“But, you won’t take advantage of me, surely, Sir Arthur?” said Mr. Case, forgetting his own principles. “I shall not take advantage of you, as you would have taken of this honest man. In both cases I shall be guided by memoranda which I have in my possession. I shall not, Mr. Case, defraud you of one shilling of your property. I am ready, at a fair valuation, to pay the exact value of your house and land; but upon this condition—that you quit the parish within one month!” Attorney Case was thus compelled to submit to the hard necessity of the case, for he knew that he could not legally resist. Indeed he was glad to be let off so easily; and he bowed and sneaked away, secretly comforting himself with the hope, that when they came to the valuation of the house and land he should be the gainer, perhaps of a few guineas. His reputation he justly held very cheap. “You are a scholar; you write a good hand; you can keep accounts, cannot you?” said Sir Arthur to Mr. Price, as they walked home towards the cottage. “I think I saw a bill of your little daughter’s drawing out the other day, which was very neatly written. Did you teach her to write?” “No, sir,” said Price, “I can’t say I did _that_; for she mostly taught it herself, but I taught her a little arithmetic, as far as I knew, on our winter nights, when I had nothing better to do.” “Your daughter shows that she has been well taught,” said Sir Arthur; “and her good conduct and good character speak strongly in favour of her parents.” “You are very good, very good indeed, sir, to speak in this sort of way,” said the delighted father. “But I mean to do more than _pay you with words_,” said Sir Arthur. “You are attached to your own family, perhaps you may become attached to me, when you come to know me, and we shall have frequent opportunities of judging of one another. I want no agent to squeeze my tenants, or do my dirty work. I only want a steady, intelligent, honest man, like you, to collect my rents, and I hope, Mr. Price, you will have no objection to the employment.” “I hope, sir,” said Price, with joy and gratitude glowing in his honest countenance, “that you’ll never have cause to repent your goodness.” “And what are my sisters about here?” said Sir Arthur, entering the cottage, and going behind his sisters, who were busily engaged in measuring an extremely pretty coloured calico. “It is for Susan, my dear brother,” said they. “I know she did not keep that guinea for herself,” said Miss Somers. “I have just prevailed upon her mother to tell me what became of it. Susan gave it to her father; but she must not refuse a gown of our choosing this time; and I am sure she will not, because her mother, I see, likes it. And, Susan, I hear that instead of becoming Queen of the May this year, you were sitting in your sick mother’s room. Your mother has a little colour in her cheeks now.”