pposite side of the bar, remained motionless, without
saying a word, buried apparently in important cogitations. With respect
to myself, I swallowed my ale more leisurely, and was about to address my
friend, when his niece, coming into the bar, said that more and more
customers were arriving, and how she should supply their wants she did
not know, unless her uncle would get up and help her.
"The customers!" said the landlord, "let the scoundrels wait till you
have time to serve them, or till I have leisure to see after them." "The
kitchen won't contain half of them," said his niece. "Then let them sit
out abroad," said the landlord. "But there are not benches enough,
uncle," said the niece. "Then let them stand or sit on the ground," said
the uncle, "what care I? I'll let them know that the man who beat Tom of
Hopton stands as well again on his legs as ever." Then opening a side
door which led from the bar into the back yard, he beckoned me to follow
him. "You treat your customers in rather a cavalier manner," said I,
when we were alone together in the yard.
"Don't I?" said the landlord; "and I'll treat them more so yet; now I
have got the whip-hand of the rascals I intend to keep it. I dare say
you are a bit surprised with regard to the change which has come over
things since you were last here. I'll tell you how it happened. You
remember in what a desperate condition you found me, thinking of changing
my religion, selling my soul to the man in black, and then going and
hanging myself like Pontius Pilate; and I dare say you can't have
forgotten how you gave me good advice, made me drink ale, and give up
sherry. Well, after you were gone, I felt all the better for your talk,
and what you had made me drink, and it was a mercy that I did feel
better; for my niece was gone out, poor thing, and I was left alone in
the house, without a soul to look at, or to keep me from doing myself a
mischief in case I was so inclined. Well, things wore on in this way
till it grew dusk, when in came that blackguard Hunter with his train to
drink at my expense, and to insult me as usual; there were more than a
dozen of them, and a pretty set they looked. Well, they ordered about in
a very free and easy manner for upwards of an hour and a half,
occasionally sneering and jeering at me, as they had been in the habit of
doing for some time past; so, as I said before, things wore on, and other
customers came in, who, though they
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