enjoyed the joke of the possibility of him being an
educated man. It was a cheap country pleasantry, and said with genuine
good-fellowship, but Mrs. Hunter, who heard it as she turned to the dining
room with the coffee pot in her hand, disapproved of the familiarity of
it. Mrs. Hunter had disapproved of the plate laid for Jake at the family
table and was out of sorts with the country life into which she had been
plunged.

After Jake had gone to bed upstairs--and that was another grievance of
Mrs. Hunter's, this having the hired man in the room next to her own--she
took up the matter of his position in her son's house seriously.

"All the hired help in the country eat at the table and are accorded the
privileges of any member of the family, mother," John replied to her
objections.

"You don't mean that You'll have to have them at your table day after
day--always?" his mother exclaimed. "You'll never have any home life at
all."

"As long as we farm, mother, we'll be in exactly that position," John
said, stirring the fire in the sitting-room stove, about which they were
gathered for the evening.

"But they eat so awfully much," Mrs. Hunter continued, "and they drink out
of their saucers, and suck their teeth till it makes one sick!" Then
happening to look across at Elizabeth she caught the flush on her young
face and stopped so short that all were embarrassed.

John got up suddenly and left the room and the house. The two women sat in
an uncomfortable silence for some minutes, and then the elder of them went
upstairs to bed, leaving the younger to her mortifying thoughts. Elizabeth
remembered the scorn of the young teacher in her own childhood for the
same offence and reflected that she had been unable to break her family of
similar habits. As far as she was concerned, however, the presence of the
hired man at her table was far less disturbing than that of her husband's
mother. Part of the time she was happy to learn from Mrs. Hunter, but more
of the time she was restless under her supervision.

The week had been an uncomfortable one in both tangible and intangible
ways. Elizabeth had often found John and his mother talking and have them
drop the conversation when she appeared. She had had many humiliating
hours over the disgrace she knew they were discussing. The fact had come
out that Mr. Farnshaw had returned to his home, but nothing beyond that.

Another week passed, and again John refused to take Elizabeth to