"Now I believe just the contrary," said the captain. "I don't think we have come to our full growth yet." "Could we lick the French as we did at Trafalgar and Waterloo?" said the doctor. The captain thought a while before he answered, and then spoke with much solemnity. "Yes," said he, "I think we could. And I hope the time will soon come when we may." "We shan't do it if we send Jews to Parliament," said Mr. Comfort. "I must say I think Tappitt wrong," said young Cornbury. "Of course, near as the thing is going, I'm sorry to lose his vote; but I'm not speaking because of that. He has always pretended to hold on to the Church party here, and the Church party has held on to him. His beer is none of the best, and I think he'd have been wise to stick to his old friends." "I don't see the argument about the beer," said the doctor. "He shouldn't provoke his neighbours to look at his faults." "But the Jew's friends would find out that the beer is bad as well as yours." "The truth is," said Cornbury, "that Tappitt thinks he has a personal grievance against me. He's as cross as a bear with a sore head at the present moment, because this young fellow who was to have been his partner has turned against him. There's some love affair, and my wife has been there and made a mess of it. It's hard upon me, for I don't know that I ever saw the young man in my life." "I believe that fellow is a scamp," said the doctor. "I hope not," said Mr. Comfort, thinking of Rachel and her hopes. "We all hope he isn't, of course," said the doctor. "But we can't prevent men being scamps by hoping. There are other scamps in this town in whom, if my hoping would do any good, a very great change would be made."--Everybody present knew that the doctor alluded especially to Mr. Prong, whose condition, however, if the doctor's hopes could have been carried out, would not have been enviable.--"But I fear this fellow Rowan is a scamp, and I think he has treated Tappitt badly. Tappitt told me all about it only this morning." "Audi alteram partem," said Mr. Comfort. "The scamp's party you mean," said the doctor. "I haven't the means of doing that. If in this world we suspend our judgment till we've heard all that can be said on both sides of every question, we should never come to any judgment at all. I hear that he's in debt; I believe he behaved very badly to Tappitt himself, so that Tappitt was forced to use personal violence to defend himself; and he has certainly threatened to open a new brewery here. Now that's bad, as coming from a young man related to the old firm." "I think he should leave the brewery alone," said Mr. Comfort. "Of course he should," said the doctor. "And I hear, moreover, that he is playing a wicked game with a girl in your parish." "I don't know about a wicked game," said the other. "It won't be a wicked game if he marries her."