of your birth. Your
prowess has proved your profession."

"Reverend sir," said Kenelm, with his unutterable seriousness of aspect,
"I am on my travels in search of truth and in flight from shams, but
so great a take-in as myself I have not yet encountered. Remember me in
your prayers. I am not an American; I am not a prize-fighter. I
honour the first as the citizen of a grand republic trying his best to
accomplish an experiment in government in which he will find the
very prosperity he tends to create will sooner or later destroy his
experiment. I honour the last because strength, courage, and sobriety
are essential to the prize-fighter, and are among the chiefest ornaments
of kings and heroes. But I am neither one nor the other. And all I
can say for myself is, that I belong to that very vague class commonly
called English gentlemen, and that, by birth and education, I have a
right to ask you to shake hands with me as such."

Mr. Lethbridge stared again, raised his hat, bowed, and shook hands.

"You will allow me now to speak to you about your parishioners. You take
an interest in Will Somers; so do I. He is clever and ingenious. But it
seems there is not sufficient demand here for his baskets, and he would,
no doubt, do better in some neighbouring town. Why does he object to
move?"

"I fear that poor Will would pine away to death if he lost sight of that
pretty girl for whom you did such chivalrous battle with Tom Bowles."

"The unhappy man, then, is really in love with Jessie Wiles? And do you
think she no less really cares for him?"

"I am sure of it."

"And would make him a good wife; that is, as wives go?"

"A good daughter generally makes a good wife. And there is not a father
in the place who has a better child than Jessie is to hers. She really
is a girl of a superior nature. She was the cleverest pupil at our
school, and my wife is much attached to her. But she has something
better than mere cleverness: she has an excellent heart."

"What you say confirms my own impressions. And the girl's father has no
other objection to Will Somers than his fear that Will could not support
a wife and family comfortably.

"He can have no other objection save that which would apply equally to
all suitors. I mean his fear lest Tom Bowles might do her some mischief,
if he knew she was about to marry any one else."

"You think, then, that Mr. Bowles is a thoroughly bad and dangerous
person?"

"Thoroughly bad and d