and refused to admit
him into the house; but when he turned to go to the church,
road-stained as he was, she saw that the honor of the house was
involved, and agreed to let him remain till the family returned. Under
the conditions of the truce he was able to satisfy Martha as to his
identity, and then she rated him soundly for journeying on the Sabbath
day.

Hugh's reception at the vicarage was at first chilling, but soon the
girls gathered round him and inquired about the Glen, the Knock Hill,
Emdale Fort, and the Mourne Mountains, but especially with reference
to the local ghosts and haunted houses.

Hugh was greatly disappointed to find his niece so small and frail.
His pride in the Bronte superiority had rested mainly on the thews and
comeliness of the family, and he found it difficult to associate
mental greatness with physical littleness. On his return home he
spoke of the vicar's family to Mr. McKee as "a poor _frachther_" a
term applied to a brood of young chickens. From his brother Jamie,
Hugh had heard that Branwell had something of the _spunk_ he had
expected from the family on English soil; but he was too small,
fantastic, and a chatterer, and could not drink more than two glasses
of whiskey at the Black Bull without making a fool of himself. In
fact, Jamie, during a visit, had to carry Branwell home, more than
once, from that refuge of the thirsty, and as he had to lie in the
same bed with his nephew he found him a most exasperating bed-fellow.
He would toss about and rave and spout poetry in such a way as to make
sleep impossible.

The declaration of Hugh's mission of revenge was received by Charlotte
with incredulous astonishment, but gentle Anne sympathized with him,
and wished him success; but for her, Hugh would have returned straight
home from Haworth in disgust.

Patrick, as befitted a clergyman, condemned the undertaking, and did
what he could to amuse Hughy. Careful that Hugh's entertainments
should be to his taste, he took him to see a prize fight. His object
was to show him "a battle that would take the conceit out of him." It
had the contrary effect. Hugh thought that the combatants were too fat
and lazy to fight, and he always asserted that he could have "licked
them both."

The vicar also took him to Sir John Armitage's, where he saw a
collection of arms, some of which were exceedingly unwieldy. Hugh was
greatly impressed with the heaviness of the armor, and especially with
Robin Hood'