county people, per-haps?"

"I am na mich o' a favorite," with satisfaction.

"No, the fact is that until Miss Barholm came to me I had rather a bad
idea of you, Craddock."

This looked somewhat serious, Craddock regarding it rather in the light
of a challenge.

"I'd loike well enow to ha' yo' change it," he said, "but my coat is na
o' th' turnin' web. I mun ha' my say about things--gentry or no gentry."
And his wrinkled old visage expressed so crabbed a determination that
Mr. Haviland laughed outright.

"Oh! don't misunderstand me," he said, "stick to your party, Craddock.
We will try to agree, for Miss Barholm's sake. I will leave you to your
opinion, and you will leave me to mine--even a Member of Parliament
has a right to an opinion, you know, if he doesn't intrude it upon the
public too much."

Craddock went home in a mollified frame of mind. He felt that he
had gained his point and held his ground, and he respected himself
accordingly. He felt too that his associates had additional right to
respect him. It was their ground too, and he had held it for them as
well as for himself. He stopped at The Crown for his midday glass of
ale; and his self-satisfaction was so evident that his friends observed
it, and remarked among themselves that "th' owd lad wur pickin' up his
crumbs a bit."

"Yo're lookin' graidely to-day, Sammy," said one.

"I'm feelin' a trifle graidelier than I ha' done," he answered,
oracularly. "Things is lookin' up."

"I'm main glad to hear it. Tell us as how."

"Well,"--with studied indifference,--"it's noan so great luck i'
comparison, but it's summat to be thankfu' fur to a mon as is down i'
th' world. I've getten the lodge-keeper's place at Mr. Havi-land's."

"Tha' nivver says! Who'd a' thowt it? How ivver did that coom about?"

"Friends i' coort," with dignity. "Friends i' coort. Hond me that jug
o' ale, Tummy. Havi-land's a mon o' discretion, if he is a Member o'
Parlyment. We've had quoite a friendly chat this mornin' as we set i'
th' loibery together. He is na so bad i' his pollytics after aw's said
an' done. He'll do, upo' th' whole."

"Yo' stood up to him free enow, I warrant," said Tummy. "Th' gentle folk
dunnot often hear sich free 'speakin' as yo' gi' 'em, Sammy."

"Well, I had to be a bit indypendent; it wur nat'ral. It would na ha'
done to ha' turnt soft, if he _wur_ th' mester an' me th' mon. But he's
a mon o' sense, as I say, an' he wur civil enow, an' friendly enow. H