The great house was believed to have secured the first 'refuse' of Luke's property, if ever he thought of selling.

Luke, in fact, among the lower classes was looked upon as a capitalist--a miser with an unknown hoard.

The old man used to sit of a winter's evening, after he had brought down the rabbits, by the hearth, making rabbit-nets of twine.

Almost everybody who came along the road, home from the market town, stopped, lifted the latch without knocking, and looked in to tell the news or hear it.

But Luke's favourite manoeuvre was to take out his snuff-box, tap it, and offer it to the person addressing him.