There was no gap in a fence of which he did not remember the exact bearings, no path hither or thither as to which he could not tell the why and the wherefore.

He had been in his earlier years a poor man as regarded his income,--very poor, seeing that he was an earl.

But he was not at present by any means an impoverished man, having been taught a lesson by the miseries of his father and grandfather, and having learned to live within his means.
Now, as he was going down the vale of years, men said that he was becoming rich, and that he had ready money to spend,--a position in which no Lord De Guest had found himself for many generations back.
His father and grandfather had been known as spendthrifts; and now men said that this earl was a miser.
There was not much of nobility in his appearance; but they greatly mistook Lord De Guest who conceived that on that account his pride of place was not dear to his soul.

His peerage dated back to the time of King John, and there were but three lords in England whose patents had been conferred before his own.

He knew what privileges were due to him on behalf of his blood, and was not disposed to abate one jot of them.