ONE:When evening came and the cool of the day, he would go for a little stroll��round by Burntbarns or Socknersh or Moor's Cottage, just to see what sort of a mess they were making of things. He was no longer upright now, but stooped forward from the hips when he walked. His hair was astonishingly thick��indeed it seemed likely that he would die with a full head of hair��but he had lost nearly all his teeth��a very sore subject, wisely ignored by those who came in contact with him. The change that people noticed most was in his eyes. In spite of their thick brows, they were no longer fierce and[Pg 457] stern;��they were full of that benign serenity which one so often sees in the eyes of old men��just as if he had not ridden roughshod over all the sweet and gentle things of life. One would think that he had never known what it was to trample down happiness and drive love out of doors��one would think that having always lived mercifully and blamelessly he had reaped the reward of a happy old age.