eed were made, but to what purpose are complaints, when brought
against a man who can hunt, drink, and smoke, without the lord of the
manor, who is also the justice of peace?

The opposition which Little Margery's father made to this man's
tyranny gave offense to Sir Timothy, who endeavored to force him out
of his farm; and, to oblige him to throw up the lease, ordered both a
brick-kiln and a dog kennel to be erected in the farmer's orchard.
This was contrary to law, and a suit was commenced, in which Margery's
father got the better. The same offense was again committed three
different times, and as many actions brought, in all of which the
farmer had a verdict, and costs paid him; but notwithstanding these
advantages, the law was so expensive, that he was ruined in the
contest, and obliged to give up all he had to his creditors; which
effectually answered the purpose of Sir Timothy, who erected those
nuisances in the farmer's orchard with that intention. Ah, my dear
reader, we brag of liberty, and boast of our laws; but the blessings
of the one, and the protection of the other, seldom fall to the lot of
the poor; and especially when a rich man is their adversary. How, in
the name-of goodness, can a poor wretch obtain redress, when thirty
pounds are insufficient to try his cause? Where is he to find money to
fee counsel, or how can he plead his cause himself (even if he was
permitted) when our laws are so obscure and so multiplied that an
abridgment of them cannot be contained in fifty volumes folio?

As soon as Mr. Meanwell had called together his creditors, Sir Timothy
seized for a year's rent, and turned the farmer, his wife, Little
Margery, and her brother out of doors, without any of the necessaries
of life to support them.

This elated the heart of Mr. Graspall, this crowned his hopes, and
filled the measure of his iniquity; for, besides gratifying his
revenge, this man's overthrow gave him the sole dominion over the
poor, whom he depressed and abused in a manner too horrible to
mention.

Margery's father flew into another parish for succor, and all those
who were able to move left their dwellings and sought employment
elsewhere, as they found it would be impossible to live under the
tyranny of two such people. The very old, the very lame, and the blind
were obliged to stay behind, and whether they were starved, or what
became of them, history does not say; but the characters of the great
Sir Timothy, and the