e's a gentleman, anyhow," the General put in with military
decisiveness. "How manly of him to acknowledge at once about the cobbler
being probably a near relation! Most men, you know, Christy, would have
tried to hide it; HE didn't for a second. He admitted his ancestors had
all been cobblers till quite a recent period."

Philip was astonished at this verdict of the General's, for he himself,
on the contrary, had noted with silent scorn that very remark as a piece
of supreme and hopeless stupidity on Bertram's part. No fellow can help
having a cobbler for a grandfather, of course: but he need not be such a
fool as to volunteer any mention of the fact spontaneously.

"Yes, I thought it bold of him," Monteith answered, "almost bolder than
was necessary; for he didn't seem to think we should be at all surprised
at it."

The General mused to himself. "He's a fine soldierly fellow," he said,
gazing after the tall retreating figure. "I should like to make a
dragoon of him. He's the very man for a saddle. He'd dash across country
in the face of heavy guns any day with the best of them."

"He rides well," Philip answered, "and has a wonderful seat. I saw him
on that bay mare of Wilder's in town the other afternoon, and I must say
he rode much more like a gentleman than a cobbler."

"Oh, he's a gentleman," the General repeated, with unshaken conviction:
"a thoroughbred gentleman." And he scanned Philip up and down with his
keen grey eye as if internally reflecting that Philip's own right to
criticise and classify that particular species of humanity was a trifle
doubtful. "I should much like to make a captain of hussars of him.
He'd be splendid as a leader of irregular horse; the very man for a
scrimmage!" For the General's one idea when he saw a fine specimen of
our common race was the Zulu's or the Red Indian's--what an
admirable person he would be to employ in killing and maiming his
fellow-creatures!

"He'd be better engaged so," the Dean murmured reflectively, "than in
diffusing these horrid revolutionary and atheistical doctrines." For the
Church was as usual in accord with the sword; theoretically all peace,
practically all bloodshed and rapine and aggression: and anything
that was not his own opinion envisaged itself always to the Dean's
crystallised mind as revolutionary and atheistic.

"He's very like the duke, though," General Claviger went on, after
a moment's pause, during which everybody watched Bertram and F