Did
he not in all the years he was at Norton House, and later when
he lived among them in a cottage in the village--did he not go
into their homes and meet them as if he knew and felt that
they were all of the same flesh, children of one universal
Father, and did he not make them feel this about him--that
the differences in fortune and position and education were
mere accidents? And the answer was: No, certainly not! as
if I had asked a preposterous question. He was the squire,
a gentleman--any one might understand that he could not come
among them like that! That is what a parson can do because he
is, so to speak, paid to keep an eye on them, and besides it's
religion there and a different thing. But the squire!--their
squire, that dignified old gentleman, so upright in his
saddle, so considerate and courteous to every one--but he
never forgot his position--never in that way! I also asked if
he had never tried to establish, or advocated, or suggested to
them any kind of reunions to take place from time to time, or
an entertainment or festival to get them to come pleasantly
together, making a brightness in their lives--something which
would not be cricket or football, nor any form of sport for a
few of the men, all the others being mere lookers-on and the
women and children left out altogether; something which would
be for and include everyone, from the oldest grey labourer no
longer able to work to the toddling little ones; something of
their own invention, peculiar to Norton, which would be their
pride and make their village dearer to them? And the answer
was still no, and no, and no.
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