the new house till the gardens were in perfect order, the
succession houses in full bearing, and the mansion thoroughly
seasoned. But the Lexleyans guessed the truth, that he had no mind to
confront the first outbreak of their ill-will.

Nearly four years elapsed before he took possession of the place; four
years, during which Sir Laurence Altham had never set foot in the
hall, and was heard of only through his follies and excesses; and when
Mr Sparks at length made his appearance, with his handsome train of
equipages, and surrounded by his still handsomer family, so far from
meeting him with sullen silence, the tenantry began to regret that
they had not erected a triumphal arch of evergreens for his entrance
into the park, as had been proposed by the less eager of the
Althamites.

After all, their former prejudice in favour of the young baronet was
based on very shallow foundations. What had he ever done for them
except raise their rents, and prosecute their trespasses? It was
nothing that his forefathers had endowed almshouses for their support,
or served up banquets for their delectation--Sir Laurence was an
absentee--Sir Laurence was as the son of the stranger. The fine old
kennel stood cold and empty, reminding them that to preserve their
foxes was no longer an article of Lexley religion; and if any of the
old October, brewed at the birth of the present baronet, still filled
the oaken hogsheads in the cellars of the hall, what mattered it to
them? No chance of their being broached, unless to grace the funeral
feast of the lord of the manor.

To Jonas Sparks, Esq. M.P., accordingly, they dedicated their
allegiance. A few additional chaldrons of coals and pairs of blankets,
the first frosty winter, bound them his slaves for ever. Food, physic,
and wine, were liberally distributed to the sick and aged whenever
they repaired for relief to the Doric portico; and, with the usual
convenient memory of the vulgar, the Lexleyans soon began to remember
of the Altham family only their recent backslidings and ancient feudal
oppressions: while of the Sparkses they chose to know only what was
evident to all eyes--viz., that their hands were open and faces
comely.

Into their hearts--more especially into that of Jonas, the head of the
house--they examined not at all; and were ill-qualified to surmise the
intensity of bitterness with which, while contemplating the beauty and
richness of his new domain, he beheld the turrets of