s the representatives of the family had withdrawn themselves
from any active participation in public affairs, and living here at
small expense upon their lands, which were at that time very large,
had amassed a quantity of wealth that, for the age, might fairly be
called enormous. Thus, Sir Stephen de la Molle, the grandfather of the
Sir James who lived in the time of James I., left to his son, also
named Stephen, a sum of no less than twenty-three thousand pounds in
gold. This Stephen was a great miser, and tradition says that he
trebled the sum in his lifetime. Anyhow, he died rich as Croesus, and
abominated alike by his tenants and by the country side, as might be
expected when a gentleman of his race and fame degraded himself, as
this Sir Stephen undoubtedly did, to the practice of usury.

"With the next heir, Sir James, however, the old spirit of the de la
Molles seems to have revived, although it is sufficiently clear that
he was by no means a spendthrift, but on the contrary, a careful man,
though one who maintained his station and refused to soil his fingers
with such base dealing as it had pleased his uncle to do. Going to
court, he became, perhaps on account of his wealth, a considerable
favourite with James I., to whom he was greatly attached and from whom
he bought a baronetcy. Indeed, the best proof of his devotion is, that
he on two occasions lent large sums of money to the King which were
never repaid. On the accession of Charles I., however, Sir James left
court under circumstances which were never quite cleared up. It is
said that smarting under some slight which was put upon him, he made a
somewhat brusque demand for the money that he had lent to James.
Thereon the King, with sarcastic wit, congratulated him on the fact
that the spirit of his uncle, Sir Stephen de la Molle, whose name was
still a byword in the land, evidently survived in the family. Sir
James turned white with anger, bowed, and without a word left the
court, nor did he ever return thither.

"Years passed, and the civil war was at its height. Sir James had as
yet steadily refused to take any share in it. He had never forgiven
the insult put upon him by the King, for like most of his race, of
whom it was said that they never forgave an injury and never forgot a
kindness, he was a pertinacious man. Therefore he would not lift a
finger in the King's cause. But still less would he help the
Roundheads, whom he hated with a singular hatred.