“I don’t think I’ll ride again just yet, thanks,” said Eustace, with his frank and pleasant smile. “If you don’t object, I’ll walk your way, Tresithny. I’ve often wanted to talk with you, but I’ve never had the opportunity before.” Saul’s face was not responsive; but he was too well trained to refuse to lead the horse for the gentleman when asked, and after all it was not so very far back to his work, where he must of necessity shake off this undesirable companion. “I want to speak to you, Tresithny, about the cause which (in addition to the death of the Duchess) brought me just now into these parts. You know of course that, in the natural order of things, I shall one day be master here. It is not a position I covet. I hold that there is great injustice in making one man ruler and owner of half a county perhaps, and of huge revenues, holding vast powers in his hand whether he be capable or not of ruling wisely and well--simply from an accident of birth, whilst hundreds and thousands of his fellow-men are plunged in untold misery, and vice that is the outcome of that undeserved misery. I believe myself that the whole system of the country is rotten and corrupt, and that the day has come when a new and better era will dawn upon the world. But meantime, in the present, I have to look forward to succeeding his Grace, and I am naturally very greatly interested in the people of this place, and intensely anxious to see them elevated and ennobled.” Saul suddenly looked at the young man as he had never looked at him before, and said between his teeth-- “That’s a strange thing for _you_ to say, sir.” “Why strange?” asked Eustace, half guessing the answer, “Because, sir, if once the people begin to think for themselves, to see for themselves, and to understand the meaning of things around them, they soon won’t stand what they see--won’t stand that one set of men in the country should have everything, and roll in wealth and wallow in luxury, whilst they can’t get bread to put in their children’s mouths. They’ll think it’s time their turn came--as they did in France, I’ve heard, not so very long ago, and that’ll be a bad day for you and for all those like you.”