quite right; and there is one of the frauds practised on the
world at large. In the public documents, only the Manor leases, with
their pretended feudal covenants and their perpetuity, are kept in view,
while the combination goes to _all_ leases, or nearly all, and certainly
to all _sorts_ of leases, where the estates are of sufficient extent to
allow of the tenants to make head against the landlords. I dare say
there are hundreds of tenants, even on the property of the Renssalaers,
who are honest enough to be willing to comply with their contracts if
the conspirators would let them; but the rapacious spirit is abroad
among the occupants of other lands, as well as among the occupants of
theirs, and the government considers its existence a proof that
concessions should be made. The discontented must be appeased, right or
not!"

"Did Seneca say anything on the subject of his own interests?"

"He did; not so much in conversation with me, as in the discourse he
held with 'Lecturer Holmes.' I listened attentively, happening to be
familiar, through tradition and through personal knowledge, with all the
leading facts of the case. As you will soon be called on to act in that
matter for yourself, I may as well relate them to you. They will serve,
also, as guides to the moral merits of the occupation of half the farms
on your estate. These are things, moreover, you would never know by
public statements, since all the good bargains are smothered in silence,
while those that may possibly have been a little unfavourable to the
tenant are proclaimed far and near. It is quite possible that, among the
many thousands of leased farms that are to be found in the State, some
bad bargains may have been made by the tenants; but what sort of a
government is that which should undertake to redress evils of this
nature? If either of the Renssalaers, or you yourself, were to venture
to send a memorial to the Legislature setting forth the grievances _you_
labour under in connection with this very 'mill-lot'--and serious losses
do they bring to you, let me tell you, though grievances, in the proper
sense of the term, they are not--you and your memorial would be met with
a general and merited shout of ridicule and derision. One man has no
rights, as opposed to a dozen."

"So much difference is there between _'de la Rochefocauld et de la
Rochefoucauld_.'"

"All the difference in the world: but let me give you the facts, for
they will serve as a