one, Cray," said Gladys. "Be as conservative as you like,
Swan. Why shouldn't you? It's the only right thing."

"Nothing can be very far wrong as Old Master thinks," answered Swan. "He
never interfered with my ways of doing my work either, no more than Mr.
John does, and that's a thing I vally; and he never but once wanted me
to do what I grudged doing."

"When was that?" asked Mr. Augustus John.

"Why, when he made me give up that there burial club," answered Swan.
"He said it was noways a moral institootion; and so I shouldn't have
even a decent burying to look forward to for me and my wife (my poor
daughters being widows, and a great expense to me), if he hadn't said
he'd bury us himself if I'd give it up, and bury us respectably too, it
stands to reason. Mr. John heard him."

"Then, thath the thame thing ath if he'd thaid it himthelf," observed
Johnnie, answering the old man's thought about a much older man.

"Did I say it wasn't, sir? No, if ever there was a gentleman--it's not
a bit of use argufying that all men are ekal. I'm not ekal to either of
them two."

"In what respect?" asked Crayshaw.

"In what respect? Well, sir, this is how it is. I wouldn't do anything
mean nor dishonest; but as for them two, they couldn't. I never had the
education neither to be a gentleman, nor wished to. Not that I talk as
these here folks do down here--I'd scorn it. I'm a Sunbury man myself,
and come from the valley of the Thames, and talk plain English. But one
of my boys, Joey," continued Swan, "talking of wishes, he wished he'd
had better teaching. He's been very uppish for some time (all his own
fault he hadn't been more edicated); told his mother and me, afore he
sailed for the West Indies, as he'd been trying hard for some time to
turn gentleman. 'I shall give myself all the airs that ever I can,' he
says, 'when once I get out there.' 'Why, you young ass!' says I, 'for
it's agen my religion to call you a fool (let alone your mother wouldn't
like it), arn't you awear that giving himself airs is exactly what no
real gentleman ever does?' 'A good lot of things,' says he, 'father,
goes to the making of a gentleman.' 'Ay, Joey,' says I, 'but ain't a
gentleman a man with good manners? Now a good-manner'd man is allers
saying by his ways and looks to them that air beneath him, "You're as
good as I am!" and a bad-manner'd man is allers saying by his ways and
looks to them that air above him, "I'm as good as you air!" There's a