take a house so close to the coal-pits and village of
Stokebridge, it was sold for a nominal sum to the owner of the Vaughan,
and was by him used as a residence for his manager.

Now, with the garden nicely laid out, redecorated and repaired outside
and in, and handsomely furnished, it resumed its former appearance of a
gentleman's country seat. Mr. Brook begged Jack as a favour not to go
near the house until the place was put in order, and although the young
man heard that a Birmingham contractor had taken it in hand, and that a
large number of men were at work there, he had no idea of the extensive
changes which were taking place.

A few days before work began again at the Vaughan Jack went down as
usual to the Hadens', for he had looked in every day to say a few words
to them on his way back from the pit-mouth. "Now, dad," he said, "we
must not put the matter off any longer. I am to go into the manager's
house in a fortnight's time. I hear they have been painting and cleaning
it up, and Mr. Brook tells me he has put new furniture in, and that I
shall only have to go in and hang up my hat. Now I want for you to
arrange to come up on the same day."

"We ha' been talking the matter over in every mortal way, the old woman
and me, Jack, and I'll tell 'ee what we've aboot concluded. On one side
thou really wan't t' have us oop wi' 'ee."

"Yes, indeed, dad," Jack said earnestly.

"I know thou dost, lad; me and Jane both feels that. Well that's an
argiment that way. Then there's the argiment that naturally thou
would'st not like the man who hast brought thee oop to be working in the
pit o' which thou wast manager. That's two reasons that way; on the
other side there be two, and the old 'ooman and me think they are
stronger than t'others. First, we should be out o' place at the house
oop there. Thou wilt be getting to know all kinds o' people, and
whatever thou may'st say, Jack, your mother and me would be oot o'
place. That's one argiment. The next argiment is that we shouldn't like
it, Jack, we should feel we were out o' place and that our ways were out
o' place; and we should be joost miserable. Instead o' doing us a
kindness you'd joost make our lives a burden, and I know 'ee don't want
to do that. We's getting on in loife and be too old to change our ways,
and nothing thou could'st say could persuade us to live a'ways dressed
up in our Sunday clothes in your house."

"Well, dad, I might put you both in a comfortabl