birth, they had sense enough to feel that it would have been ridiculous
in them to affect by their conduct the prestige of either; and they
consequently knew that both discrimination and delicacy were necessary
in enabling them to assume and maintain that difficult bearing in
society, which prevented them from encroaching on the one side or giving
up their proper position on the other. So far so good. Their characters,
however, were not without some deep shadows. Whilst we acknowledge that
they were generous, resolute, liberal, and of courage, we must also
admit that they were warm, thoughtless, and a good deal overbearing to
many, but by no means to all, of the peasantry with whom they came in
contact. From the ample scale on which their farming was conducted, and
in consequence of the vast number of men they necessarily had occasion
to employ, they could not but detect among them many instances both of
falsehood, dishonesty, and ingratitude. These vices at their hands never
received any favor. So far from that, those whom they detected in the
commission of them, were instantly turned adrift, Very often after
having received a sound horse-whipping. Much abuse also occurred between
them and the country people with reference to land, and especially
tithes, in which they gave back word for word, and too frequently met
concealed or implied threats either by instant chastisement or open
defiance; the result of all was, as the reader may perceive, that they
had the worst and least scrupulous, and consequently, most dangerous
class of persons in the country for their enemies. The name of the elder
was John, and the younger Alick; and, soothe to say, two finer-looking,
more spirited, or determined young fellows could not be found probably
in the kingdom. The relative position, then, in which they and the
people, or rather the worst class of them, stood to each other, and the
bitter disparaging taunts and observations with which the proctor and
his sons were treated, not only on the chapel green, but almost wherever
they appeared, are now, we trust, intelligible to the reader.