own opinions, but he
does know his own pocket."

"I don't believe a man is in pocket by stinginess on his land," said
Sir James.

"Oh, stinginess may be abused like other virtues: it will not do to
keep one's own pigs lean," said Mrs. Cadwallader, who had risen to look
out of the window. "But talk of an independent politician and he will
appear."

"What! Brooke?" said her husband.

"Yes. Now, you ply him with the 'Trumpet,' Humphrey; and I will put
the leeches on him. What will you do, Sir James?"

"The fact is, I don't like to begin about it with Brooke, in our mutual
position; the whole thing is so unpleasant. I do wish people would
behave like gentlemen," said the good baronet, feeling that this was a
simple and comprehensive programme for social well-being.

"Here you all are, eh?" said Mr. Brooke, shuffling round and shaking
hands. "I was going up to the Hall by-and-by, Chettam. But it's
pleasant to find everybody, you know. Well, what do you think of
things?--going on a little fast! It was true enough, what Lafitte
said--'Since yesterday, a century has passed away:'--they're in the
next century, you know, on the other side of the water. Going on
faster than we are."

"Why, yes," said the Rector, taking up the newspaper. "Here is the
'Trumpet' accusing you of lagging behind--did you see?"

"Eh? no," said Mr. Brooke, dropping his gloves into his hat and hastily
adjusting his eye-glass. But Mr. Cadwallader kept the paper in his
hand, saying, with a smile in his eyes--

"Look here! all this is about a landlord not a hundred miles from
Middlemarch, who receives his own rents. They say he is the most
retrogressive man in the county. I think you must have taught them
that word in the 'Pioneer.'"

"Oh, that is Keek--an illiterate fellow, you know. Retrogressive, now!
Come, that's capital. He thinks it means destructive: they want to
make me out a destructive, you know," said Mr. Brooke, with that
cheerfulness which is usually sustained by an adversary's ignorance.

"I think he knows the meaning of the word. Here is a sharp stroke or
two. If we had to describe a man who is retrogressive in the most evil
sense of the word--we should say, he is one who would dub himself a
reformer of our constitution, while every interest for which he is
immediately responsible is going to decay: a philanthropist who cannot
bear one rogue to be hanged, but does not mind five honest tenants
being half-starved: