Streaky family, — ^like breakfast bacon. I have known
them all my life, but I never could stand Albert ; and I
have never asked him to my house. He's no friend of
mine, and I feel at liberty to express myself pretty
freely about him. I wonder what brought him here to-
night. Bug under that chip."

Sir Eobert would willingly have stayed with his host
for the remainder of the evening, but just as they had
changed the topic of conversation and settled down into
a comfortable talk about several things that interested
him, — such as the wages of servants, agricultural la-
borers, and artisans in Michigan, the price of bread and
cost of living, the advantage of the great lakes as a



316 ON BOTH SIDES,

commercial highway, expense per bushel of transporting
grain to England, and the merchant-marine of America,
— Mabel joined them, and asked Sir Eobert if he would
not play a game of whist with her mother for a partner
and Mr. Brown and Miss Noel as his adversaries. Agree
ing to this, he walked over and took his seat at the
card-table, and was soon horrifying Mr. Brown by pro
posing to play for money, — only sixpenny points and
" hardly an object," as he explained when he found him-
self, to his great surprise, indirectly accused of gambling.
