his wife. * ' Ask me three weeks from to-day," answered Rufus. CHAPTER XX. FOR RICHER, FOR POORER. " What do you think of marriage ? I take 't as those that deny purgatory, It locally contains our heaven or hell, There's no third place in it." WEBSTER. SUMMERTON was in the throes of a double sensation. The placid monotony of its life was disturbed. The Manor House, a fine, old Eliza- bethan building, standing on the top of the hill near the church, had, after being vacant for three years, suddenly found a tenant and an owner. A London magnate had purchased it, and orders had come to have it prepared for his coming with all expedition. Prichard, the builder, Benson's successor, had thoroughly to overhaul it, and put it in habitable condition in a fortnight. A youthful looking man had appeared in the village to superintend the necessary alterations and additions. He, while pleasant and affable, was a veritable hustler, and fairly took Prichard's breath away. He would hear no excuses, nor listen to any apologies for delay. " It must be done," he said, when Prichard expressed the hopelessness of com- pleting a month's work in a fortnight. It was the same with James the painter, and Matthews the plasterer. They were not accustomed to hurry, but Mr. Carter cajoled and threatened, 240 ROSES AND THISTLES. until the whole village was in a state of agitated nerves. 11 Must be ready by Sir John comes," was his answer for all appeals for more time, " and he will be here on the 25th. " We must have everything in ship-shape, or somebody will know about it. You must wake your fellows up. They go about it as if they were wait- ing for the day after to-morrow to overtake them." As to who Sir John was nobody knew, and questions, oblique and direct, failed alike to elicit the information. Mr. Carter knew how to hold his peace, and steadfastly refused to gratify curiosity on the point of details regarding his principal. But he had ever the name of Sir John on his lips. " Sir John would not like this," or, " would have the other," until, in the imagination of the villagers, Sir John became the very embodi- ment of indignant energy. Rufus had been approached by Mr. Carter, and urgently requested to lay out the gardens in the front of the Hall, and, to the surprise of the villagers, he consented ; but Mr. Carter seemed to be able to bend everybody to his wishes, and very soon the old Hall began to put on a very different appearance to the dilapidated and neglected one it had worn for many a day. " Must have a hat-ful of money," said Joe Wentworth, as he stood with Mr. Carter watching Rufus laying out the beds with great care and skill. " Yes, and he spends it like a gentleman," said Mr. Carter. " I guess this God-forsaken FOR RICHER, FOR POORER. 241 place will have to waken up when he comes. Why, there isn't a decent shop in it." " Well," said Rufus, " depends what you want. At Dunton's you can buy anything from candy-peel to clothes-pegs ; and if its paregoric pills you need, you get them at the post office." " Ay, I find you go to the grocer's here for calico, and to the draper's for hardware, and to the barber's for fresh eggs," laughed Carter. " And if you are a sinner and want convert- ing," said Joe, with a sly look at Rufus, " you'll go to the Methody Chapel ; but if you are a saint and want whitewashing you go to church. Queer, isn't it ? " " Very," said Carter. " But the vicar seems a decent sort." " He's one of God's gentlemen," said Rufus. " We are exalted to heaven with privileges in this village." " Let me see," exclaimed Joe, " what did you say Sir John was ? " " I 'don't know that I have said anything about it," said Carter. " Is it a secret ? " asked Joe, checkmated. " No, not particular." "Well?" "Well?" The dialogue was too difficult to continue on these lines, and Joe tried another. " Is he fond of horses, Sir John ? " " Yes." ' ' Keeps a carriage, of course ? " " Yes." ' ' Any hunters ? " "Well, he has not in London. Not many Q 242 ROSES AND THISTLES. four-legged foxes in Fleet Street, though there are plenty of two-legged ones." "Any family?" "No." " What's Lady Thing-a-ma-jig like ? " " Don't know. Never seen her." " Close as an oyster," muttered Joe. He ventured one more question. "Is he an old man, Sir John ? " " Sir," said Carter, " I heard a boy ask another in the village the other morning how old he was ? and he replied ' as old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.' Sharp children hereabouts ! Sir John would be about the same age." Rufus chuckled as Mr. Carter wished them " Good morning." " He was not born on April fool's day, that one," said Joe. " He's as hard to get anything out of as a church money box." At length the 25th arrived, and the village was astir early. The new-comer was to make his appearance by the eleven o'clock train. The Hall had been splendidly furnished. Load after load of furniture had arrived, until the villagers wondered if there was ever going to be an end. On the night of the 24th a bevy of half-a-dozen servants came and took possession. The villagers were in a strait 'twixt two courses. That morning Mary Benson was to be married at half-past eleven. The ceremony was to take place about the same time as the new-comer was expected to arrive. It seemed as though they would have to choose between witnessing the ceremony, or obtaining a sight of the myster- FOR RICHER, FOR POORER. ious Sir John when he arrived at the Hall. As Jack Crookworth had not been seen since the morning he had suddenly disappeared again, three weeks before, many were the opinions ventured as to whether he would come or not. but those in " the know" declared that Mary had received a letter from him saying he would be at the church in time for the wedding, and that she was to be sure and be there, and bring Rufus and Gwen with her as witnesses. The streets were all alive when Mary, accom- panied by Gwen, made her way to the church. Only by a bit of stratagem had Rufus got his wife to consent to allow Gwen to act the part of bridesmaid, while he had remained silent about the part he was to play in the forthcoming ceremony. He had provided the bride and bridesmaid with a bouquet each fit for a Royal wedding. Mary was dressed in a neat costume befitting her station, while Gwen was arrayed in cream, and looked so radiant and happy that a stranger would have taken her for the bride. Rufus had engaged the ringers, and the bells were filling the air with music as the little party of three made their way to the church, where the vicar sat in the vestry awaiting them. The hour approached and still there was no appear- ance of Jack, and the little handful who had entered the church began to wink and nod at one another in token that their prophecies would be fulfilled, and that there would be no wedding after all. Gwen tried to look brave, but the face of the bride became paler as the time drew near. Only Rufus wore a confidential 244 ROSES AND THISTLES. smile, and kept whispering words of cheer to the maiden. " Do you think he will come, Mr. Went- worth ? " Mary asked, as the half-hour struck on the church clock and no Jack had appeared. " Sure as throstles lay blue eggs," said Rufus. Just then there was a shout outside. Up the hill a carriage with outriders dashed at breakneck speed. ' ' Sir John's carriage ! " was the cry ; and the people in a body left the church to hurry to the hall, and obtain a first glimpse at the new local magnate, so that there was nobody left in the sanctuary but the wedding group. But when the postillion reached the entrance to the Hall, instead of turning inside he shouted to the crowd to clear the way, and kept straight on to the church gates. Arriving there, a gentle- man jumped out in great haste, followed by another whom the crowd recognised as Carter Sir John's agent. Into the church they went, the crowd hurrying to follow, and straight down the aisle. The stranger nodded to Rufus, bowed to Gwen, and then took the hand of Mary Benson and led her to the altar. It was Jack come back, but not Jack Crookworth, the tramp, but Sir John Crookworth, late Sheriff of London. Mary looked dazed, but bravely went through her part. After the ceremony was over the bridegroom, having tenderly kissed the bride, whispered something to the clergyman, who smiled and nodded acquiescence. Sir John turned and addressed the congregation. " Friends, I have come to-day to fulfil a promise that I made thirty years ago, to claim FOR RICHER, FOR POORER. 245 the hand of one of the best women on God's earth." Here he drew his bride to his side, and, putting his arm round her, continued: "For many years, through information wilfully and falsely given, I believed that she was wedded to another, and only a little while ago did I learn that I had been deceived. I came to your village three weeks ago in the guise of a poor beggar, for I was anxious to see how my old friends would treat me. How some of you received me you know, and I shall not forget. But more of that another time. This good man " (pointing to Rufus) " took me in and fed me, and would have clothed me, and bedded me also, if I would have let him, and to him alone I imparted my secret that my circumstances were other than they seemed. I then went on to see Miss Benson. She took me for what I appeared to be a poor, penniless, beggar man and she offered me a share in all she had. She loves me still. I am a wealthy man, but I believe if she had received me coldly I should never have had much faith in human kind again. Now I am going to take her to the Hall, near at hand, where, please God, we shall end our days. That is all I want to say now, but to-morrow I will invite you all to come to dinner at the Hall, and there will be games for the children, and I trust you will all have a happy time. Then I may tell you how my wife and I intend to promote the best interests of the village, in which we shall be guided by the two wisest councillors we could choose, the vicar and Rufus Went- worth." The crowd rushed into the sunshine, surprise 246 ROSES AND THISTLES. on every countenance, and it took a long time to understand what was taking place. When the wedding party came out they gave a great cheer, the bells clanging as the horses pranced in their impatience to be off. And so Mary Benson came to her new home. " It was like Jack Crookworth to play a practical joke on his friends," everybody said, but it was too bad of Rufus not to give them a hint of what was coming. But Rufus sat in his greenhouse and chuckled that evening till he was purple in the face. " It was better than raisin cake," he said, " to see the vicar's face when Sir John came in. And it was like a glimpse of Heaven to see the tears flowing down Bessie Harrison's face when I told her that he's going to give her a pension. Bless me ! I would not have missed it for a gold medal at the best show in the kingdom." CHAPTER XXI. HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. " But I remember now, I'm in this earthly world, where to do harm is often laudable ; to do good sometimes is counted dangerous folly." SHAKESPEARE. ALONG the cobble-paved street Rufus Went- worth was pushing a wheelbarrow full of plants which he was taking to re-pot. He was whistling a hymn tune, filling the air with music, and greeting everybody with a good-natured nod as he went on. At the street corner stood Bill Stroud, the ne'er-do-well of the village, with his hands deep in his pockets and sucking an old clay pipe. He had in vain tried to light it, for the tobacco had been twice smoked and nothing but a little grey ash was left. But he was without a penny, and was just wondering whether his credit was sufficiently good at the " Black Lion " for just one more glass. The result of his cogitation was not encouraging, for already he owed more than he was likely to pay during the next three months, and Alport, the publican, had turned him away the night before. And so he leaned disconsolately against the corner of a house and looked through pessimistic eyes on life in general and upon his own i particular. 248 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Hard job that, Bill," said Rufus cheerfully. " How much a week do you get for it ? " "Eh?" " Why, holding Dicken's house up wi' your shoulder. How much does he give you for it ? It must be desperate hard work." " Nowt," said Bill. " I hanno got anything to do. I canno get owt." " Bill," said Rufus, " you reminds me of a fellow that called one day and asked for a job. He stood six feet in his stockings, but every inch of him was scrapings, and poor at that. I told him I wanted a man to dig some taties, but he said his hands were too soft ; and when I wanted him to weed the flower beds he said it was a child's job and not for a grown man. He was too big for light work, and had a crick in his back that prevented him doing heavy work, and so he went about sponging on others. Bill, take my advice and tackle the hardest job you can find, and whistle all the time you are doing it, and sweat the devil out of your bones. If thou really wants work, come along and I will give thee something to do, for I hate to see a young fellow like you standing about temptin' Satan to find some mischief for you." Bill was not anxious for a job, but there was a vacuum under his waistcoat which he could see no way of filling save by accepting the offer of Rufus. " Here, let me wheel that, mister," he said, after walking a few paces alongside of the barrow ; " I'm younger than you are." " Ay," said Rufus, " I'm a good thirty years nearer heaven, in the ordinary course of things, HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. 249 than you, measuring by years ; but measuring by geography, Bill, I'm afraid there is no danger of us tying at the gate, for you don't seem to have started on the journey yet. But some day you may, and then, maybe, you will pull up and overrun me at last, for I'm but a slow pilgrim myself, and haven't made the progress I should. But you shall have a turn in the handles directly, while I get my wind and ease my back. Guess this barrow would run easier if it had a drop of oil on it. It's been standing and getting rusty for want of use. There is nothing like being kept at it for making work easy, whether for a man or a wheelbarrow. Here, take hold, lad." Bill went to the handles ; but a sudden thought came to Rufus, and he said, " Wait a moment. What did you have for your break- fast mutton chops ? " Bill hung his head for a moment, and then said, almost defiantly, " Nowt." ' ' And the same menu for supper, eh ? " "Ay." 1 ' And maybe for dinner ? " " No ; piece of raw turnip." " Bill," said Rufus, " if I were you I'd strike. You've a poor maister if that's how he feeds you. And I see you don't go to a fashionable tailor for your livery. Not had a new suit lately, Bill. Seems there needs to be a gatherin' in of the back rents. And you certainly don't waste much on shoe leather. It may be con- venient for folks with sweaty feet to have three holes for the air to get in, and four for it to get out, but it must be awkward when'it snows. 250 ROSES AND THISTLES. Ay, Bill, I'd give him the sack, that I would^ on the shortest possible notice. But you drop those handles this minute and make tracks for our kitchen, and tell Gwen that Pve sent you to put yourself outside as much beef and bread as you can conveniently do during the next half-hour. Let your teeth work till they sweat, and then, when you have grown tired of working your jaws, we will give your hands a turn. I never could lift on an empty stomach myself, for I feel as if the top half and the bottom half don't belong to one another." Bill needed no second command, but hurried off, and soon Rufus saw him knocking at the door. " Guess he'll make a hole in the cold beef," he chuckled, " and won't need to have any pickles to help it down. I'm a decent hand with a knife and fork myself, but I'd not take Bill on for a wager. 'Pears to me that Bill's a walking example that ungodliness is not profit- able." Rufus commenced again to push the wheel- barrow, when out of a yard came running a lad r and after him a woman with a big stick which she was flourishing, and shouting, " You im- pudent young rascal, I'll break every bone in your body if I catch you you wicked, thieving scamp ! " " Hallo, Jim," exclaimed Rufus, " what's wrong ? " " Wrong," replied the woman, " I'll wrong him if I get hold of him ; I'll flay him alive ! " " Nay, nay, missus," said Rufus, with just the shadow of a smile playing round the corners HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. 251 of his mouth, ' ' flaying alive binna in the fashion in this country just now. I've seen an eel skinned alive when I was younger, and I thowt it was a cruel business, and the eel objected all he knew ; but I never heard yet of a lad being skinned alive, and seems to me, unless he's murdered the baby or something desperate, flaying alive is rather drastic measures. What has he done ? " " Done," she shouted. " I'll tell him what he's done when I lay hands on him, see if I don't. I'll break his back." " Breaking backs," said Rufus, " is action- able at law, to say nothin' about it not being easy to those not used to the business. Suppose you just broke a thumb, or a big toe, to start with. That might serve your purpose. But you have not told me yet what the offence is." " Why," she answered, " I caught him steal- ing the sugar, and all the time he was pretending to read the Bible. And when I charged him with it he called me a liar to my face." "Oh, Jim! Jim!" cried Rufus, "what a terrible thing ! I think I must let you be flayed alive, or have your back broken, or your fingers cracked, or summat. Do you know the Fifth Commandment, eh ? " > ^ " She's elwis sayin' I take things, she is, blubbered Jim. "And I wasn't eatin' the ust a crust of bread. And sugar. It was just a crust ^ won't be cowed over, and domineered o'er, and hectored, and lectored o'er and o'er, and have my ears boxed with the frying pan, or the hot saucepan dropped on my head. I'll go for a 252 ROSES AND THISTLES. sodger, that I will. I'll 'list and won't never come back, and " " Stop a minute, Jim. Let's go one step at a time. Did you call your mother a liar ? " " I'll 'list " "Did you ?" " Mister Wentworth, if you were in my place " I want you to answer my question." " Yes, and " " Well, then, Jim, the first thing before you 'list, or have your back broken, or your fingers cracked, is for you to beg her pardon." " I wunno." " Oh, but you will, you know." "I wunno." "Sure?" "Ay." Rufus seized the stick the mother held in one hand and Jim by the other, and, cleverly laying the boy across the wheelbarrow, he laid on with might and main. One, two, three, four strokes. " Now will you beg your mother's pardon ? " "No, I " Five, six, seven. Just then the stick was seized from behind, and the mother sobbed, " Oh, my boy, you'll hurt him." "Ay, said Rufus, "but it's better than being flayed alive. Loose the stick, missus." Eight, nine, ten. ' ' Now will you beg pardon, Jim ? " Jim was silent. "He's coming to," said Rufus. "He has reached the stage of silent repentance, and that's a healthy sign." HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. 253 ' Oh, please don't hurt him again," cried the mother. ' He binna so very bad," and again she made a grab at the stick. * Stand aside, ma'am," said Rufus. " I never begin a job of this sort but I go through with it. I'm not killing him ; I know where the soft places are." Eleven, twelve. " I will, Mister Wentworth. I'll beg pardon I will. Oh dear, oh ! " * Right, Jim, then we will leave off. Now say, ' Mother, I beg your pardon for being rude to you.' ' ' Mother, I beg your pardon for being rude to you," repeated Jim. ' And I promise not to do so again," went on Rufus. " And I promise not to do so again." 1 'That's all right," said Rufus cheerfully. " Now you can go. And mind, if you don't keep your promise, worse will come of it." Jim made off as fast as he could, and Rufus turned to the mother and said, '* He's the making of a man in him has Jim, if he's not spoiled." "He is becoming unmanageable," replied the mother. "He's getting too big to thrash, and he sets me at defiance." " Ay," said Rufus, " thrashin' may be good as a kind o' treat, but saucepans and fryin' pans binna the things to do it with. There are times when a young ashplant will take a lot of im- pudence out of a lad, but he never ought to need it. A young horse that's rightly broken don't need much whip, but if he binna taken 254 ROSES AND THISTLES. well in hand to begin wi', whip he must have. There's a nice lot o' young pigs you have, Missus Jumper." 1 1 Ay ; but they are eatin' their heads off. I must get rid of them as soon as I can." ' l It seems a pity ; there are so many things you can learn from pigs. Pigs don't make bad preachers." The woman opened her mouth wide, but said nothing. ' ' Pigs," continued Rufus, ' ' ain't choice eaters, but they are capital grunters, and they never look up until they are on their backs. And the little pigs always try to grunt like their mother. Good morning, Mrs. Jumper." Having conveyed this moral lesson, Rufus went merrily on for a short distance, then he sat down on the barrow and commenced to talk to himself. " There you are, Rufus, at your old game again, putting your spoon into other folks' broth. How often have I told you to mind your own business, sir ? Ay, but there is no habit harder to cure than meddlesomeness. It's a bad thing when one gets a notion that it is one's duty to be a general corrector of public morals. And that's the position you are a candidate for, and you binna fitted either by birth or education for it. Nowt but an angel or a fool is, and you binna the former, and, well, I hope you binna the latter." After this apostrophe to himself he rubbed his hands, and was just yoking the barrow again when he saw a carriage and pair coming along the road at a furious rate. A cloud of dust rose HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. 255 after it, and as Rufus watched it he was surprised to see it whirling from side to side. It was soon evident that the horses had got out of hand, and every moment they were in danger of throwing the carriage over. Rufus stood for a moment thinking how best to act, and then, thrusting the wheelbarrow half across the road, he stood in the middle of the other half with arms outstretched. The horse came thundering on. Rufus had a bad moment as they bore down on him with- out any slackening of speed, but he courageously held his ground, and almost within a foot of him they suddenly swerved. He made a dash for the reins, gripped them, and managed to pull the horses up just as one wheel of the carriage went up the ditch bank. Seated inside was Lady Wincanton, pale as death, but perfectly self-possessed, and by her side, and almost fainting, sat a young and beautiful girl. " It's all reet now, ma'am," said Rufus, as he brought the panting horses to a standstill. * ' You'd better get out maybe, and missie too, while I keep hold of the horses. They've had their run, but there's enough steam in them yet to do mischief." Lady Wincanton alighted, and assisted her companion who seemed almost paralysed with fright, to do the same. ' ' Thank God I was here," said Rufus simply. " It might have ended in disaster. But the angel of the Lord has stood between you and death. If you had gone round the next bend in the road it would have been nothing less than a miracle if you had not been dashed again 256 ROSES AND THISTLES. Peter Crickmore's gable at the bottom of the hill, for it stands out across the road in a very dangerous manner. There have been two or three nasty accidents already, and I believe the local Council have written your ladyship to have it pulled down and a new house built, but you've done nowt wi' it. Perhaps it will get done now. It would ha' been terrible to think of the young Missie here being killed for life is sweet to the young to say nothin' of yourself. But where is the coachman ? " " I sent him into a cottage with a message, and the horses suddenly took alarm at the firing of a gun near at hand and bolted, and I could not hold them. How can I sufficiently thank you, Mr. Wentworth ? " " By sayin' nowt about it," replied Rufus. " But if you want to make a thanksgivin' for your deliverance, pull down Crickmore's old cottage and build a new one, for I never pass but what I get a fit of the dithers, lest some poor, unprepared soul gets dashed to pieces on a dark night while driving round the corner. But what are you and the young lady goin' to do ? If you like to get into the carriage I'll drive you to the Hall safe as if you were in Gabriel's arm- chair. You needn't be feared. I'm not as well up in horses as my brother Joe, who can drive anything wi' four legs and a head ; but I know how to handle the reins, and though I'm on the Jordan side of sixty I've a hand as steady as it was at fifty. That comes of early risin', temperance, and livin' for the most part in the open air. If ever a man proved the truth of HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. 2S7 the text ' Godliness is profitable,' I'm the man. Will you trust me, ma'am ? " . " Thank you. You are very kind. I think, Evelyn dear, we must trespass still further on Mr. Wentworth's kindness, unless you are afraid to ride further. It is a long distance to the Hall, and I am expecting Harold home for dinner, and I should like to be there to meet him. To think that the dear boy has been away for nine months in South Africa ! " " Oh, I'm not afraid," replied Miss Fortesque, " for I am quite sure Mr. Wentworth would not undertake to drive us unless he was confident he could do so with safety." 11 Reet," said Rufus. " I've a girl at home as bonnie as yourself, Missie, and I wouldn't hesitate a second to ask her to ride when I was on the box wi' a pair of tits like these. They are not vicious, only a bit mettlesome, and a hoss wi'oot mettle is like a preacher wi'oot power of no use to anybody." Rufus accordingly mounted the box, and felt all the delight of an old love astir in his heart as he handled the reins, for in his youth he had been as fond of horses as his brother. ' ' These are fine cattle," he said, when he had safely brought the carriage to the door of the Hall. "They are as easy to guide as a child. If we were all as obedient to the guiding hand, life would be simpler for most of us. But we champ the bit and try to go our own way until it hurts us. Nay, nay," he continued, as Lady Wincanton took out her purse, dunno want anything. I've enuff and to spare, thank you. Give it to some poor creature that 258 ROSES AND THISTLES. needs it. You'll find plenty not far away. And now I wish you all good morning. May you come out of all danger as you have come out of this. Good morning, missie, and if you have half an hour to spare look in at the Rosary. You will be as welcome as ripe cherries." That evening a magnificent bouquet of roses was handed in at the Hall for the young lady with the beautiful face, to which was appended the words, " There is but a step between me and death." In the meantime Harold had come home, bronzed by the African sun, somewhat sobered by rough experiences in the Transvaal, and with a determination to settle down. The apples of sin had proved but Dead Sea fruit, and had left nothing but ashes in the mouth. But through those long months the thought of Gwen had been constantly with him, and he had learned what a grip she had taken of his affections. CHAPTER XXII. THE PLOTTING OF THE WICKED. " So the false spider when her nets are spread, Deep ambushed in her silent den does lie." ' DRYDEN. ONE evening, Gwen was greatly surprised at receiving a visit from Lady Wincanton. ' I want you to do me a favour, my dear," she said. " I had made arrangements to spend Christmas with Sir Charles Whalley and his good lady at Fordham Beeches. Quite a large number of guests had been asked. But a dreadful thing has happened. Sir Charles re- tired last night in his usual health, but when his wife awoke this morning he was lying dead by her side. So I am likely to spend a lonely Christmas unless, my dear, you will take pity on an old woman and come and spend a few days with me. You can have the use of the carriage whenever you wish, and drive home every day if you like. Harold is in London, and will not return for a fortnight." If Gwen had con- sulted her own feelings she would have declined, for she never felt quite happy in the company of Lady Wincanton, but it was not in her nature to refuse to do a kindness. " I will consult my mother," she said, and forthwith went into the garden to where Mrs. 2 <5o ROSES AND THISTLES. Wentworth was seated in the greenhouse, watch- ing her husband, and knitting at the same time. She spent many hours there, never saying a word, except when Rufus addressed her, perfectly happy in a sense of his near presence. " Well, dear, please yourself," she said, when Gwen laid the request before her. " I have no desire to control your actions, but your father will be disappointed if you do not eat your Christmas dinner at home." " What's that ? " said Rufus coming up at that moment. Gwen explained, and Rufus had a frown on his brow, as he screwed up his mouth like one who had swallowed a sour plum. " Uncle Joe is coming," he said. ''That settles it," said Gwen. " I'm not going. Mamma, I wish you'd come and explain." " Could you not go on Boxing Day, dear ? " said Mrs. Wentworth. " It seems a little unkind to refuse altogether." " If you go before Christmas Day," said Rufus, " I'll eat plum pudding and mince pies until I'm ill, and then you'll have to come back and nurse me. And Joe'll mope like a canary in the moult." " You greedy old man," said Gwen. " Shall I act on mamma's suggestion and go on the following day ? " " I'm like Sally Growcott when Bill Sadler asked her to be his wife, she said, ' Well, Bill, I'd rather you hadna asked me, but seein' yo have, I reckon I mun say, Aye,' and thus it was settled." That Christmas Day was always a landmark THE PLOTTING OF THE WICKED. 26l V^ r f( l 0f ? W6n ' t0 Which she lo ked back with delight. It was a day of unalloyed happt ness. Joe told his best stories, and Rufus laughed until he could laugh no more. I n the evening Mr Evans came, and brought his fiddle and they had some music and games. It was an understood thing that all the boys of the village came between seven and eight o'clock every _ Christmas and sang in Rufus' garden, receiving as a reward a new penny a-piece from Rufus, and a mince pie from Gwen. Joe could not refrain from practical joking, and slyly put some pennies in the oven, ready for the singers when they came, and saying that he would serve them out, popped a hot penny into each outstretched hand. "Hold tight," he said, as they dropped their pennies, and to those who held them the longest he gave another one ; but those who let them fall were treated to the derisive epithet " Butter fingers." In all the country there was not a happier party than that which gathered in the parlour of Rufus Wentworth. When Joe, however, learned that Gwen was going to stay a fortnight at Stourbridge Hall he expressed his strongest dissent. " A good cat doesna make friends with the rats," he said to his brother. " Lady Jezabel has something up her sleeve, depend on it." If they had known what that something was how different the future might have been. Next morning Lady Wincanton's carriage came to fetch Gwen, and the last thing she saw on looking out of the window was Mrs. Went- worth trying to get a pillowslip from Rufus in 262 ROSES AND THISTLES. which he had buried his face and was pretending to weep. Little did he or she dream that ere long he would weep in earnest, and that the greatest sorrow of his life was even now casting its shadows over his path. Her hostess received her with much real, or affected, kindness, and Gwen began to think that on closer acquaintance she would be com- pelled to revise her estimate of the character of Lady Wincanton. Every wish was consulted and every desire forestalled. Two uneventful but happy days passed, and Gwen began to feel quite at home. After wandering in the park one afternoon she was going to her room, when her hostess called her into her boudoir. " Come and see my jewels," she said. A casket lay open before her, and in her hands was a magnificent pearl necklace. "Is it not beautiful ? " she asked, holding it up for Gwen to admire. " It was given to Lord Wincanton's grandfather by the Mara j ah of Gwenpore for saving him from the teeth of a man-eating tiger." " It is simply lovely," said Gwen. " I had no idea that anything so exquisite was in exist- ence. It must be worth a very great sum of money." " I suppose it is," replied the hostess, " but I do not know its value. See, here is a diamond cross. That came from Egypt. It is said to have belonged to the late Caliph. Here is a beautiful opal, and these bracelets, while not of exceptional value, are of historic interest. They were given to my husband's mother by the Duchess of Kent." THE PLOTTING OF THE WICKED. 263 ' Are you not afraid of having all these in the house ? I should not sleep for fear of robbers," said Gwen simply. ' I keep them in a thief proof safe inside this closet, and the key in this secret drawer in my boudoir. Clever, is it not ? I do not think anyone could find it unless they were shown, do you ? " ' ' It seems impossible," Gwen replied. ' ' But this necklace is really the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." " Let me put it on," said Lady Wincanton, as she fastened the pearls round Gwen's neck. " You look queenly. I do not know which is the loveliest, the necklace or the face above it." Gwen blushed deeply at this compliment, coming from the quarter it did. " It needed just that touch of added colour," said Lady Wincanton, " to make the picture perfect. Look at yourself in the glass, child. Some day you may wear it as your own. Who knows ? " Gwen turned to the glass to hide her confusion, but Lady Wincanton went on as though she were determined to pursue the subject. " I do not wonder Harold has lost his head, and his heart to you. A wiser man might be excused from doing so. I suppose he has told you so, child ? " ' ' Yes, Lady Wincanton." "And you?" she asked abruptly, almost fiercely. " I told him I did not love him," Gwen re- plied in her simple and frank manner. " "Humph," muttered Lady Wincanton to 264 ROSES AND THISTLES. herself, ' ' but I guess you said ' No ' in a manner which meant ask me again and I'll say ' Yes.' " Then, after a pause, " But love, you know, might come on better acquaintance. I do not .say Harold is perfect by any means ; but he is a fine, presentable, fellow, and would, I think, make a good husband." To this Gwen did not reply, save by taking the necklace off and handing it to its owner. " There," said Lady Wincanton, " we will lock these baubles up, and then you shall sing to me, my dear, if you are not too tired." " I shall be delighted, Lady Wincanton." So her hostess laid the treasures back in their hiding place one by one, taking care to hold them up to the light as she did so, making them glitter and shine, and after they were once more safely under lock and key, taking Gwen's arm, she led the way to the drawing room, when the young girl did her best to entertain her hostess, with her bright singing, and still brighter conversation. So the days passed swiftly on, and Gwen enjoyed her visit much better than at first she had anticipated. Harold returned home on the night before she left, but she did not see him, but when she was about to depart Lady Win- canton not only thanked her warmly, but pre- sented her with a beautiful little gold watch, as a souvenir of her visit. Rufus teased her a good deal about her aristocratic acquaintances, pre- tending that he could not think of sitting down at the same table with her ; but the joy of having her back shone in his eyes as he sat and listened to her descriptions of what she had seen at the Hall. THE PLOTTING OF THE WICKED. 265 The next morning Gwen was surprised to receive an urgent message to return to the Hall at once. Mounting her pony, she rode in anxious haste, fearful that Lady Wincanton had been taken seriously ill. When she arrived she was at once shown to the boudoir where she found the lady closeted with two police officers. She received her with some show of effusiveness, kissing her lightly on the cheek. " I am really very sorry, Miss Wentworth," she said, " to have to put you to the incon- venience of coming here this morning, but the fact is, my dear, a dreadful thing has happened. You remember the necklace and the diamonds I showed you the other day ? Well, they have been stolen. Some one must have found where I kept the key, for the safe has been opened, and the necklace and two diamonds extracted ; the safe locked again, and the key put back to its proper place. The diamond cross, opals, and a very costly agate brooch have all been left. So you see it has been no common thief, or he would have taken all before him." Gwen was conscious all the time this speech was being made that the eyes of the two officers were upon her, but it never entered her thoughts that she was in any way suspected. " I am extremely sorry," she said. 'Do you think it was one of the servants ? " "That I can hardly believe. Adele, my maid, is the only one allowed in the room, and, as I have been telling these gentlemen, she has been with me for years. She is above suspicion, and the others are all of good character. whole affair is, at present, wrapt in mystery. 266 ROSES AND THISTLES. But I have sent for you, my dear, that you might supplement to the officers my description of the missing articles, and tell them exactly how you saw them put away in the safe." ' ' With pleasure," replied Gwen, ' ' I need hardly say that anything I can do will be most readily done to help the recovery of that splendid necklace." And forthwith she gave an animated description of what took place when Lady Win- canton had shown her the missing article, and of the jewels themselves. " Thank you, Miss Wentworth, we need detain you no longer," said Lady Wincanton. " I have no doubt we shall in some way get on the track of the culprit." Gwen returned home with an undefinable sense of uneasiness resting on her mind. The robbery was discussed over the dinner table, and was soon the talk of the village. Rufus had to repeat Gwen's story over and over again for the benefit of his cronies, and very amusing were some of the solutions offered as to how the jewels had been extracted. Two days passed, and nothing was heard, and no further light thrown on the mystery, save that Adele had been in the village and said that her mistress had written to Scotland Yard for a skilled detective to come down at once. Meanwhile Joe Wentworth had called to claim a promise made long before that Gwen should go and spend a week at the Red Acres. Rufus and he argued about it for an hour, he being loath to part with her again so soon, but Joe ultimately got his own way, and carried her off in high glee ; telling his brother that THE PLOTTING OF THE WICKED. 267 unless he mended his manners she would not return. The next day a tall, hard-featured man with a heavy and somewhat forbidding countenance, and an abrupt manner appeared at Stourbridge Hall, and announced himself as Inspector Hufton of Scotland Yard. Having heard Lady Win- canton's story he interviewed the servants separately, and examined them in what seemed to be a very careless and perfunctory manner, but which was all part of a well-studied method. Having completed his examination, he turned to Lady Wincanton, and said, " You tell me you had a young lady visitor at the time to whom you showed these jewels and the key. Is she still in the house ? " " No," she lives in the next village, "and returned home before I missed the necklace." " Humph," muttered the inspector, making a note in his book. " But," went on Lady Wincanton, "it is very improbable that is to say, I think it is utterly unlikely that she can have anything to do with the robbery. Her father is 'a highly respectable man, though somewhat of an oddity, and she is a very trust- worthy and talented young lady. She seemed greatly disturbed when she was told about the theft." " No doubt," said the detective, who had already made up his mind. " I should not like it to be thought that had in any way cast a doubt upon the honesty of Miss Wentworth. You will no doubt take the course you deem wisest, but if you think it necessary to see her, or search her box, you wilJ 268 ROSES AND THISTLES. let it be clearly understood that you do it on your own initiative, and not because of anything I have said. I do not wish her or her friends to be put to needless trouble." " Leave it in my hands," replied Hufton. " I only regret you did not send for me sooner. Notwithstanding all your ladyship has said I shall be surprised if we do not find that Miss Wentworth is the key to the problem." " I do not think so," was the reply ; but as she passed out of the room there was a gleam of triumph in her eye. CHAPTER XXIII. THE DEEP WATERS. " So if we haste to the music, Some hope with a starry wing, In the days of our darkest sorrow, Will sit in the heart and sing." P. GARY. RUFUS and his wife were just sitting down to tea when there was a loud knock at the door, and in response to a hearty " Come in," Detective Hufton entered, and casting a keen glance round the place inquired if Miss Wentworth was in. " No," said Rufus, " she's gone to see her Uncle Joe, and won't be back till the end of the week, and our house is like a cage without the canary now she's away. I don't grudge Joe the loan of her, but it is a sacrifice. But take a seat, it is as cheap sitting as standing, and more neighbourly." " Thank you," said the detective, taking the preferred seat. ' ' May I inquire where this Uncle Joe lives ? " " Ay," said Rufus, "but I guess you don't live within forty miles of Summerton if you don't know that already. Joe Wentworth of the Red Acres is 'most as well known in these parts as the King is in London. You'll find his place about two miles out on the Stourbridge Road. You'll know it because there bmna another farmhouse within a mile of it, and by the tidiness of the place. Farmyards are 270 ROSES AND THISTLES. generally a litter of all sorts, but there binna many straws out of place in Joe's. Solomon says he passed by the vineyard of the slothful, and he knew it belonged to a lazy man and a fool at first sect. The fool couldn't have a garden wi'oot it tellin' everybody he was a fool. Likewise the industrious farmer, let me see his farmyard, and I'll tell you what sort of man he is." " What may you want with Miss Went- worth ? " asked Mrs. Wentworth, speaking for the first time. Some indefinable fear had fallen upon her heart, mingled with a dislike of the stranger. " I'll guess at twice," said Rufus with a knowing smile. " He wants her either to sing at some big concert, or else he's selling pianos. How's that, stranger, for a guess ? " " I regret to say that my business is not so pleasant. The fact is I've called to ask Miss Wentworth a few questions respecting the robbery at Stourbridge Hall. I understand she was staying with Lady Wincanton at the time. Here is my card." " Right," said Rufus cheerfully. " I'm sorry she's not in. It was a queer thing how those diamonds disappeared. Gwen said they were stunners and worth a hatful of money. It's real vexing to lose anything, even a penknife ; but it must be as bad as breaking a front tooth in biting a crust, to lose such valuable things as these. I don't wonder her ladyship is in a swither about it. When all the treasure is on the earth, and the thieves break through and steal it is heartbreaking certain. But I can THE DEEP WATERS. 2?I save you a journey to the Red Acres, for I know that Gwen knows. We talked it over, not once but twenty times ; didn't we, mother ? " ' I must see her, nevertheless," replied the detective. ' In the meantime I am placed under the unpleasant necessity of requesting that you give me permission to search Miss Wentworth's room and boxes. I have a search warrant here. You will find it perfectly in order." Rufus' eyes opened wide, and his jaw dropped, and his wife noticed his fingers were twitching, as he rose from his seat and sat down again in silence. " You know duty is duty," continued the detective, " however unpleasant." ' Ay," said Rufus, drawing his hand across his lips, which were both hot and dry. There was a tense silence for a moment, and then Hufton went on, " In a case like this, involving thousands of pounds, it is plain we are bound to follow up every possible clue." " Ay," replied Rufus again, mechanically. " So, if you please, we will proceed with our work." He rose, but Rufus sat looking at him like a stricken animal, and he was glad to turn away from the glare of his fiery eyes. " Will you show me Miss Wentworth's room ? " he said, addressing Mrs. Wentworth. " I really must be getting on." " Stop," thundered Rufus, springing to his feet. " Let me understand. Do you mean to insinuate that my girl has taken those diamonds ? " 272 ROSES AND THISTLES. " I make no charge as yet," said the detective. " I only say that suspicion lies in her direction." "Who says so?" asked Rufus. "I've seen the day when I should have thrown the man through the window who dared so much as hint at such a thing." " Pooh ! Mr. Wentworth, you are talking nonsense," replied the detective ; nevertheless, he drew further back as he saw the purposeful, white face of the old man, and observed the flash in his eyes. " Perhaps I am," said Rufus. " I've been taken unawares. The old Adam is not yet dead. But let me warn you, stranger, if you go to Red Acres not to mention this matter in the hearing of my brother Joe, or I will not be answerable for consequences. Come this way. My girl is as innocent as the babe just born, but how are you to know it, unless you know her ? I beg your pardon, I've been a bit hasty." They went upstairs, Mrs. Wentworth leading the way, and Rufus coming last. The detective was shown into the little room. The white coverlet on the bed ; the dainty curtains ; everything bespoke the most delicate taste, and good order. " Which box did Miss Wentworth have with her at the Hall ? " " This," replied Mrs. Wentworth. "Is it locked?" "No." ' * Humph ! " said Hufton, ' * then 4,000 worth of jewellery is hardly likely to be in there. Will you kindly lift the things out ? " Mrs. Wentworth proceeded to do so, the keen THE DEEP WATERS. 2?3 eyes of the detective watching her closely. At length the box was empty, and with a sigh of relief she turned towards him. * Satisfactory, so far," he said, in a tone almost of disappointment. " But here is a small box at the bottom. What does it con- tain ? " ;< Handkerchiefs," she said, pulling off the lid, and lifting the handkerchiefs. Then she uttered a piteous cry, and attempted to replace the lid, but fell in a dead faint on the floor. "Ah!" exclaimed Hufton, lifting the box, ;c so we have made a discovery after all." There at the bottom of the box lay the pearl necklace, and some of the missing diamonds. Rufus rushed to his wife's help, and tenderly lifted her on the bed, chafing her hands in the meanwhile. In that moment it was well his attention was so fully occupied, or he himself might have been stricken down with this sudden blow. The detective would have assisted her, but he pushed him away, and so he hastened downstairs to call for help. In a short time Hufton was driving to the Red Acres with a warrant for the apprehension of Gwen. When he arrived he was met at the gate by Joe, of whom he inquired if Miss Went- worth was at home. " Yes. She's in the parlour singing like four-and-twenty blackbirds on a holiday," re- plied the farmer. " Did you want to see her ? Business important breach of promise, or some- thin' of that sort, eh ? " he added, looking dubiously at his visitor. " Something more serious, I am sorry to say. 274 ROSES AND THISTLES. I am here to arrest her for stealing Lady Win- canton's jewellery." " What ? " shouted Joe." Repeat that again." The detective did so. Joe stopped right in his path. " You've said that twice, so I guess you know your story pretty well ; but if you will repeat it a third time I shall have the greatest pleasure in the world in knocking you down. I guessed there was some dirty job on when I saw the cut of your ugly jaw. Now, there's the gate, and if you're not outside it in two seconds I will kick you out." " But, Mr. Wentworth " began Hufton. " But no but, for me. Out you go, you dirty-tongued villain." And seizing him by the collar he rushed him to the gate, hurled him half across the road, and stood glaring at him over the railings. " You will repent this," exclaimed the de- tective. " I shall have you summoned for resisting the law." " Right," exclaimed Joe, who was beginning to recover his equanimity. His outburst of temper seldom lasted more than a few moments and he described himself as " a little pot soon hot," but he as quickly cooled. * ' Summon away ; but keep your tongue from defaming a girl who has not her equal in this county or the next to it, or it will be the hoss pond next." Just then Gwen, hearing angry voices, appeared at the door, and came walking down to the gate. THE DEEP WATERS. 2?5 " What is it, Uncle Joe ? " she asked. " Is something amiss ? " "Oh, nothing," replied Joe evasively. Only here's a full-grown man that somebody has been trying to make a fool of. 'Taint first of April, but there's fools enough for every day of the year, and this one seems to fill up the whole three hundred and sixty-five of the calendar all to himself. But you'd better go in, lass. It's cowd enuff to freeze a cake in the oven." * Excuse me, miss," said the detective, who saw his opportunity. " Is your name Miss Gwendoline Wentworth ? " "Yes, sir." ' ' Then I grieve to say it is my duty to arrest you for stealing Lady Wincanton's diamonds." Gwen stood for a moment, her hands on her uncle's shoulders, and then, drawing herself up, she said : ' ' You cannot mean it ; you are surely joking ? I know nothing about the diamonds." " I fear, miss, you will find it no joke before you have done with it. I think in fairness I ought to tell you the pearl necklace and some of the diamonds have been found in your box at home, and I also warn you that anything you say now may be used in evidence against you." " Found in my box ! " exclaimed Gwen. " Then they have been put there by somebody to ruin me. I am innocent." " I trust it may prove so," replied Hufton, " but in the meantime, miss, I must trouble you to come with me to Whitehurst Jail." 1 ' To jail ! " exclaimed Gwen, turning white to the lips. ' ' You want to take ME to jail ! " 276 ROSES AND THISTLES. " I fear, young lady, there is no alternative under the circumstances. And I must ask you to be as quick as you can for my horse is starving yonder a bit along the road." Joe, who had listened with tense face and sparkling eyes to the dialogue, realising further opposition was useless, turned on his heel and began to walk into the house. Gwen followed, and, putting her hand on his, said piteously, " Uncle, you you do not believe this, surely ? " " No, lass," he said, " I'd sooner believe that Summerton Church steeple had been on a holiday to Epsom Races and got drunk. Here," he cried, seeing Hufton standing in the doorway, 11 take yourself out into the garden, and wait till you are wanted. This is the house of a gentleman." "It is my duty not to lose sight of Miss Wentworth," said the detective, " and I'm not going to either." " Binna you," said Joe. " Here, Gyp," he cried to a long-legged deerhound that lay at his feet, " watch him, lad." The dog in an instant was on his feet, the long bristles on his neck erect, his teeth bared, as with a low and ominous growl he planted himself ready for a spring. " There, there, lad," said Joe soothingly, " not yet. Now if you come a step further," he added, addressing the officer, " it is at your own peril.', " I shall report this," said Hufton. "It is a serious matter to resist an officer in the dis- charge of his duties." " I reckon it is," said Joe. " But Gwen binna going to run away, she binna that sort, and I am not going to have you following her THE DEEP WATERS. 2?7 all over the house as if she were a common pick- pocket, and proclaiming it to the servants. There is some hokey-pokey work in this business. I'll lay my head against a swede turnip the girl's as innocent as a two-year-old, and that owd Jezebel up at the Hall is at the bottom of this. Now, Gwen, lass, are ye ready ? You couldn't have been quicker if you'd have been goin' to ' a weddin'. Gi'es a kiss, and keep a stiff upper lip. Somebody's got to pay for this bit of a picnic you're goin' to have, and I'll be at the settlin' of the bill." Gwen's tears fell hot on his cheek, and his voice was a bit shaky as he turned to Hufton, and said : "I guess, stranger, I owe you an apology ; I've been a bit rough, but you'll grant the circumstances are rayther exceptional. It binna everyday we hev' a hangin' business in our family. Just be kind to the little lass, and make it as easy for her as ye can. It is not quite dark yet, and if I were you I wouldna' go through Summerton to Whitehurst. The other road's a bit farther round, but it is better driving. And maybe you want to light your pipe on the way. Here's a bit of paper that will mostly catch fire anywhere," and he threw into his hand a five-pound note. " Miss Wentworth shall have every con- sideration the unfortunate circumstances in which she finds herself placed will allow. And I may overlook what has happened to me here if I meet with no further obstruction." " That's as you please," said Joe. "J never set the band a-playin' but I am willing to pay for the music." 278 ROSES AND THISTLES. Gwen looked the thanks she did not dare to speak, and went out, Hufton following. Joe hurried to the door, and shouted, "I'll be following on by-and-by, but I must go to see Rufe first," and then as he turned into the house he muttered, " Poor Rufe, this will break his heart ! " CHAPTER XXIV. THE TRIAL OF INNOCENCY. " How little do they see what is, who frame Their hasty judgment upon that which seems 1 " DRYDEN. The little Court at Whitehurst was crowded. There was an unusual stir and bustle everywhere. Lawyers ran to and fro. Officials, impressed with the sense of their own importance, strutted about and shouted orders to their subordinates. Ladies who had never been inside a Court before came driving up in their carnages. County magnates forsook their usual vocation to be present, and old Squire Henderson, who had not been on the bench for fourteen years partly on account of the gout, and partly on account of the fact that he always quarrelled with his brother magistrates turned up, to the surprise of everyone. " Don't believe the girl's guilty," he said, as he stood in the magistrate's room. " I've known her since she was as high as sixpenn'orth of coppers, and a better lass I've never met." " Don't you think it would be better to hear the evidence before you judge the case ? " said the Chairman of the Bench. " Tut, tut ! " exclaimed the irascible old man, ' ' the evidence is all very well, but a good character is better." ' ' Gentleman, it is time we were in the Court. 2 8o ROSES AND THISTLES. Squire, lead the way. You are the oldest," the Chairman said. " Ay, and the wisest, too," muttered the old man. A hush fell on the crowded Court, as the magistrates took their seats. After disposing briefly of one or two cases of drunkenness, they came to the business of the day. From the cell below Gwen was brought up, supported by a woman warder on one side, and a big policeman on the other. She was very white, but a sad smile lit up her countenance as she saw Joe standing near the entrance. As she entered she became suddenly conscious of the crowd, and tried to cover her face with her hands to hide it from view. From the time she was placed in the dock she never lifted her head. A wave of sympathy swept over the Court. Her youth and beauty evidently impressed the spectators. " She's a fine girl," whispered the young lawyer to a friend. Lady Wincanton was not in the Court, being one of the witnesses, but Harold was there, standing at the back, twisting the corners of his moustache. Joe had engaged a famous Q.C., instructed by a local lawyer of some repute, to defend her, while the prosecuting Counsel was regarded as a man of considerable ability. After the charge was read, Lady Wincanton was the first witness for the prosecution. Hesitat- ingly, and with apparent unwillingness, she told the story of the loss of the necklace, and of what had previously occurred, and the hesitancy with which she gave her evidence made it the more convincing and weighty. The THE TRIAL OF INNOCENCY. 28 1 barrister, seemingly, had to drag the story from her ; and she manifested a degree of nervous- ness, either real or assumed, that surprised those who knew her best. * Did you suspect the prisoner when you missed the necklace ? " asked the lawyer. 'Not at all," she replied. "I could not think of her in connection with the theft, and I refused to believe that she had taken the neck- lace till it was found in her box. And I still hope it may be proved that there was some mistake, and that a satisfactory explanation can be given." ' Did you see anything in the conduct of Miss Wentworth which would lead you to suppose that she was inclined to appropriate things that did not belong to her ; in other words, that she might be a kleptomaniac ? " " No, certainly not. She has always im- pressed me as singularly transparent and up- right." The Counsel for the defence asked a few questions, and then Lady Wincanton left the witness-box, and the detective took her place. He testified to the finding of the jewels as described in the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Went- worth, and the arrest of Gwen in consequence, but said nothing of the conduct of Joe in resisting his purpose, the latter having found out it was an effective way of stopping his mouth by putting money into his pocket. A good deal of badgering followed his state- ment by the lawyer for the defence, but it ended in nothing better than the loss of temper on the part of the witness. This was the whole case 282 ROSES AND THISTLES. for the prosecution, and then the vicar and several others were put in the box in quick succession to testify to the excellent character of the prisoner. The magistrates, after a few minutes' deliberation, decided to send the case to the Quarter Sessions. The Counsel for the prisoner applied for bail, and after a long and painful pause they declared their decision. Considering the gravity of the case they hesitated, but having regard to the excellent character hitherto borne by the defendant, they would accept bail, herself in three hundred pounds, and two sureties of one hundred and fifty each. Quickly the Court emptied, and outside eager crowds discussed the case. " She's innocent, I stake my word on that," said Squire Henderson to his fellow magistrates, " and the amount of bail is preposterous." " Guilty, I should say," replied the Chairman of the Bench. " The case is as clear as day- light. It is not the first time a woman's love of jewellery has led her astray. I'm sorry for the girl and that fine old man. What do you say, Gray ? " " I've not the slightest doubt but that she took the necklace. It's a pity, for she seems a fine girl, and, I'm told, sings like a nightingale." " Two fools ! " exclaimed the irascible old Squire, as he turned away ; "no more fit to be magistrates than Balaam's travelling com- panion." Meantime Rufus and his brother were making the necessary arrangements for the amount of bail and for having Gwen released. When THE TRIAL OF INNOCENCY. 283 these were completed, Joe was going out to fetch his trap, when Harold Wincanton touched him. ' Well, sir, what do you want ? " snapped Joe. " Pardon me, Wentworth," he said dejectedly, " but if there is any difficulty about the bail for Miss Wentworth, a friend of mine will find the money." Joe looked at him for a moment as if he could eat him, and muttered something which did not sound complimentary. " I hope there is no offence," said Harold, "but as 'a friend' you know " " Look here, young man," said Joe ; " doubt- less you mean well, but its like pouring hot water on a burnt place. We are not in the mood just now to accept favours from either you or yours. And tell your mother from me that there is one man who believes that she knows all about this black business, and that he will spare neither time nor money to get at the truth of it. And now stand out of the way or I'll not be answerable for the consequences." " But " The farmer's impatient temper could brook no more delay, so seizing Harold by the collar he flung him' down the steps into the street, where he fell on the pavement. Joe took no further notice of him, but soon had driven his trap to the side entrance, and Gwen and Rufus were speedily riding away. Neither spoke till they got out of the town, and then Rufus lifted his head, and observing they were not going towards Summerton, asked his brother where he was taking him. 284 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Fm driving to the station," said Joe, " Gwen and I are going a journey to London to-night." " To London ! " exclaimed Rufus. " What for ? " ' ' To get away from busy-bodies whose tongues clack fifteen to the dozen. I know a decent woman there who will take care of Gwen till " He was going to say the Assizes, but added, " till I go for her again. She'll be as safe as a sovereign in a miser's pocket." Gwen, who had sat staring straight before her, but seeing nothing, tried to say something, and then broke down and wept bitterly. " Let her cry, Joe," whispered his brother. " It will do her good. A dry sorrow is like a dry spring the worst you can have." " But," said Rufus, almost querulously, " why cannot she come home ? The missus is expecting her." "Well, it's this way," said Joe. "I axed myself what would I do if I were in Gwen's place. And I thought that in all probability I should return to Summerton out of bravado, knowing that every chuckle-headed gabby would look at me like a spotted leopard, and be peepin' at me round the window blinds, and telling lies about me, the women over the tea cups at home and the men over the ale mugs in the public- houses. And I know exactly how I should feel a kind of fire within, and if I heard anybody so much as namin' me, I should want straightway to knock him down. I should brazin' it out, and go about the farm, and to market, with my chin an inch higher in the air than usual, and THE TRIAL OF INNOCENCY. 285 should appear at church more regular than I have ever done in my life, and it would be a bad quarter of an hour for the man who dared so much as hint at pickin' and stealin' in my presence. That is what I should do, Rufe." "Well." " Well," continued Joe, " knowin' that women are made contrary to men, I guessed that Gwen would do just the opposite, and when I mentioned going home to her in the Court she seemed as comfortable as an earwig when a barrow has gone over it. I guessed how it was, and then suggested this little trip to the Metro- polis, which she jumped at as eager as a hunter takes a gate." " The mother will be disappointed," said Rufus doubtfully. " And wunno it appear as if she was shamed and afraid to look her friends in the face ? " " Hang the looks. Nine-tenths of the folks believe she took the geegaws, and cannot think worse of her than they do now. The other tenth wouldna believe she took 'em, if the case was twenty times as black as it is. But Queenie shall decide for herself." * * Art thee all reel, lass ? " he said, turning round to Gwen, who sat behind. ' Here's dad thinks it would be better for you to go home, and face the folks, and get it over." "Oh, no!" she exclaimed, 'I cannot. They believe I am guilty. I know they do. Let me go away, please. I cannot bear it now." 1 ' That settles it." It was curious to see how Joe took everything into his own hands, and 286 ROSES AND THISTLES. Rufus submitted feebly without protest. With Joe to decide was to do, or, to put it into his own words, he never took two bites at a cherry. " Now, Rufe," he said, as they neared the station, " you will take the mare home, and tell John to give her a hot mash. Drive her with a loose rein she's like a woman you have to make her go your way while she thinks she is taking her own. I'll be back to-morrow or the day after, and if anybody wants to know where Queenie is, tell them that the way to the workhouse is to mind other folk's business." The parting with Rufus and Gwen was in- expressibly touching. " Trust in the Lord, my dear," said the old man, " and He shall make thy righteousness to shine as the light, and thy innocence as the noonday. We will pray for you three times a day that you may be brought through this great trial as gold seven times purified." " Ay, and while Rufe is prayin' I'll be watchin'," said the irrepressible Joe. ' ' Depend on it, my dear, all that money and brains can do shall be done to clear your character. I'll sell the last hoof and horseshoe I have to get at the bottom of this. So keep your pecker up, and never say die." And for five weeks Gwen lived at Clapham, in the house of Widow Green an old friend of her uncle's and, as he said, " as kind as they are made, and as sensible as a woman can be who has been married once, and would like to be married again." She tried to forget her trouble in sedulously training her voice, Joe having insisted that she THE TRIAL OF INNOCENCY. 287 should take the opportunity of studying under a noted Professor, who lived in the neighbour- hood. * ' She'll be as reet as a sparrow in a haystack," he reported to Rufus. " I've told that singing chap to work her hard, and he looked the sort of fellow to do it. One of those foreigners with long hair and lantern jaws, who seem to think God Almighty made him to spend all his days howling like cats on a roof at neet, and everybody else to do nothin' but listen." " She'll not feel like singin' much, poor lass," answered Rufus. " I guess you've wasted your money." " Stuff and nonsense," snapped Joe. " An empty mill soon grinds the stones away. If she'd nothin' to do but twist her thumbs, I think she'd mope herself to death. She was quite pert when I left her, and said I was to tell you she was sure it would all come reet in the end." " Bless her ! " ejaculated Rufus. " To think that this trouble should have come to her." " Why," said Joe, " I reckon trouble is like smut in wheat it often takes the finest ears first. But now, what's to be done ? We munno sit still till the Assizes come. We mun be up and doing." "I see nothin' we can do but pray that the Lord will defend the innocent," said his brother. " Praying's very well, as far as it goes," said Joe, ' ' but there are times when a bit o' common sense is wurth a bushel of religion." " Hush ! " said Rufus. ' You munno talk like that ! " 288 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Well," said Joe, " you do the prayin' and I'll do the workin'. My belief is that young Wincanton knows somethin' about this business. I watched his face in the Court, and it changed as often as a weathercock on a windy day. I did not tell you he offered to stand bail for Gwen." " Did he ? " asked Rufus. " What for ? " " Dunno 'cept it was his conscience was prickin' him. Anyhow he's our best chance at present, and we must get out of him what he knows, by hook or crook." " What are we to do, then ? " 1 'You! Nothin'," rejoined Joe. "Go on wi' your prayin' and leave him to me. I always thought he was a wastrel, and I'm beginning to think he's a scoundrel as well." " Dunno do anything wrong, even to reet the innocent," said Rufus. " A good cause dunno need " *' I knaw," said Joe, shrugging his shoulders. * * You dunno believe in takin' the devil's powder to fire God's cannons wi'. I'm not particular so as I hit the game I shoot at." " That is my fear," said Rufus. " I wudno' have Gwen's case sullied by unrighteous methods." For a whole week Joe lay in wait in all the likely places he knew of to catch Harold Win- canton, but was unsuccessful. Then he learned, through bribing one of the servants, that he had had a quarrel with his mother on the night of the trial, and had been heard to say he would go to London and never return any more. He had ordered the carriage at once to take him to THE TRIAL OF INNOCENCY. 289 the station, and had not been seen since. This news greatly disconcerted the farmer, and he went home feeling the circumstances were against him. " Rufe talks about Providence," he said, " but seems to me that Providence is generally on the side o' the raskils." CHAPTER XXV. LOVE IN THE MIRE. " A beautiful woman is a picture which drives all beholders nobly mad." EMERSON. " There is a gentleman to see you, miss." ' ' To see me ! " exclaimed Gwen, turning in surprise from the piano her uncle's thoughtful kindness had hired for her. " There must be some mistake unless it's dad." " Excuse me, Miss Wentworth, intruding upon you," said Harold Wincanton, stepping out of the lobby, " but may I see you alone for a few moments ? My business is of the greatest importance, or I would not venture to trouble you." He looked very worn and haggard, and a ray of pity touched her heart as she looked at his thin, drawn face. For a second she hesitated, and then said, * ' Yes. Thank you, Mrs. Green ; I will call you if I need you." Having shut the door, she offered Harold a seat, upon which he threw himself carelessly, and toyed nervously with his watch chain. " How did you find me ? " she said. " I have told nobody where I am staying." He laughed harshly. ' ' Ah, that is my secret. But it has cost me time and money, and I had nearly given up in despair." ( ' Why should you trouble ? " she asked. LOVE IN THE MIRE. 29 i ' Because," he answered fiercely, " I could not help it. Miss Wentworth, I have come to ask you once more to be my wife. I cannot live without you." "That is all nonsense," said Gwen. " No- body knows better than you that what was improbable before is impossible now. To talk to a girl situated as I am about marriage is to insult her." ' ' Listen to me ! " he cried. ' ' I know what you are going to say, but don't say it at least, not yet. I have thought this matter over night and day, and I have come to make a proposition. God knows I would have given all I possess to have saved you from what has happened. I have begged of my mother to withdraw from the case, but she declares that is impossible, as the Crown has taken it up. In all probability you will be condemned. There is but one way to save you, and that is to fly till the matter has blown over. I have arranged everything disguises, getting away, ship, everything. I have a friend in Algiers, who has written asking me to join him in a trip into the interior. Why not go with me ? We can be married on Thurs- day by special licence, and be there before this wretched trial comes on. I know, of course, your bail will be forfeited, but we can make it up to your uncle and father afterwards. Take a few minutes to consider my offer before you reply." "I do not need, Mr. Wincanton. To go away would be to acknowledge myself guilty of a crime I never committed." "My dear Miss Wentworth, innocent or 292 ROSES AND THISTLES. guilty, I feel sure the verdict will go against you. I have consulted two of the most eminent barristers in London, and both declare that on the evidence you have not a ghost of a chance. I happen to know that is the opinion of Sir Charles Elliott, who defended you. And to think of you going to jail for months, perhaps years, maddens me. I cannot bear the thought of it." " I thank you, sir," she replied, " for your consideration and sympathy, but I could not marry any man simply because I had been unfortunate enough to excite his pity. Besides, what would your mother say if you married a girl who ran away in order to escape imprison- ment ? " " I have thought of all that," he cried im- patiently. " But what does it matter ? You and I will be far away and happy, and by the time we come back if we ever do come back the whole affair will be forgotten." " Far away we might be, but we should not be happy. Do you think you could long respect a wife whom in your soul you believed to be a thief ? And could I look up and reverence a husband whom I knew in his inmost heart despised me ? " " I do not believe anything of the kind," re- joined Harold. " Indeed I KNOW that you did not steal those accursed pearls, which I heartily wish were at the bottom of the sea." There was something in his tones which im- pressed Gwen, and she eagerly put the question, " Mr. Wincanton, do you know who put the necklace into my box ? For God's sake tell LOVE IN THE MIRE. 293 me if you do " and she clutched hold of the front of his coat and looked into his eyes appeal- ingly. He looked down for a moment and then said, " Please do not ask me. I have said too much already." " But I must ask you," she cried, " Do you not see that my whole future depends upon my clearing my character of this wicked charge ? " He shook his head, and then said slowly, " I cannot say more. But if you will accept my offer, I pledge you my word, as a gentleman, that all I can do shall be done to remove this stain upon your reputation." " Mr. Wincanton," she said, " you declared just now that you loved me. If there is one jot of truth in your statement, let me put it to the test. Tell me all you know." " Not unless you first promise to be my wife." 11 You do not understand. I cannot promise under present conditions." "Why?" " Because because I cannot." 11 That is a woman's reason," he replied. Then, for the first time during the interview, he made a mistake. " Miss Wentworth," he said, "it is either marriage or imprisonment there is no other alternative " ; and something like a gleam of triumph shot from his eyes. Gwen drew herself up as if she had been hit in the face. " You put it very badly, sir," she said. " But you seem to have overlooked the one fact that I am innocent, and there is always the hope that those who put the pearls into my box may confess the wrong they have done me." 294 ROSES AND THISTLES. " For Heaven's sake, Miss Wentworth, don't trust to that, for I tell you it is impossible in this case." " Mr. Wincanton," she said, after a pause, ' ' you know who put the necklace in my box ! " " And if I do, what then ? " asked Harold. " Why, you ought at once to say so, and free me from this odious charge. I am positive you could if you would." " I have made you an offer," he replied sullenly. <l That way out is the only one." ' ' Oh, you are hard ! " she cried, the tears filling her beautiful eyes. " How can I marry, so long as the world, including your own friends, believes me to be a thief ? Oh, do help me ! " she cried imploringly, as^she* sank [on her knees at his feet. Harold was deeply moved, and he gently lifted her up and placed her on the sofa, and, after a great struggle with himself, said : 11 Miss Wentworth, I came to-day to offer you the only terms that seemed to me possible. If you only knew if I could only tell you all you would understand that it is I who need pity. For the last few weeks I have been living in hell. Listen," he continued, as Gwen moved as if to interrupt him. " If you will give me a promise to be my wife after the trial is over, I pledge you my honour that I will bring forward such evidence as will establish your innocence ; and let me add in making this pledge I know it will cost me much I dare not say more."' Gwen was silent. She felt how much depended on her answer. She did not love Harold, she never could love him, and to marry him was LOVE IN THE MIRE. 295 to be untrue to the deepest convictions of her soul. On the other hand, she shrank from the possibility of being condemned on a charge of which she was guiltless. The word * ' jail " sent a thrill of horror through her. She felt if ever the prison taint came upon her she should die of very shame. Through the long hours of the night she had lain awake thinking of what it might mean, until she could have screamed in sheer terror. At other times she sobbed herself to sleep. Here was a way out. For her own sake and the sake of those she loved, ought she not to take it ? At length she spoke : 1 ' I cannot see my way clear. You must give me time to think it over." " I will come to-morrow for my answer," he cried eagerly, feeling assured that he had suc- ceeded. "No, I will write," she replied. "Leave me your address, and you shall know my decision by to-morrow evening at the latest." He tore a leaf out of his pocket book and, hastily scribbling his address, handed it to her ; and then, taking a formal leave, opened the door and went out. But he had barely got fifty yards from the cottage ere he returned. " Miss Wentworth," he said, " please pardon me, but may I request one other favour from you ? It is this that, whatever may come of my proposal, you will not mention either my visit or the purpose of it to anyone without my permission. Believe me that to do so would increase my difficulties enormously, and might ruin my plans altogether." 296 ROSES AND THISTLES. " I promise, certainly. Let your mind be at rest. You may trust me." For many hours that night Gwen tossed on her pillow, trying to determine on the right course of action. The more she thought of marriage with Harold Wincanton the more she shrank from it, and yet she was convinced that he held the clue to the mystery that perplexed her. Could Lady Wincanton have put the necklace in her box ? She did not see how she could. She had kept the trunk locked all the time she was at the Hall, and the key was in her pocket. At night her bedroom door had also been locked, so that the keys could not have been abstracted while she slept. The same difficulty, of course, applied to Harold, and to any of the servants. A thousand times she pondered over the problem, and could find no solution. And yet somebody must have put them there deliberately and wilfully for the purpose of damaging her character. So far as she knew, she had not a single enemy in the world. Why should anyone wish to harm her ? And for the hundredth time she concluded that the only person who had the slightest reason for trying to injure her was Lady Wincanton. A flood of light had been thrown on the problem by Harold's strange conduct and words in the interview. He was determined at all costs to force her into acceptance of marriage, and a deep sense of loathing took possession^of her in consequence. The man who could des- cend to such depths of low trickery should never call her wife. And, having settled it thus, she fell asleep. LOVE IN THE MIRE. 297 Next morning she wrote the fateful letter and gave it to Mrs. Green, with instructions that if the gentleman who called before came again she would on no account see him. But Harold did not come again to disturb her, nor anyone else, until Joe appeared to take her to the Assizes. ' ' Keep your pecker up, lass," he kept saying. " You've the cleverest lawyers in London to defend you, and dad's certain you'll pull through all reet. Rufe's been putting in full time praying, and says that he's sure you'll come off with flying colours." " Poor dad ! " said Gwen, the tears filling her eyes. " How is he ? " "He is wonderful," replied Joe. " He says the devil has been at him more than usual since you've been away. If so, temptation seems to agree with him, for he looks fresher than he did at forty, and fatter than I've ever seen him. There are foaks that thrive on trouble, and I think Rufe is one." CHAPTER XXVI. THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. " God's ways seem dark, but soon or late They touch the shining hills of day ; The evil cannot brook delay, The good can well afford to wait." WHITTIER. IT was over at last. The long, weary trial of nine hours, the anxious waiting for the verdict, and the solemn and decisive moment when the judge called upon the prisoner, who had been mercifully provided with a seat, to stand up and receive sentence. And when he uttered the fateful words " Two years' penal ser- vitude " it fell like the chill of death on the Court. The person most concerned simply bowed her head, and then left the dock in charge of two warders. Rufus sat like one suddenly turned to stone, and did not move until his wife touched his elbow, and then, speechless, departed from the Court. Lady Wincanton gave one look across at the prisoner, a gleam of triumph in her cold steely eyes, then she dropped her veil and turned to speak to her son. But, although he had been by her side a moment before, he had disappeared, and at that moment was mounting his horse to ride away, he knew not where, nor cared whither. THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. 299 Joe Wentworth rapped out an oath, and he also hurried away, and was heard to vow ven- geance on somebody, or everybody, concerned. There had been a grievous miscarriage of justice, and yet on the evidence it was not easy to see how the jury could have brought in any other verdict than the one they did ; but they were astonished that their strong recommenda- tion to mercy did not receive a more liberal interpretation by the grim old judge, who was notorious for his long sentences. The blow fell heavily on the heart of Rufus. As he sat that night vainly trying to read through the usual portion of Scripture for family worship his tears be-dimmed his spectacles. He felt that God had forsaken him. Sobs choked his utter- ance, and he could not proceed. His wife, whom he had always said " was like religion, best in adversity," tenderly took and finished the reading. And then, as they knelt together, she, for the first time in their married life, led the prayers. Her petition was simple, but it broke poor Rufus completely up, until sobs, which were themselves prayers shook his whole frame. She prayed " that God would be with their dear one in the lonely cell, and comfort her, and bring her innocence forth in the light of day, that all men might know that He was a God that heard and answered prayer." And what she was to Rufus in those dark days none knew but himself. Every want was provided for, every need met. She removed everything that might painfully remind him of Gwen, and invented a thousand little things for him to do so that he might not sit and brood. And the 3 oo ROSES AND THISTLES. villagers to a man respected their sorrow, and did what they could to make them feel that they sympathised with them. Sir John Crook- worth and his good wife were indefatigable in their kindness, the former starting a petition to the Home Secretary to get the sentence reduced, and got it signed by all the county magnates. But it was Bedford Bird who was the almost constant comforter and companion of the grief-stricken man. Forsaking his book and study, he spent a large portion of his time in comforting]' his Nonconformist brother. In- venting all sorts of excuses he called and took Rufus out now to visit a sick child, now to give his opinion about a new stock of rose trees, and again to comfort somebody else who was in trouble. At first Rufus talked but little, but at length he opened out his heart. " The Lord has brought me to Marah, sir, the place where all the waters are bitter," he said one day. " Yes," said the vicar, " but Marah was by no means the last and only place on the journey, Brother Wentworth." " I would not have minded if the trouble had come upon me personally, but it is because it has smitten my little girl that it is so hard to bear." " I suppose," rejoined the vicar, " if we could choose our own trouble, that not one of us would take just that particular kind that Providence sends us. And yet it is the best. That reminds me that at length Lady Wincanton has determined to evict the Bremners from their holding. I had the old gipsy mother along THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. 301 yesterday, and she is fearful lest her sons may do something desperate. I have written to the agent protesting against the eviction, but I suppose it will have but little effect. The poor old body was heartsore at the thought of having to find a new home at her time of life." " Sir," said Rufus, " the law thatj>ives the power to any landlord to evict a tenant under such circumstances is to blame. Old Bremner cleared the land, which was full of bracken and not worth twopence, and built the house, and Lord Forester did not interfere ; and now, after twenty years, when it is becoming of value, the family is to be shown the door. It is a great iniquity." " I quite agree," replied the vicar, (( and I have said so in my letter ; but Lady Wincanton is a very determined woman, and neither God's law, nor man's protest, will be of much use. Meantime, I am trying to arrange with Isaacs, at Summerton Common, to let the family have that cottage and three acres of his land if they are turned out, and I want you to go and help me to negotiate the matter." " I see," said Rufus, " I've always under- stood that some poisons are antidotes to others, and you want me to take a dose of somebody else's trouble to cure my own. Well, I'll go. Sitting in the house and moping wonno' do Gwen any good, poor lass." But the good vicar had a more difficult case on his hands than that of Rufus in consequence of the trouble, and that was his brother Joe. The unhappy ending of the trial so wrought on his mind, that, to use his own expression, " he 302 ROSES AND THISTLES. went all to pieces." That night, for the first time for many years, he returned home drunk. He was seen spurring through Summerton at eleven o'clock, his horse's sides flecked with foam, at a rate that no sober man would ride, and hanging helplessly to the neck of his steed. He had drunk himself mad wanted to fight everybody in the public-house, and was heard repeatedly to swear that he would seek out young Wincanton, who was at the bottom of the trouble, and shoot him like a dog. This was thought to be but the idle swagger of a drunken man, and allowed to pass with but slight notice. He reached home safely, strange to say, and for a week was compelled to keep his bed. Then he got up and flew to the drink again. Every day he rode to Whitehurst and got tipsy, sometimes returning at night and sometimes not. He was a haggard, thin figure when the vicar found him one day in the lowest public-house in Whitehurst. He was almost in a condition of collapse, but had lost none of his usual acidity of speech. " Come to look after the lost sheep ? " he exclaimed. "It is time, for the mutton is nearly all gone and the fleece is in danger." " I am sorry, sir, to find you here," replied the vicar. " This is no place for you." " If it is fit for you, it is fit for me," replied Joe. " What will you take ? I'm afraid I cannot recommend the whisky ; but the ale is sound, and plenty of body in it. Grand stuff to make sermons on, I should think." " Thank you, I don't take intoxicants, except as a medicine." THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. 303 11 Ah/! " laughed Joe, " I've found you out. I never knew a man who took it as medicine but what had some complaint every day, and sometimes three or four different kinds in one day. There binna no complaint to which the human flesh is heir, but the man has it quick and often who keeps a brandy bottle handy for medicinal purposes. What is your ailment this morning ? " 11 Mr. Wentworth," replied the vicar, "I have not tasted alcohol for six years, and I hope it will be another six before I need any. I simply did not want to convey the impression I was exercising an amount of self-denial, which I am not by saying I was a teetotaler. But Mr. Wentworth, allow me to ask you one question : ' When you are hunting, and your horse gets a fall in taking a fence, what do you do ? ' " Help it up again, if I've managed to escape without broken bones," answered Joe. " That is just what I've come to do in your case, Mr. Wentworth. For your own sake and the sake of your brother, I pray you come along with me." ' ' Ah ! poor Rufe," said Joe, ' ' how does he bear up ? " " As a Christian man should," replied the vicar. " He is an example to all of us of trust- ful and patient submission to the Divine will." " And what good is that ? " exclaimed Joe. " Seems to me this is a case for knocking some- body down rather than submission ; and Gad, I'll do it yet. There is somebody got to foot this bill, and I'll see he does it, too. For every day that girl is in jail he shall pay the price 304 ROSES AND THISTLES. when I lay my hands on him. The mean scamp, I'll " " Mr. Wentworth," the vicar interrupted, "it is my duty to tell you such language is wicked. We must leave vengeance to God." " God ! " exclaimed Joe. " God is dead, or asleep." " Hush, sir," said the vicar sternly. " It is not for mortal man to talk thus about his Maker. There is some good behind this trouble, which seems to you and me nothing but evil." " It's easy to talk," said Joe, " but, in the meantime, the finest lass in the county is havin' the soul taken out of her in Glanmore jail. I tell you, a hundred and fifty parsons and the whole bench of bishops could not make me believe that there is any sense or reason in that." " I will not try, Mr. Wentworth, for in your present condition of mind it would be useless. But what I wish to ask you is this, Do you imagine it would lighten Miss Gwen's burden if she knew that you were acting in this foolish manner ? Do you not think it would rather intensify her trouble, already, surely, big enough ? Then I want you to think of your brother, whom, I am glad to say, has not yet heard of your breakdown, and is wondering why you do not call." The Vicar had at length struck the right note. Joe looked up for a moment, and then said : * ' Sir, you are a good man, and I beg your pardon for being rude just now. But I'm pretty sick of life. It seems to me the devil has got the whip-hand in the world, and that is all about it." " We will not discuss that just now," replied THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. 305 the vicar. " Suppose you drive home with me and have a cup of tea, and then call to see your brother." "Not I," returned Joe, " I wouldna see Rufe for five hundred pounds. I couldna stand it, and that's a fact. I'd rather have a kick from a horse than he should see I'd been on the booze." " All right, come and have some tea with me, anyhow." "No," said Joe. "I'm not fit for decent company, just now. I've a hundred and forty devils about me somewhere. But I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll go home and sleep on what you've said." :' " Thank you, sir," replied Bird. " And I'll call and see you in the morning. I have my gig here. Will you ride as far as Summerton ? " ' ' No ; my horse is at the ' White Lion.' Ta-ta ! " Just then the clattering of a horse's hoofs was heard outside, and for a moment the figure of a horseman darkened the little lozenged-paned window of the public-house. The next moment the farmer had jumped over the table, rushed bare-headed from the house, and was running down the street. The astonished vicar followed to see Joe disappear round the corner of the street as fast as his legs could carry him. Hurry- ing thither, he could not discern either the farmer or the horseman, whom he suspected was Harold Wincanton. Fearingfmischief would be done, he went to the stable, to find that Joe had secured his horse, thrown|the ostler half-a- crown, and mounted and ridden away, in the u 3o6 ROSES AND THISTLES. graphic language of that worthy, * ' like a whirl- wind in a hurry." His worst fears were confirmed, when he was told that the ostler had seen the horse of Harold Wincanton flying past the "White Lion" a few minutes before Joe had entered breathlessly demanding his horse at once. Hasting to the inn, where his own horse was stabled, he ordered it to be yoked at once, and followed as quickly as possible along the Summerton road, feeling a strange, almost suffocating sense of appre- hension. By this time the night had fallen. His horse, accustomed to jog along at its on pace, was surprised to feel the whip sharply applied to his flanks, and broke into a lively gallop, which lasted about forty yards, and then he fell back into his usual pace. Too fat to hurry, he received every further admonition to quicken his pace with a whisk of his tail and a philosophical nod of his head, and kept trotting along without further effort to demonstrate that he had once been known as one of " Joe Wentworth's goers," Idleness and good living had made him a degenerate, and nothing could induce him to exert himself beyond the normal speed. Before the vicar had proceeded far it was quite dark, and all the hope he had entertained of overtaking Joe was gone. But he determined to drive straight to the farm before he went home, for he felt he could not rest until he knew all was right. And so, leaving Summerton to the right, he took a short cut to the farm. On arriving here he was told by the housekeeper that her master had not yet arrived at home. THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. 307 Full of fears on receiving this information, he started homewards, when, nearing the home- stead of the Bremners, whom he suddenly remembered had been evicted the day before at Lady Wincanton's order, he saw two or three lights bobbing up and down in the most un- accountable manner. When he arrived at the spot, he observed three or four farm labourers with lanterns, and two women gazing helplessly down at some object lying by the wayside." " Here's the vicar," he heard one exclaim in relieved tones. " What is it, men ? " he asked. " What is the matter ? " "It is young Mr. Wincanton, sir. We fear he is dead. Gregory found him lyin' on the road, a quarter of an hour gone, and he fetched us, sir. His horse was grazing by the wayside." The vicar got down from his gig and, taking a lantern from one of the men, lifted it until its light fell upon the prostrate figure lying in the grass. A deathly hue had settled upon the countenance, and the grass was dyed with blood. One of the men had taken his jacket off and rolled it up, making a rough pillow for his head, while a woman was seeking to stanch the blood which flowed from a wound in his neck. " How did it happen ? " asked the vicar. " Does anybody know ? " ' ' No, sir ; but Gregory says * he heard two shots, and a cry like somebody hurt.' When he came up he found the young master lying in the road, and his hoss by his side." 308 ROSES AND THISTLES. " Did you see or hear anybody else ? " asked the vicar, turning to the man called Gregory. " No, sir." " No other horseman ? Be careful, for a good deal depends on what you say." "No, sir." " How far were you from the place when the shots were fired ? " " Only round the next bend of the road, sir. I was goin* home, and just thinkin' about my supper of toasted cheese, when I heard the shots. One two, quick after each other, and then a cry. I wondered what it could be, but put it down to poachers ; and, thinking it was no business of mine, I kept on till I sees the shadow of a hoss, and nearly tumbled over the young master there." " If there had been another man on horseback you would have heard him, I suppose ? " " Sure," said Gregory. But there wonna one. It's some of the poacher chaps, 'ats' done it." The vicar knelt down beside the prostrate figure and put his hand over the heart. He thought he felt a slight fluttering, but was not sure. " Well, men," he cried, " it is no use standing here. We must carry him to the nearest cottage. Let me see, that is yours, Foulkes. Then some- one must take my trap and drive to Summerton for Dr. Gilmour. Every moment is precious." " We have sent for him, sir. My Joe you know him that's in the choir he just caught the hoss and rode like blue blazes, and we are expectin' the doctor every minute." THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. 309 " You have done well, men, and Joe is a fine lad. Now, we will lift him into the gig if we can, and take him home." But just then the clattering of a horse's hoofs were heard along the road, and in a few minutes the doctor, who had not waited for his own horse, but had jumped on Briton's back, was in their midst with characteristic promptitude. Without waiting to ask questions he fell on his knees by the side of the wounded man. Looking at the wound in the neck for a second, he dis- missed that at once as not being sufficiently serious to be mortal and then turned the pros- trate form over. Then he discovered that Harold's coat was saturated with blood, and there was a wound in his side. The doctor shook his head ominously, and said to the vicar, ' ' I fear it is too late. If I had been here earlier I might have saved him. We must get him home at once. You have your conveyance here. That is well. Somebody had better ride forward on the horse and prepare his mother." " I will go myself," replied the vicar. " If I understand you, life is not quite extinct ? " " No, but as near as may be. If he was at home he might have one chance in a thousand. As it is well, I do not think it is worth a brass farthing. But are you a horseman ? The brute has a mouth like iron." " I can manage to sit in the saddle without falling out," rejoined the vicar. " This seems to have been a black business," said the doctor. " Yes, it is, I fear, much worse than ever it appears. But I will go forward and break 3io ROSES AND THISTLES. the news to Lady Wincanton. May God pity her." The vicar rode forward into the night, his head bowed, thinking over what had happened. He had not the slightest doubt that Joe Went- worth had carried out his threat, and shot the young man in his mad anger. How could he break the news to the widowed mother ? And how tell Rufus Wentworth all he knew ? Briton fairly flew with him, and soon he was knocking at the Hall door. A servant quickly answered, and he sent in a request to see Lady Wincanton on important business. The man hesitated, and then said, " I am very sorry, sir, my lady has given orders if you called at any time she was not at home to you." " But I must see her to-night. It is a matter of life and death. Please tell her I am here." The man bowed and hurried out. He found his mistress in the drawing-room, and delivered his message. ' ' Matthews ! " she exclaimed, ' ' you have my orders. I will not see that man. He lectures me as if I were a schoolgirl. Tell him that any business he has with me must be transacted through my agent." But just at that moment the tall, gaunt form of the vicar appeared in the doorway. " Lady Wincanton," he said, " I did not need the assurance of a servant that my presence here is distasteful to you, but there are occasions ?> " I know of no occasion, sir," she broke in, " which can possibly justify an intrusion like THE BLINDING OF JUSTICE. 311 this on a lady's privacy. Matthews, show the vicar of Summerton out." " I have come, Lady Wincanton," he said, " to discharge a very sad and distasteful duty, as distasteful to myself as it will be distressing for you. Your son " " Oh I know," she cried scornfully. " In that scandal-mongering village of Summerton there are a hundred tales abroad about my son, spread by malicious tongues that can never speak the truth about their betters. I have no doubt you deem it your duty to listen to any and every busybody who invents a defamatory report against my boy, and regard yourself as the censor of public morals. But you can spare yourself any such fruitless errand in future, for I do not regard you as having any authority, either to counsel me or correct Master Harold ; so I wish you ' Good-night, sir.' ' She was sweeping disdainfully past him to the door, but his pale face and earnest tones arrested her on the threshold, as he cried : " Lady Wincanton, for heaven's sake listen to me for one moment. This is no time for dis- putations. Your son is being carried home not dead, I hope, but seriously injured. I have ridden forward to prepare you for his coming. I am sorry to be the bearer of such evil tidings, and doubly sorry to be compelled to break it to you in this abrupt manner." ' ' What ! " she exclaimed, ' ' my boy in- jured ? How ? When ? By whom ? " These are questions I cannot answer yet," said the vicar sadly. " He has been shot in the neck and side, and was found lying on the 312 ROSES AND THISTLES. i Summerton road by a labourer returning from work, and they are bringing him home in the trap. May I venture, my dear Lady Wincanton, to hope that you will summon up all your strength and courage to meet what cannot fail to be a very painful trial ? I think I hear the sound of wheels. For your son's sake, be brave." During this address she became very white, and her fingers tightened round the knob of the door. Then she said, " You do not need to tell me who has done it. I know ; it is the uncle of that girl who is in prison for stealing. But I swear if any wrong has happened to my boy I will be avenged, if I spend my every farthing in obtaining justice." 11 Madam," replied the vicar, " this is no time to speak of vengeance. I fear we have had too much of that already. We must hope and pray for the best." Just then four men entered the Hall, bearing tenderly the wounded man. As they laid him on the sofa for the first time he opened his eyes, and, seeing his mother, smiled feebly. Lady Wincanton flung herself upon him with the cry, " Oh ! Harold ! My boy ! My boy ! " HE OBSERVED THREE OR FOUR FARM LABOURERS WITH LANTERNS. Chap. 27. CHAPTER XXVII. THE HAND OF THE POLICE. " Innocence shall make false accusation blush, And tyranny tremble at patience." SHAKESPEARE. JOE WENTWORTH was awakened the next morning by someone roughly shaking him. On opening his eyes he was astonished to find two constables in his room, one of whom he recognised as the chief of police at Whitehurst. "Well, Roberts," he said, "what do you want ? " " You, Mister Wentworth," he replied. " I am here to arrest you for shooting Harold Win- canton at nine o'clock last night on Summerton Road, and it is my duty to inform you that anything you say now will be used against you at your trial." "That's all right," replied Joe. "Shot is he ? Well, I didna do it, that's the first thing ; the second is, he deserved it ; the third is that whoever has done it has saved the hangman a job." " Farmer," replied the officer kindly, for Joe was a general favourite, " if I were you I would not talk. It isn't for me to decide whether you did it or not. But I see no reason why a man should put a rope round his own neck by using his tongue too freely. But you must get up and come with us, and for the rest, well, I ROSES AND THISTLES. don't want to hear any more than I can help. See ? " " All right. I'll be ready in about a quarter of an hour. In the meantime you can go down and tell the housekeeper to give you some hot coffee and ham and eggs, and I'll join you as soon as I am dressed." " I don't know about that," said Roberts, " I ought not to let you out of my sight." " Oh," said Joe, " I see.' Afraid I shall run away, or take black beetle poison. Well, you need not. I am going to face the music. You've heard a good many things in your time, officer ; but did you ever hear anybody say that Joe Wentworth went back on his word ? " 11 No," he replied, " I never did. Therejare folks who tell queer stories about you, farmer, but I have many a time heard that your word is as good as a Bishop's any time." " Sorry you put it that way," said Joe, " but if a Bishop's good enough for you, he's good enough for me. Well, I give you my word of honour that I'll join you at breakfast in ten minutes. And I won't run away if you will let me. It is such good news you have brought me that you are welcome to the best in the house. There is one scamp less in the country, and that is a thing for honest folk to be glad about." " Not so fast, Mr. Wentworth, I said he was shot, but I didn't say he was dead ; as a matter of fact he was living an hour ago." " That is another proof I didna do it," said Joe. " Sixteen times out of sixteen I brought down my bird shooting young crows last week, and I shouldna have missed the quarry if I had THE HAND OF THE POLICE. 315 tried to shoot it, never fear. I learned to shoot in Mexico, where to miss sometimes meant to be shot yourself. But we will talk it out over our cup of coffee." " I must search this room first," said the officer. " I need not say I am sorry to have to discharge this unpleasant duty, Mr. Went- worth." "Get to work," said Joe. "I've nothin' to hide. There is a six-shooter in the breast pocket of my coat. Mind it does not spit fire, for it goes off as readily as a young hoss takes to kicking. There is nothin' else that concerns you. You'll find all the barrels loaded." It was as Joe had described, and they went down to a good breakfast, at which he soon joined them. He was quite merry, and after getting particulars of the story as far as they could give them, he set to work and made a hearty meal " more like a man going to a wedding than one going to jail," the officer declared later. Having given the necessary orders for the conducting of the farm in his absence, he was the first to enter the conveyance in which the two officers had come. " I'll sit in front with the sergeant," he said to Wainwright, with a twinkle in his eye, " for fear he wants to escape. Don't know but what I ought to put the handcuffs on him to make sure. Here, I'll drive," he continued, as Roberts essayed to gather up the reins. " You might run in the ditch, and I've my go-to-meeting suit on, and I don't want it spoiled." . The two officers smiled. They had taken 316 ROSES AND THISTLES. many persons to prison, but never one so eager apparently to go as Joe Wentworth. Roberts feebly, but reluctantly, let the farmer take the reins and got up by his side ; but knowing Joe's reputation as a practical joker he determined to keep a close watch on his movements. " Now Mary Ann," said Joe to the horse, " pick up your trotters," and he applied the whip in a way that surprised her. " Good stuff for sausages that," he said after a pause, nodding towards the horse, " but too fat to run. If I was in a hurry I should get out and walk." " I should have thought you would not have been in a great haste to get to the end of this journey," rejoined Roberts. " If I were going where you are I should want a horse that would go a good deal slower than Bess." "Well," answered Joe, "it's like this with me. If I've a tooth that aches I want it out. I hate dawdlin' worse than a rotten egg. Get it over is my motto. If this hoss was mine I'd give her a mash once a week, a twenty miles run every morning, and another after tea. Send her up to my place, sergeant, and if she don't make the wheels spin round so that you cannot count the spokes in a fortneet, I'll eat her with a pinch of salt." " Are you not going the low road ? " asked Roberts, as he observed Joe took the Summerton highway at the turn. " What for ? " asked Joe. " It binna often I have the honour of two Government officials to keep me company, and I'm not going to make the folks think I'm ashamed to be seen with you. Of course, if you dunno like to be THE HAND OF THE POLICE. 317 seen in my company you can get out and walk. Beside, I want to call and see our Rufe, if you can spare a few minutes." " I don't think we ought to call anywhere; it's against the regulations, and might get us into trouble. I have already allowed you more license than I have ever allowed any prisoner before." " Well," replied Joe, " the way I look at it is this, I am an innocent man, and I was sleeping the sleep of the just, but I wakes up and finds two bobbies prowling round. If I'd done what I ought, I should have boot-jacked the pair of you, and sent you home in such a state that it would have taken your wives all day to put stickin' plaster on. But instead I treat you like gentlemen, give you a good square feed, and come as quietly with you as if I were a lad going to a cricket match. And I tell you this, I don't know who set you on my track, but as sure as the moon isn't made of green cheese you have run the wrong fox to earth, and some- body will hear of it by-and-bye." " Hallo ! " he exclaimed, " if this hoss of yours hasn't come to a standstill reet in front of our Rufe's door. Curious, isn't it ; must have known what we were talking about," and he grinned as he looked over his shoulder. 4 'Rufe! Rufe!" he shouted. " Are you up yet ? Come out, man, and tell these two policeman what a pair of precious fools they are makin' of themselves." Rufus came to the door and stared to see his brother sitting beside the officer. " They're taking me to jail, Rufe," he said. 318 ROSES AND THISTLES. " What do you think of that as an honour for a brother of yours ? I heard you once say in a sermon * There's always two kinds of folks in jail, raskils and heroes. I ain't a raskil, so I must be t'other. But I want you to tell these two ornaments of the police force what time I came here last night." " Just eight o'clock," said Rufus, " the clock struck as you entered, and it was just ten past ten when you started home." * ' And I had my supper here, didn't I ? " asked Joe. " Beef, pickled onions, and apple pie, eh ? And the Methodist minister, and Dickens and Pearson, were here till I left." ' ' Ay, what of that ? " asked Rufus. " And you did not permit your poor forlorn brother to go home alone, you went with him ? " " I did," answered Rufus, " for I thowt you were not in a fit state to be trusted alone." " Stuff and nonsense," replied Joe. " I could see a hole through a ladder easily. And you stayed at our house pitchin' into me like a paid teetotal lecturer for an hour or there- about ? And you made out that I was aboot as poor and miserable a sinner as ever knelt at a penitent form and that there wasn't no Com- mandment I hadn't broken into bits small enough to put into mince pies, 'cept murder. Was that aboot the size of it ? " " Well," replied Rufus, smiling, " I did say a few strong things." " Strong," answered Joe, " there binna a single religious swear in the Bible, or out of it, you didn't sling at me, thick and fast. But THE HAND OF THE POLICE. 319 that will do, Rufe, you've gone through the Catechism very well." " Now, gentlemen," he said, " I hope you've put all that down. There binna a man in this county or the next that would dare to say Rufe Wentworth would tell a lie, even if it was to save his brother's neck. There's times when it's mightily convenient to have a reputation for speaking the truth." " But what is it all about ? " asked Rufus, " I dunno' understand." The Sergeant explained, and then said, " Mr. Wentworth, I think it would be wise for you to go with us to the nearest magistrate, and make a deposition to the effect you have now made, and possibly he will release your brother from his unhappy position, for my information is that the young man was shot at nine o'clock, which would be exactly the time when you were sitting down to supper. There is plenty of evidence, it seems to me, to prove an alibi." " Nay," said Joe, " don't call it an unhappy position. I've enjoyed the company very much. But it's lucky I had a fit of repentance on and called to see Rufe, or they might have hung me like a dead turkey at Christmas time." They all proceeded to Sir John Crookworth, and he took down the evidence as given, and then Joe was released on bail. " Sorry to disappoint you," he said to Roberts, " but I couldn't afford to be locked up just now, even to oblige my friends, Come on, Rufe," he exclaimed, " and I'll tell you some- thing that will make you feel like knocking somebody down for joy. I'd have told you last 320 ROSES AND THISTLES. night, but I wanted you to hear it from his own lips this morning. You seemed to enjoy dressing me down so much that I thowt it was a pity to spoil your sport." ' ' What is it ? " asked Rufus, trembling with excitement. " I know who put the necklace in Queenie's box." " Thank God ! " exclaimed Rufus, the tears welling up into his eyes. " Who was it ? " * ' Harold Wincanton. He told me so himself. I cornered him on his way home last night, and he was comin' to see you and confess all this morning." " And now he may be lying dead, and it may be too late," exclaimed Rufus. " My God," said Joe, " I never thought of that. And I had no witnesses. We were to go this morning to Whitehurst for him to make a declaration to his lawyer." CHAPTER XXVIII. "VENGEANCE IS MINE." ' ' Speak not of vengeance, 'tis the right of God ; Vengeance is His. Who shall usurp the bolt And launch it for Omnipotence ? " C. P. LAYARD. WHEN Joe Wentworth rode out of Whitehurst in pursuit of Harold on that fateful night, he spared neither whip nor spur. Ever and anon his left hand sought his breast pocket to feel if his revolver was there, for there was black murder in his heart. To fling himself upon Wincanton and choke the truth out of him was the frenzied intention of his drink-besotted brain, and, if he resisted, to shoot him down like a dog. His very intensity nearly defeated his purpose. Half way to Summerton, at the beginning of a stretch of moorland, was the Black Crow Hotel, and he was riding like a madman past when for a brief second he saw a face at the window. It was that of the man he sought. He reined his horse up so violently that he reared and narrowly escaped rolling over on his sides. What was his amazement as he slipped out of his saddle to see Harold running bareheaded out of the hotel and shouting him to " Stop ! " Coming up to the astonished farmer, he said excitedly, " I want to see you, Wentworth. Can you spare me a quarter of an hour, on most important business ? " " Why," rejoined Joe, " this is a case of the fox hunting the hounds, it appears. Any time 322 ROSES AND THISTLES. during the last fortnight I'd have given a hundred pound note to get within shootin' distance of you. Seems the wolf was running into the lion's den." " Look here, Wentworth," cried Harold, " I don't know exactly what you are driving at ; but there have been times during the last fortnight when I would have given you, or any man, two notes of the value you mention to put a bullet into me. But what is the use of talk- ing ? There are some things infinitely worse than death. If you only knew the life I've been living I think you would pity me." " Guess not," replied Joe. " My pity is all reserved for a poor innocent lass in Glanmore Gaol." " Have you heard from her ? " asked Harold, more quietly than he had spoken yet. "Nay," said Joe, "but Rufe maybe has. What of that ? " " I have tried twice to see her," replied Wincanton, " but she has refused to see me. Through the influence of my friends in London I got a special permit, but Miss Wentworth could on no account be brought to see me." " You scoundrel ! " exclaimed Joe, lifting his horsewhip. ' ' You dared ! Not content with ruining her by your miserable lies, you must follow her even to prison. I'd a good mind to whip you like a dog and then kick you into that ditch ! " "Hold!" cried Wincanton. "For God's sake do not strike, Wentworth, or I'll not be responsible for the consequences. I am nearly mad as it is. Since the trial I have hardly had VENGEANCE IS MINE. 323 a wink of sleep. I have tried to get drunk and couldn't. And to-night I was coming over to see you, so that we might take counsel together how to get Gwen that is, Miss Wentworth out of prison. Come into the Black Crow, and I will ask the landlord to let us have the use of his parlour for half an hour. There are half a dozen yokels yonder peering through the window and wondering what we are about." For twenty minutes the two were closeted together, and when Harold left he was heard to bid Joe "Good-bye" and say, "Eleven o'clock in the morning at Stourbridge Park Gate." " I'll be there," replied Joe. He stood watching Wincanton ride away in the gathering darkness, and then, havng called for a drink of soda water, sat himself down looking thoughtfully into the fire. '* Dash of brandy in, I suppose," said the landlord, '"just to give it taste ? " " Nay," said Joe, " I've that to do that will require a clear head and a steady hand. I've drunk my last glass of brandy." " You binna goin' to sign teetotal, are you ? " answered the landlord, with a covert sneer. " I might do wuss," said Joe. " I've had a kind of warnin' these last days that a man with brains cannot afford to drink either brandy or whisky very much. It's a fool's game at best, an I've had enuff of it." " Why," replied the landlord, " I find a glass of whisky a good nightcap, and a brandy in the morning is not a bad ' pick-me-up.' ' " Ay," said Joe, measuring his corpulent frame with his eye. " You need it, I dare say, 324 ROSES AND THISTLES. considerin' the quantity there is of you, 'specially below the collar. When you're tired of this job you might take to rollin' grass." " Pooh ! " replied the publican. " I could take you up between my finger and thumb, and eat you with a pinch of salt." " Likely," said Joe ; " but I should disagree with you, for you have more brains in your stomach than you ever had in your head. But I must be going. Ta-ta." " Think I'll call and see Rufe," he muttered as he again mounted his horse. " I'd better confess and get it over." And so, as related, he rode to his brother's, who had that afternoon called at the farm and had learned of Joe's out- break, which had greatly pained him. And when his brother entered, flushed and excited, Rufus did not spare him, although there was company present. Joe sat silent under the castigation, and then, turning to Mrs. Went- worth, he said : " Will you give me a cup of coffee, missus ? Rufus has taken skin, hair, and hoof off me, and I feel like a boiled lobster. I don't say but what I desarve it ; but when a man's badly, a doctor that knows his business don't give him a bucket full of medicine at once." After supper Rufus had insisted on accom- panying Joe home, partly because his heart was softening and he felt he had said too much, and partly because there was something new and strange about his brother that almost frightened him. So, persuading him to leave his horse till the morning, the two walked together to the farm a special providence, as VENGEANCE IS MINE. 325 Rufus now thought, in view of what had occurred. Meanwhile Lady Wincanton, having heard the vicar's story, had telegraphed to the Chief of Police to have Joe arrested on the charge of attempted murder. Two physicians had been also wired for from London, and in the meantime Dr. Gilmour did his best to keep the patient alive. More than once during that anxious night it was thought that he was dead, but still the feeble breath of life lingered, causing the watchers to hope against hope. Early in the morning the two eminent medical men arrived and decided on an immediate operation. This was successfully performed, the bullet extracted, and Harold still lived. Lady Wincanton never left the room ; the instinct of motherhood, uniting with the fierce passion of revenge, kept her up. But after the operation was over the physicians insisted on her removal from the room, and also upon her taking some rest. She had barely returned when a wire was handed in from the Chief of the Police : " Wentworth arrested, but proofs of innocence forthcoming irresistible. Magistrate has released him on promise of surrender when required. Roberts." Then the tiger in the woman broke loose. She raved and stormed, tearing up telegram after telegram as she penned them in reply. " They are all leagued against me," she exclaimed. "It is a conspiracy to defeat the ends of justice. But I will be revenged. Oh, if only Harold gets better we will turn the tables on them." Un-accustomed to self-restraint, in her mad grief she flung everything to the floor that came 326 ROSES AND THISTLES. in her way, smashing to atoms a beautiful Indian vase and tearing to pieces a splendid lace anti- macassar, the first that she laid her hands on. At length she framed a reply to the telegram. It was to the effect that Joe Wentworth was to be watched, and she should hold the police responsible if he escaped. Judge, then, of her astonishment when a servant once more entered and said that Rufus Wentworth and his brother desired to see her on urgent business ! For a moment she hesitated, and then said, 1 1 Show them in ; and, Lucas, you stand outside the door within call." As the brothers entered Lady Wincanton rose and stood with one elbow resting on the marble mantelshelf, with her face partly hidden by the tresses of her hair, which hung in luxuriant confusion about her neck and shoulders. Rufus entered first. The events of the last two months had aged him. It is sorrow more than years that makes men old. Joe's sharp, lynx eyes eagerly swept her face. It was upon him rather than his brother that Lady Wincanton turned her gaze as she silently bowed in reply to their greeting. It was a difficult situation, and even Joe did not seem able to break the awkward silence. At length Rufus, with a touch of native dignity, ventured to inquire after Harold, and expressed a hope that his injuries were not so great as reported. " I know not what is reported," said his mother, drawing herself up haughtily, " but it may afford some comfort to his friends, and some displeasure to his enemies, to know that he is still alive." VENGEANCE IS MINE. 327 " God be thanked ! " ejaculated Rufus. " For much depends upon his life. I pray that he may be spared till at least justice be done to the innocent." * ' I do not know what you mean by your pious ejaculation, sir," she answered. " But I can at least join in, with the alteration of the word ' guilty ' for ' innocent ' ; and as sure as there is a God in heaven the guilty shall suffer." ' ' The guilty always do suffer sooner or later," replied Rufus ; "for no truer word was ever written than ' Be sure your sins will find you out.' But when we poor mortals begin to measure out punishment we often mistake the innocent for the guilty and perpetrate one wrong in trying to revenge another." " If that," said Lady Wincanton, " is meant for a plea for the man there " pointing at Joe " it will not have any effect on me. I tell you if my boy dies he shall swing for it, and if he lives he shall pay for every hour of pain by a year's imprisonment. I will not be baulked of vengeance, though all the smooth-tongued hypocrites in the country intervene. I will have life for life, blood for blood, and suffering for suffering. He shall not escape. You may hoodwink that poor fool of a Chief Constable at Whitehurst, but you cannot cheat me. He shall not leave this house except in custody." " Tush," said Joe, ** threatened men live long. No man knows what he will come to, but, without being a prophet, I venture to say the rope is not made that will hang me. Hush, Rufe," he cried, as his brother endeavoured to interfere ; ' ' this fish is for my net, not yours. 328 ROSES AND THISTLES. We are come, madam, not to cry for mercy, but to demand justice for that poor lass that lies in Glanmore Gaol." " Ay," she broke in, " and you have chosen a proper time for your errand. When my boy, whom she inveigled into her snare, lies dying, it is well you should come. If I had my way, it's not two, but twenty, years that she should have, and then it would be short of her deserts. Never ! " And in her passion she stamped her foot twice on the floor. " Wait ! " thundered Joe. " No, no, Rufe," he cried as again his brother attempted to speak; "this is my business, and now I'll discharge it in my own way. Madam," he said, " you believe that I shot your son. I tell you now that at any time during the last fortnight if I had met him I should have shot him like a dog, and on his own showing he deserved it. But the vengeance I sought was mercifully denied me. I do not know who did the deed, but whoever it was did me the greatest dis-favour he could. I had arranged to meet your son this morning at Whitehurst, and he was going to put his hand to a deed that would have freed that poor lass at Glanmore, though it might have put him there in her place." " What do you mean ? " cried Lady Win- canton, white with suppressed passion. " Just this that your son confessed to me last night that he put the pearls and jewels into Gwen's box, and, though he had acted like a scoundrel, he was at length going to play the man and own up and take the consequences." * ' It is false ] " shouted Lady Wincanton, VENGEANCE IS MINE. 329 " a foul conspiracy to ruin my son. Oh, you are a precious pair, I declare." 11 Say your say about me," replied Joe, " but leave Rufe out, please. He binna your soart, nor mine ; and you don't better things by showing your ignorance of his kind. But callin' a thing a lie don't make it so. What I've told you is as true as anything in the Prayer Book, and if he lives he will tell you so himself. But the question is, What will you do if he dies ? " " I don't believe a word of it. I repeat it is a foul plot devised to ruin my son. But I will be avenged I will be avenged," and throwing herself on the couch, she burst into hysterical tears. " Come, Rufe," said Joe, " we can do no good by staying. She is determined not to believe, and you cannot convince a woman against her will. We must wait and hope." And so the brothers left the Hall with sad hearts, for they had hoped to move Lady Win- canton to act on Joe's information and so secure Gwen's release. They little understood the hard, fierce, implacable nature of the woman with whom they had to deal. But a few hours later Rufus was surprised to be summoned back to the Hall. When he arrived he was amazed to find Sir John Crook- worth, Bedford Bird, and a solicitor from White- hurst all assembled in the room of the dying man. Harold had sent messengers unknown to his mother while she was sleeping for these individuals, saying that he had an important communication to make. CHAPTER XXIX. A STRANGE CONFESSION. " But many a crime deemed innocent on earth, Is registered in heaven, and these, no doubt, Have each their record, with a curse annexed." COWPER. THE dying man lay with his eyes fixed on the ceiling. For a moment all was still, then he said, " I have sent for you that I might make the confession that I intended to make in the presence of a magistrate on the morning after I was shot a confession I had briefly made to Mr. Joe Wentworth the night before. It is simply that I put the necklace and diamonds in Miss Wentworth's box. I hoped by doing so to compel her to consent to marry me. I have nothing more to say, except that I hope she and her family will forgive me for the pain and trouble I have brought upon them. Please write down what I have said quick, and I will sign it before I die." The lawyer quickly drafted a simple state- ment and then eagerly the dying man clutched the pen and wrote his name, all present signing as witnesses. Rufus then stepped to the bed, and was about to speak a few words of forgive- ness and comfort, but suddenly Harold gave a short cough, his mouth filled with blood, and in a moment he was dead. A STRANGE CONFESSION. 331 Leaving the vicar and the lawyer to break the sad news to Lady Wincanton, the others hurried away to forward the confession at once to the Home Secretary. Three days afterwards, Joe Wentworth, driving tandem with Rufus at his side, arrived at the prison gates at Glanmore. " We will bring her back in style," was Joe's remark when his brother protested against this ostentatious turn-out, " and show the folks of Summerton what an innocent woman looks like. We will have no sneaking in by back ways. I hope the lass will hold up her head like a queen on Coronation Day." " Now, Rufe, get down and fetch her out, and I'll stay wi' the hosses. That leader won't stand unless he feels the reins. I'll wait for my kisses till I get home. I'm afraid she'll be greatly changed, poor lass." Rufus went in through the large iron gates, and was taken not to the prison, but to the governor's room, and the next moment Gwen's arms were round his neck. " Oh, Dad," as all she could say, and then she burst into tears for very joy. " My lass, the Lord is good," said Rufus, gently stroking her hair. " Yes, the Lord is good, but there have been times when I almost thought he'd forgotten us. We've been drinking from the wells of Marah, where all the waters were bitter, and we've murmured and com- plained like Israel of old. But I've come to take you home. Mother's bin up all neet makin' cakes and candy mostly, and her heart's so full of thanksgivin', she'll make all the children in 332 ROSES AND THISTLES. the village sick wi' gingerbread and currant cake if we dunno make haste back. And Uncle Joe's outside, and he's hungering for a sight of your face as much as if ye were his own bairn. You needna hurry if a good cry would relieve your feelings." But Gwen, after the first outburst was over, soon controlled herself, and was ready to step out into the sunshine, free once more to go whither she would without a stain on her reputation. " How good it feels to be alive, and how the sweet clear air seems like a breath from the heavenly hills," she said directly they got outside. " Well, miss," said Joe, directly they had left the jail behind, and he lashed the horses into a wild gallop, " I reckon you are the biggest fraud that's goin'. The Wild Man of Borneo, who was born at Bermondsey, or the travelling giant, binna a circumstance where you come. Here I've been tryin' to prepare our Rufe to meet a livin' skeleton, wi' cheeks white as a duck's wing, and as bald as a swede turnip, and you turn up as fat as butter, plump as a partridge, and smilin' like the man in the moon when he is in good temper. Been courtin' the governor, I guess, and havin' dinner parties, and playin' at tennis. You'r worse than the widder Maloney, whose eyes bewitched Paddy McGaffery, and drew him all the way from New York to Dublin, and when he got there he found he was just in time to get a bit of weddin' cake, for she had married Mike Hattery. Gee up, there," he said to the horses, " don't you know A STRANGE CONFESSION. 333 you've got the Queen of Humbugs behind you ? " Gwen sat and smiled, content in the thought that she was going home, which seemed the brighter and happier because of the dark back- ground of the last few weeks. As yet she knew nothing of the circumstances which had led to her release. All the Governor had told her was that her innocency had been proved, and that he had been ordered to release her. But as they neared the village she heard the church bells ringing merrily. " Who is being married ? " she asked, turn- ing to Rufus. " I dunno know of anyone," said Rufus, looking puzzled. " Do you, Joe ? " " No," replied the latter with a grin. " I guess they are playin' because Queenie's come home." " Ah," said Rufus, " this is another of your tricks. But," he went on, after a pause, " I wish you hadna done it. The lass, I am sure, would rather have come home quietly and wi'oot ony fuss." " I know she would, but I was determined to manage things in my own way for once. We dunno have a prisoner come home in our family every day, so I sent Burrock a sovereign to ring us in. You know when the prodigal came home there was music and dancing. What do you say, Queenie ? " " Dad is right," she replied. " I wanted a very quiet home-coming, and I don't like this ringing of bells a bit. But, never mind, Uncle Joe, you did it for the best ; and we will send 334 ROSES AND THISTLES. and have them stopped as soon as we get in. I hope you have done nothing more." " Well," replied Joe, " I did think of a brass band, but I couldna get one very handy, and so I sent word to the schoolmaster that he might give the scholars a new sixpence round at my expense and a half holiday. And I've given all the men on the farm a day off and a crown piece to spend. And that is all. You see I must do something to express my feelings, and not being given to shout ' Glory ' like Rufe, when I'm full up to the brim, I did it in my own way." " You meant well," replied Rufus, " and I'll not begrudge you anything that will make you happy. But we should think of others first. There's the lass here who ought to have been consulted, and then I think of that poor, dis- tracted woman up at Stourbridge Hall, lookin' in the face of her dead lad and thinkin' of what might have been. I fear, wi' the funeral to- morrow, this merry pealing of bells will only increase her heartache, which if I mistake not, is hard enough to bear." ' ' Pooh ! " said Joe, ' ' dunno trouble about her. She made a bed of thistles herself, and I'm not going to use up all my pocket-handker- chiefs wiping my eyes now she's got to lie on it. When I think of what the poor innocent lass has suffered through her and him, I've about as much sympathy for her as would grease the point of a needle." * ' But we mon forgive," replied Rufus. ' ' That is our first duty. If the young man sinned, he has suffered, and now we mon leave him in the hands of God, who knows all hearts and will A STRANGE CONFESSION. 335 judge righteous judgment. We must be pitiful to the dead." During the conversation Gwen turned from one to the other, and at length she asked, " Of whom are you talking, dad ? Who is dead ? " " Well, I didna intend to tell ye till we got home. But now you know part, you may as well know all. Harold Wincanton was shot on Tuesday night last week ; it is thought by one of the gipsy Bremners. He lived two days, and then passed away. It is to be hoped that ere he died he sought pardon where it is to be found." The colour all left Gwen's face, and a great pity filled her heart as she heard of the death of her whilom lover, and her eyes filled with tears. 1 ( They nearly sent me to keep you company," said Joe, '* but they thought one of the family was enough at a time. But dad has not told you that before he died he confessed that he put the necklace in your box." " What ! " exclaimed she, in great surprise. ' 'Harold!" ' ' Yes ; the scamp ! And signed a statement with his own hand to that effect. Didn't he, Rufe ? " " But," said Gwen, " he couldn't it is im- possible. There must have been some mistake." " None at all, Queenie," replied Joe. " Sir John Crookworth has a copy of the statement signed in his presence and that of the vicar." Gwen was silent for the rest of the journey. She was greatly puzzled. She could not reconcile this statement of the dying man with certain facts known only to herself. 336 ROSES AND THISTLES. First, Harold had not returned to Stourbridge Hall when she had retired to rest on the last fateful night of her visit. She was quite sure that she bolted the bedroom door inside, as she always did before putting out the light. Then her box was locked ready for removal, and the key was in her purse under her pillow. In the morning the maid brought her breakfast, and she remembered well that she had hurt her finger in pushing back the bolt of the door, which was stiff. She had barely time to partake of breakfast and put on her hat and coat ere the maid announced that the carriage was ready to take her home Nobody entered the room except the maid, who had no time or opportunity to deposit anything in her box even if it had been open. How, then, could Harold have been the guilty party ? She, however, determined to say nothing until she had time to think it over. When they reached the village she was greatly moved, for at every door there was a group who waved her a welcome home with pocket-handker- chiefs, and the schoolmaster with all his scholars stood at the street corner and gave her a loud ' ' Hurrah ! " three times repeated. The vicar was waiting in the doorway of the vicarage, and stepped out to shake hands with her, and Sir John Crookworth and his wife came driving to meet them. " Bless me," exclaimed Joe, " here's the whole clamjamfray turned out to take part in the programme. I'll have to go and jail myself if it makes a body so popular. It's as good as a club feast and a horse fair all in one." A STRANGE CONFESSION. 337 Gwen would willingly have spared all these greetings, but she got through it nobly. Still, she was not sorry when she was folded in her mother's arms in her own little room at home. Joe, with a tact and self-denial that did him great credit, refused to stay for lunch, under the plea that the horses were too warm to stand, for he felt that those three, who were so much to each other, would want to be alone together. After the meal Rufus got out the big Bible and read the ic>3rd Psalm, and then suggested they should sing a hymn, and forthwith struck up with " God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform ; He plants His footsteps on the sea, And rides upon the storm." Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for His grace ; Behind a frowning Providence He hides a smilingTface." CHAPTER XXX. NEMESIS. " The just shall dwell, And after all their tribulations long, Six golden days fruitful of golden deeds." MILTON. THE next day Harold Wincanton was laid in his resting place. His mother distraught with grief refusing the consolations of religion, sat in the lonely hall, the wealthiest and most miserable woman in the parish. Smitten with remorse one moment, and the next with a desolate sense of loneliness, and a fierce resent- ment againt those whom she regarded as her enemies. Her plot had miserably failed. At one time she seemed to have all the cards in her hand, and yet the game had gone against her. One fixed determination took hold of her, and that was to sell Stourbridge Hall, and leave the neighbourhood as speedily as possible. She could hear the muffled tolling of the bell, that announced that the funeral cortege was reaching the church, and it sounded to her like the dirge of her every joy. She sorrowed like those who have no hope ; over the newly-made grave there was no rainbow of promise. Gwen had slipped back very naturally and easily into her old life, except that she no longer had to seek pupils they sought her. And NEMESIS. 339 soon she was living a full, active life. But Rufus noted that there was a new development in her character ; a solicitude for the cares and sorrows of others she had never manifested before. Those terrible weeks in prison had taught her many things, and given a depth and richness to her character, which added an additional charm to her personality. Formerly the key-note to her character had been self-pleasing, now it was self-sacrifice. Before she had avoided coming in contact with poverty, now she sought it out. Her great joy was to go with Rufus when he was visiting the poor and sick, and carry flowers or a basket of tempting delicacies, just such as only his wife could prepare. And very frequently she would sing a favourite hymn for some sufferer, and soon her visits were greatly prized and eagerly looked forward to by the sick and sad. " The vicar and I will have to retire from the business," Rufus told his wife one day, as tears of gratitude filled his eyes. " We binna in it at all where Gwen comes. To hear her talking to that little girl of Sutton's as is dying of consumption would have done you good. I reckon I'm fairly quick wi' bairns, gettin' 'em to talk and a' that ; but la' bless you, while I'm getting ower the first stile she's half way across the field. And then that old heathen, Charlie Swarton, who boasts that he's never bin inside a place of worship sin' he was christened, who has got notice to quit, signed by the hand of death, I couldna get him to talk about owt else except pigs and gardens, but in no time she was singing to him about the home above there, 340 ROSES AND THISTLES. and he lay looking at the ceiling as if he was gettin' a peep in at the front door, and when she was done, he axed her to come again. I tell you the Lord knew what He was doin' when He sent her to jail. It's my opinion He met her there." Rufus was right. The sights she had wit- nessed, the dreadful, hopeless, lives of some of her sister prisoners, had touched her heart, and she had solemnly resolved that when she got out she would no longer be content to live the butterfly life she had been living, but would seek to be of some real service in the world. When Mr. Evans, for a second time, sought her hand in marriage, she, to the great delight of Rufus, accepted him ; and the wedding was arranged to take place early in the following spring. " I knew it wad be a parson," said Joe, when he was told of it. " Wimin always like husbands who wear a uniform. A soldier, a parson, and a jockey can have any woman they like for a wife. There binna any soldiers about here, and the only jockey is Tim Short, and he's married, and has thirteen children. So there was only the parson left. Well, he knows a good deal about horses, and as much about farmin' as most farmers. He is a good fisherman, and if he only knew how to preach he would be first rate. But you can't have everything in one man, can you, Rufe ? " " Why," replied Rufe, " there is not a better or a sounder preacher in the Connexion than Mr. Evans. He'll be President of the Conference some day." NEMESIS. 341 " Sound," said Joe, " a man who says that * the meteorological conditions of the weather are likely to be disturbed, and indicate possi- bilities of an electrical and thunderous out- burst,' instead of saying there is likely to be a thunderstorm, is all sound, and but little sense. But he'll maybe learn to speak more to the point when he is married. It generally has that effect, I notice. The one thing I have to say is that she is far too good for him. But have you heard that Lady Jezebel is selling the estate and is going back to London ? " " No," said Rufus, " is it true ? " " Ay, I've just come from Whitehurst, and have got the information first hand from her lawyer, who has made me an offer of the Red Acres. And I'm going to have it, but I'm not going to give their price for it if I can help it." ' ' Well," said his brother, ' ' I canna say but that I'm glad she's goin', for she has oppressed the hireling in his wages and ground the face of the poor." " She has done wuss than that," rejoined Joe. " If the vicar would allow it, I'd give the ringers a five pound note to ring their merriest peal the day she leaves, if it was the last I had." " No, no," exclaimed Rufus, " you munno do that. Remember, if she has sinned she has suffered. Leave her to her conscience and God." And so it came to pass that the estate was portioned out, and some parts of it sold by private treaty, and Joe Wentworth became possessor of Red Acres. The rest was to be put to the hammer on the 1st of February, and 342 ROSES AND THISTLES. immediately after the sale Lady Wincanton was to leave for London. But man proposes and God disposes. The night before the sale she was retiring to rest when she had the misfortune to upset a table on which stood a lighted lamp. In a moment the drapery round the bed was in flames, and in a vain attempt to extinguish it her dress caught fire. When the servants, alarmed by her cries, rushed in to the rescue, they found their mistress all aflame. The butler instantly drew off the eiderdown quilt from the bed and, rolling her tightly in it, extinguished the flames. But she was very badly burnt and when the doctor arrived she had but a few hours at most to live. Her hair was all burnt, and the right side of her face very much scorched, so that it was very difficult for her to speak. Strange, however, her right hand was un- touched, and she made those around her under- stand she wanted writing materials. When they were handed to her she wrote : " Send for the vicar of Summerton and Miss Went- worth." Instantly messages were despatched, and in a very short time Bedford Bird and Gwen were standing by her bedside. She tried to speak, but, failing in the attempt to make herself understood, she wrote : ' ' My boy was innocent. He told a lie for my sake. I put the necklace in the box." After writing this she stopped for a time. There was still one word to add, more difficult to write than all the other part of the pitiful confession. At length and very slowly she wrote, " Forgive." NEMESIS. 343 Gwen stood for a moment after reading it, and then, with the tears falling, she stooped down and kissed the dying woman. The vicar then knelt and read the Lord's Prayer. A solemn silence filled the room as he finished, and when they rose from their knees Lady Wincanton made an effort to say some- thing, but what it was nobody could tell. She then closed her eyes and fell asleep, a sleep which passed into death. Thus ended a life given up to selfish and worldly aims, almost uninterrupted by a single generous act or noble thought ; nor was there one left behind her who thought it worth while to drop a tear on her grave. In a few weeks Gwen was married. The village bells pealed merrily on that beautiful April morning, an act of grace on the part of the vicar, for of course the marriage took place in the little Methodist Chapel. Joe Wentworth was best man, and made the speech of the day at the wedding breakfast, keeping the table in roars of laughter ; and when the happy couple drove away to the station, prepared for a journey to Llandudno for the honeymoon, he it was who slyly fastened an old Wellington boot to the axle of the carriage. But when the carriage had disappeared he stood gazing for a long time at the bend in the road, and then, turning to his brother, he said : " Rufe, I'm not sure but I should have been a better man if I had married some good woman long ago. There are times when a lonely fire-side is a great temptation to a man, and for want of company he keeps that of the devil. If I'd been a younger 344 ROSES AND THISTLES. man, anyhow, I would have given yon parson a run for his money. As it is, I've made over all I have to Gwen when I die. You'll have enough and to spare." (THE END.) A 000 043 694 9