"Lady Morville didn't concern herself about this; but there was one at the Hall who did, and that one were John Hollands, the butler. It was more nor he could put up with, that any one of the servants should presume to go a different road from him, and refuse the ale when it went round at meals in the kitchen. So, as all his chaffing, and the chaffing of the other servants, couldn't shake Jane, he was determined he'd make her smart for it. And there was something more than this too. I've said that Sir Lionel were a free sort of gentleman, fond of having lots of company; and of course the company wasn't short of ale, and wine, and spirits; and so long as there was a plentiful stock in the cellar, the squire didn't trouble himself to count bottles or barrels. He was not a man himself as drank to excess; he thought drunkenness a low, vulgar habit, and never encouraged it; but he spent his money freely, and those as lived in his family were never watched nor stinted. You may suppose, then, sir, as John Hollands had a fine time of it. He were cock of the walk in the servants' hall, and no mistake. Eh, to see him at church on Sunday! What with his great red face, and his great red waistcoat, and his great watch-chain with a big bunch of seals at the end of it, I couldn't help thinking sometimes as he looked a picture of `the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanity of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh,' which the Catechism tells us to renounce. "You may be sure such a man had a deal in his power; and so he had. And it wasn't only the wine, beer, and spirits as he used pretty much as he liked. Eh! The waste that went on downstairs was perfectly frightful; and a pretty penny he and the cook made between 'em out of their master's property, which they sold on the sly. "Jane saw something of this, and longed to put a stop to it; but, poor thing, what could she really do? She _did_ once take an opportunity of speaking her mind gently to the butler, when they happened to be alone, and tried to show him how wrong and wickedly he was acting. But all she got was, that he gave her back such a volley of oaths and curses as made her feel that it would be no use talking to him any more on the subject just then. And he weren't content with merely abusing her; he threatened her besides as he'd make her see afore long what sort of paying off `sneaking spies' usually got for their pains. And he kept his word.