went on, however, abused the House of Lords, and hoped they would again be voted useless-which immediately brought us to Cromwell and Charles the First.

Here Sir Robert was at home, which the banker was not, and felt it to his cost; for the baronet had the whole epoch, and all its characters, at his finger's ends. In fact, he had brooded over them (probably from hereditary zeal) from his youth till now. Yet he was no bigot; for, with his ancestors, he said that the first part of Charles's reign was marked with most illegal oppressions; and he allowed (a great concession made to justice, spite of inclination) that there had been gross violations of promises, and particularly of the Petition of Right. "These, Sir," said he, turning to me with earnestness, "might possibly have justified drawing the sword, if they had not been remedied. But to force the legal strong-holds, when the abuses were removed that is, to destroy the constitution under pretence of restoring it to health-was something worse than mere political quackery—it was wickedness, which every man of prudence, much more of loyalty and honour, was bound to oppose. The same thing seems going on now; and it behoves all men to settle, and act upon their principles; for the time seems about to come, and come soon, when we may all be put to the proof.

"And if it does come soon?" said the banker, rather pertly—

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Why, then, sir," returned Sir Robert, with pointed emphasis, and laying his hand on his breast, "you all know on which side I shall be found."

"We do," observed Wingate; "but the days are over when a man with your estate could have mustered his followers, and marched to the field on either side. But, were your power ten times as much as it is, such is the progress of reason, that I doubt now if a landlord's, or even a father's influence, could bring one recruit into action in favour of a rotten constitution, against his opinion."

"You do me wrong, Sir," answered Sir Robert, with some dignity, "if you suppose I would wish to force any body's opinion. On the other hand, genuine feelings and principles ought to be openly combated, not undermined by slander and untruth, the worst of corruptions. Missionaries ought not to be sent into peaceable and united families, to broach flattering but false doctrines; to calumniate innocent characters; to expose to undeserved odium, by lie and misrepresentation. I am afraid many of those who call themselves reformers, cannot acquit themselves of this. However, they act wisely in their generation, and you are lucky that your wealth and connexions are not of a nature to make

you feel the inroads upon your personal happiness with those about, and belonging to you, which we (in many instances betrayed) landholders feel. The times, indeed, have triumphed, and our obnoxious reign, thanks mainly to those of our own blood, and those we have most wished to protect and serve, is at an end."

Though he said this in a manner to impress us all with sympathy (for it was evident that he laboured under some personal emotion), the banker, nothing moved from his flippant tone, asked what he meant by protection, and whether it was not better for every man to protect himself?

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"If you think," said Sir Robert, coolly, “ that this is the lot of mankind-that it can be doneor even that mutual dependence was the intention of the Creator, you and I have read human nature very differently. I only wish you may never feel this dependence."

He said this with a very meaning look; and Oldacre, pushing the bottle, and saying, "we are all against you, Wingate;" the latter, not to be beaten, muttered something about universal suffrage, and the tyranny of relations and squires, to suppose that their protegés, as they called them, were to follow their bidding.

Sir Robert, who felt this more home, for reasons which, as I said, I did not then know, though Win

gate and all the table did, darted a contemptuous look at him, and bowing in silence, let the conversation drop.

I confess, this did not raise my ideas either of the talents or the heart of Mr. Wingate, and I was only repressed by my resolution not to wonder at any thing, from wondering at my aristocratic landlord, for admitting such a coxcomb to his table, where he evidently laboured to affront the most respectable person at it.

Having said this, after we broke up, my friend allowed he had made a mistake. "But truth is," said he, “not calculating upon such continued flippancy, I wished to contrive a meeting between him and the Baronet, with a view to make them better friends than they had lately been, for reasons which made Sir Robert justly think himself aggrieved. But you see Wingate did himself no good by his folly, if I ought not rather to say his impudence. However, the fellow is rich, and the cock of his walk; which makes him courted by certain foolish well-meaning people, as they call themselves-earls and dukes among them-who have the wisdom to uphold and approve him, and even toast with him, the reform of the House of Lords, and the Sovereignty of the People."

Again, I was kept by my creed from wondering; but could not help asking further information respecting the grievances of Sir Robert.

"He, certainly," said Oldacre, "is a remarkable man. The strong lines of thought which you see in his countenance, are only true indications of what is in his heart. Better it were not so, and that he were more rubicund and smooth, both in body and mind. He would then adopt your apothegm, and let the world go to the devil its own way, without troubling himself so much about it. At present, he is any thing but at peace with it."

"Is there any thing particular in his war?" asked I.

"A great deal," answered the Squire," and from more causes than one, which will, I much fear, create a sad revolution in his life. In fact, he has determined to quit his country, where, from excess of freedom, he says he can no longer be free." I expressed astonishment at this.

"You shall hear," said Oldacre; and I then collected from him the following account.

Sir Robert it seems has a nephew, his heir, the only Penruddock left, and therefore not only the more dear to his affection, but of the more consequence to the perpetuation of his family principles,—which he has always held so sacred, that a deviation from them is poison to his heart. That there should ever be wanting a Penruddock to uphold the constitution-much more, that one should be found who could deliberately seek to sap its foundations