The farmer's son, a mere lad, whose head barely rises to his saddle, talks of 'the duke' as his hero.

This boy knows the country, and can ride straight, better than many a gentleman with groom and second horse behind.

Already, like his elders, he looks forward impatiently to the fall of the leaf.

The tenants' wives and daughters allude with pleasure to the annual social gatherings at the mansion, and it is apparent that something like a real bond exists between landlord and tenant.

No false pride separates the one from the other--intercourse is easy, for a man of high and ancient lineage can speak freely to the humblest labourer without endangering his precedence.