"You must ask the admiral that when you come up before the magistrates
on Saturday," rejoined Cobb severely--his professional virtue sustained,
perhaps, by the presence of witnesses.

Gampling besides being an itinerant tinker was also an itinerant
political preacher, and seeing that he could prevail nothing by secular
pleas, he betook himself to his spiritual armory, and in a voice of sour
derision that made Bessie Fairfax cringe asked the doctor if he had yet
received the Devil's Decalogue according to h'act of Parliament and
justices' notices that might be read on every wall?--and he proceeded to
recite it: "Thou shalt remove the old landmarks, and enter into the
fields of the poor. Thou shalt wholly reap the corners of thy fields and
gather the gleanings of thy harvest: thou shalt leave nothing for the
poor and the stranger. If a wayfarer that is a-hungered pluck the ears
of corn and eat, thou shalt hale him before the magistrates, and he
shall be cast into prison. Thou shalt turn away thy face from every poor
man, and if thy brother ask bread of thee, thou shalt give him neither
money nor food."

Mr. Carnegie made a gesture to silence the tinker, for he had thrown
himself into an oratorical attitude, and shouted out the new
commandments at the top of his voice, emphasizing each clause with his
right fist brought down each time more passionately on the palm of his
left hand. But his humor had grown savage, and with his eyes glowing
like hot coals in his blackened visage he went on, his tone rising to a
hoarse, hysteric yell: "Thou shalt oppress the poor, and forbid to teach
the gospel in the schools, lest they learn to cry unto their God, and He
hear them, and they turn again and rend thee."

"What use is there in saying the thing that is not, Gampling?" demanded
Lady Latimer impetuously. "The Bible _is_ read in our schools. And if
you workingmen take advantage of the privileges that you have won, you
ought to be strong enough, both in and out of Parliament, to prevent any
new act being made in violation of the spirit of either law or gospel."

"I can't argy with your ladyship--it would be uncivil to say you talk
bosh," replied the tinker as suddenly despondent as he had been furious.
"I know that every year makes this world worse for poor honest folk to
live in, an' that there's more an' more h'acts to break one's shins
over. Who would ha' thowt as ever my old ass could arn me a fine an'
costs o' a summons by ni