Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: III. TOPPINGTON PRIORY. LORD TOPPINGHAM SEES A " REAL AMERICAN." TTUMPHREYS was right. A day or two afterward, there came from the Priory an invitation to the Bore- hams to meet some people who were to be there at luncheon, in an informal way. " You 'll go with us, of course," said Sir Charles. "We know the Toppinghams well, and they 'll be very pleased to see you." Indeed, the Borehams did know the Toppinghams well, and Borehams had known Toppinghams for generations. They had been neighbours and friendsor neighbours and enemies, almost ever since England was England. They had fought Duke William at Hastings, and were among those who had been allowed to retain their little estates as vassals of one of the Conqueror's great barons. They fought together at Agincourt, each with his spear or two and his dozen or score of bowmen, under the banner of the lord of their marches. They had fought each other in the Wars of the Roses, when the Toppinghams were Lancastrians and the Borehams Yorkists. Together they had resisted the tyranny of Charles I., and had supported Sir William Waller—fondly called by the Parliament party William the Conqueror—in his triumphant march through the western counties ; and together they had joined him in his defection from the Parliament, when it became revolutionary. There had been an intermarriage or two, inolden times ; but of later years the Toppinghams had become ambitious in this respect, as well as in all others, while the Borehams went on their steady way, as simple English gentlemen. But such knowledge and friendship through centuries is full of meaning. There are no shams about it, or uncertainties or possible concealments. The ladies and the M.P. drove over in a pony phaeton and a landau ; but Sir Charles and I rode, he grumbling a littl...