do the fair thing."

"Oh! I have no wish to fight," said the man in black, hastily; "fighting
is not my trade. If I have given any offence, I beg anybody's pardon."

"Landlord," said I, "what have I to pay?"

"Nothing at all," said the landlord; "glad to see you. This is the first
time that you have been at my house, and I never charge new customers, at
least customers such as you, anything for the first draught. You'll come
again, I dare say; shall always be glad to see you. I won't take it,"
said he, as I put sixpence on the table; "I won't take it."

"Yes, you shall," said I; "but not in payment for anything I have had
myself: it shall serve to pay for a jug of ale for that gentleman," said
I, pointing to the simple-looking individual; "he is smoking a poor pipe.
I do not mean to say that a pipe is a bad thing; but a pipe without ale,
do you see--"

"Bravo!" said the landlord, "that's just the conduct I like."

"Bravo!" said Hunter. "I shall be happy to drink with the young man
whenever I meet him at New York, where, do you see, things are better
managed than here."

"If I have given offence to anybody," said the man in black, "I repeat
that I ask pardon,--more especially to the young gentleman, who was
perfectly right to stand up for his religion, just as I--not that I am of
any particular religion, no more than this honest gentleman here," bowing
to Hunter; "but I happen to know something of the Catholics--several
excellent friends of mine are Catholics--and of a surety the Catholic
religion is an ancient religion, and a widely-extended religion, though
it certainly is not a universal religion, but it has of late made
considerable progress, even amongst those nations who have been
particularly opposed to it--amongst the Prussians and the Dutch, for
example, to say nothing of the English; and then, in the East, amongst
the Persians, amongst the Armenians."

"The Armenians," said I; "Oh dear me, the Armenians--"

"Have you anything to say about these people, sir?" said the man in
black, lifting up his glass to his mouth.

"I have nothing farther to say," said I, "than that the roots of Ararat
are occasionally found to be deeper than those of Rome."

"There's half-a-crown broke," said the landlord, as the man in black let
fall the glass, which was broken to pieces on the floor. "You will pay
me the damage, friend, before you leave this kitchen. I like to see
people drink freely in my kitchen, but n