“And yet he seems to be in the lowest depth of poverty and ignorance.”

“Of course he mismanages his property and probably drinks.”

“I dare say, Mr. Morton.  He is proud of his rights, and talked of his father and his grandfather, and yet I doubt whether you would find a man so squalid and so ignorant in all the States.  I suppose he is injured by having a lord so near him.”

“Quite the contrary if he would be amenable.”

“You mean if he would be a creature of the lord’s.  And why was that other man so uncivil to me;—­the man who was the lord’s gamekeeper?”

“Because you went there as a friend of Goarly.”

“And that’s his idea of English fair play?” asked the Senator with a jeer.

“The truth is, Mr. Gotobed,” said Morton endeavouring to explain it all, “you see a part only and not the whole.  That man Goarly is a rascal.”

“So everybody says.”

“And why can’t you believe everybody?”

“So everybody says on the lord’s side.  But before I’m done I’ll find out what people say on the other side.  I can see that he is ignorant and squalid; but that very probably is the lord’s fault.  It may be that he is a rascal and that the lord is to blame for that too.  But if the lord’s pheasants have eaten up Goarly’s corn, the lord ought to pay for the corn whether Goarly be a rascal or not” Then John Morton made up his mind that he would never ask another American Senator to his house.

CHAPTER XVIII

The Attorney’s Family is disturbed

On that Wednesday evening Mary Masters said nothing to any of her family as to the invitation from Lady Ushant.  She very much wished to accept it.  Latterly, for the last month or two, her distaste to the kind of life for which her stepmother was preparing her, had increased upon her greatly.  There bad been days in which she had doubted whether it might not be expedient that she should accept Mr. Twentyman’s offer.  She believed no ill of him.  She thought him to be a fine manly young fellow with a good heart and high principles.  She never asked herself whether he were or were not a gentleman.  She had never even inquired of herself whether she herself were or were not especially a lady.  But with all her efforts to like the man,—­because she thought that by doing so she would relieve and please her father,—­yet he was distasteful to her; and now, since that walk home with him from Bragton Bridge, he was more distasteful than ever.  She did not tell herself that a short visit, say for a month, to Cheltenham, would prevent his further attentions, but she felt that there would be a temporary escape.  I do not think that she dwelt much on the suggestion that Reginald Morton should be her companion on the journey, but the idea of such companionship, even for a short time, was pleasant to her.  If he did this surely then he would forgive her for having