But what a different old gentleman would he have been had he lived in
our day!

Then, instead of saying "Rebeck me!" and "Ods Boddikins!" when his
hawk bit his finger or something else put him out of humor, he would
have exclaimed, "Oh, pshaw!" or, "Botheration!" Instead of playing
with a hawk, he would have had a black-and-tan terrier,--if he had any
pet at all; and his wife would not have been bothering herself with a
distaff, when linen, already spun and woven, could be bought for fifty
cents a yard. Had she lived now, the good lady would have been mending
stockings or crocheting a tidy.

Instead of a pitcher of ale on his supper-table, the good knight would
have had some tea or coffee; and instead of a chine of beef, a mess of
pottage, and a great loaf of brown bread for his evening meal, he
would have had some white bread, cakes, preserves, and other trifles
of that sort, which in the olden days were considered only fit for
children and women. The good old English gentlemen were tremendous
eaters. They used to take five meals a day, and each one of them was
heavy and substantial.

If Sir Marmaduke had any sons or daughters, he would have treated them
very differently in the present day. Instead of keeping them at home,
under the tuition of some young clergyman or ancient scholar, until
they should be old enough and accomplished enough to become pages to a
great lord, or companions to some great lady, he would have sent them
to school, and the boys--the younger ones, at least--would have been
prepared for some occupation which would support them, while the girls
would have been taught to play on the piano and to work slippers.

In these days, instead of that old helmet on the floor, you would have
seen a high-top hat--that is, if the old gentleman should continue to
be as careless as the picture shows him; instead of a cross-bow on the
floor, and another leaning against the chair, you would have seen a
double-barrelled gun and a powder-horn; and instead of the picturesque
and becoming clothes in which you see Sir Marmaduke, he would have
worn some sort of a tight-fitting and ugly suit, such as old gentlemen
now-a-days generally wear.

There were a great many advantages in the old style of living, and
also a very great many disadvantages. On the whole, we should be very
thankful indeed that we were born in this century, and not in the good
old times of yore.

A little boy once made a very wise remark on th