Jack, however, with all his craze, was too knowing not to see that the women, beyond advancing him a few shillings at a time, would do little for his cause so far as any terms with Squire Bull was concerned; so, with the view of making a last attack upon the Squire, and driving him into terms, he began to look about for assistance among those with whom he had previously been at loggerheads.  It cost him some qualms before he could so far abase his stomach as to do so; but at last he ventured to address a long and pitiful letter to Hugh, in which he set forth all his disputes with John, and dwelt much on his scruples of conscience; begged him to forget old quarrels, and put down his name to a Round Robin, which he was about to address to the Squire in his own behalf.  To this epistle Hugh answered as follows:—­“Dearly beloved,—­my bowels are grieved for your condition, but I see only one cure for your scruples of conscience.  Strip off the Squire’s livery, and give up your place, as I did, and your peace of mind will be restored to you.  In the mean time, I do not see very well why I should help you to pocket the Squire’s wages, and do nothing for it.  Yours, in the spirit of meekness and forgiveness—­HUGH.”  After this rebuff, Jack, you may easily believe, saw there was little hope of assistance from that quarter.

As a last resource, he called a general meeting of his friends, at which it was resolved to present the proposed Round Robin to John, signed by as many names as they could muster; in which Jack, who seemed to be of opinion that the more they asked the greater was their chance of getting something at least, set forth the articles he wanted, and without which, he told John, he could no longer remain in his house; but that he and his relatives and friends would forthwith, if this petition was rejected, walk out, to the infinite scandal of the neighbourhood, leaving the Squire without a teacher or a writing-master within fifty miles to supply their place.  They demanded that the Squire should give up the nomination of the ushers entirely, though in whose favour they did not explain; and that Jack was in future to be a law unto himself, and to be supreme in all matters of education, with power to himself to define in what such matters consisted.  On these requests being conceded, they stated that they would continue to give their countenance to the Squire as in times past; otherwise the whole party must quit possession incontinently.  Jack prevailed on a good many to sign this document—­though some did not like the idea of walking out, demurred, and added after the word incontinently, “i.e. when convenient,”—­and thus signed, they put the Round Robin under a twopenny cover, and dispatched it to “John Bull, Esquire”—­with haste.

If they really thought the Squire was to be bullied into these terms by this last sally, they found themselves consumedly mistaken; for after a time down came a long and perfectly civil letter from the Squire’s secretary, telling them their demands were totally out of the question, and that the Squire would see them at the antipodes sooner than comply with them.