CHAPTER VIII: NED IS SORELY TRIED.
Among the many who called upon Mrs.Sankey after the death of her husband was Mr.Mulready, the owner of a mill near Marsden.

He was one of the leading men in the place, although his mill was by no means a large one.

He took rank in the eyes of the little town with men in a much larger way of business by means of a pushing manner and a fluent tongue.

He had come to be considered an authority upon most subjects.
He paid much attention to his dress, and drove the fastest horse and the best got up gig in that part of the country; but it was Mr.Mulready's manner which above all had raised him to his present position in the esteem of the good people of Marsden.

He had the knack of adapting himself to the vein of those he addressed.
With the farmers who came into market he was bluff and cordial; with the people in general he was genial and good tempered.