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Oak lowered the lambs from their unnatural elevation, wrapped them in hay, and placed them round the fire. "We've no lambing-hut here, as I used to have at Norcombe," said Gabriel, "and 'tis such a plague to bring the weakly ones to a house. If 'twasn't for your place here, malter, I don't know what I should do i' this keen weather. And how is it with you to-day, malter?"
Gretchen could hear the malter stirring above; the log cracked and burst into flame. A frown began to gather on the vintner's brow and a sweat in his palm. "I see many strange things here," said the palmist, in a brooding tone. "And what do you see?" asked Gretchen eagerly. "I see very little of vineyards.
"Crooked folk will last a long while," said the maltster, grimly, and not in the best humour. "Shepherd would like to hear the pedigree of yer life, father wouldn't ye, shepherd?" "Ay that I should," said Gabriel with the heartiness of a man who had longed to hear it for several months. "What may your age be, malter?"
"Ah, when I and my wife were married at Norcombe Church," said the old maltster, not pleased at finding himself left out of the subject, "we were called the handsomest couple in the neighbourhood everybody said so." "Danged if ye bain't altered now, malter," said a voice with the vigour natural to the enunciation of a remarkably evident truism.
"Crooked folk will last a long while." said the maltster, grimly, and not in the best humour. "Shepherd would like to hear the pedigree of yer life, father wouldn't ye, shepherd? "Ay that I should." said Gabriel with the heartiness of a man who had longed to hear it for several months. "What may your age be, malter?"
Weren't I stale in wedlock afore ye were out of arms? 'Tis a poor thing to be sixty, when there's people far past four-score a boast'weak as water." It was the unvaying custom in Weatherbury to sink minor differences when the maltster had to be pacified. "Weak as-water! yes." said Jan Coggan. "Malter, we feel ye to be a wonderful veteran man, and nobody can gainsay it."
"Ye be a very old aged person, malter." attested Jan must have a wonderful talented constitution to be able to live so long, mustn't he, neighbours?" "True, true; ye must, malter, wonderful," said the meeting unanimously.
Within the limits of the German commercial league, as, for instance, at Frankfort-on-the-Maine, a pound of the whitest and best loaf sugar is 7d.; the import duty is 31/d., or 30s. per cwt., leaving 31/d. as the price of the sugar. In the year 1827, then, one malter of wheat was equal to 40 lbs. weight of sugar, whilst at present that quantity of wheat is worth 70 lbs. of sugar.
And notwithstanding the perfection of the manufacture, it is probable it will ere long be in most places entirely discontinued. In the years 1824 to 1827, the prices of agricultural produce were much lower than at present, while the price of sugar was the same. At that time one malter of wheat was 10s., and one klafter of wood 18s., and land was falling in price.
Thus, food and fuel were cheap, and the demand for sugar unlimited; it was, therefore, advantageous to grow beet-root, and to dispose of the produce of land as sugar. All these circumstances are now different. A malter of wheat costs 18s.; a klafter of wood, 30s. to 36s. Wages have risen, but not in proportion, whilst the price of colonial sugar has fallen.
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