‘I think I am a bit i’ that line. I promise ye naught and I advise ye naught; but I bid ye keep your heart up, and be guided by circumstances.’

‘My namesake the physician’s almanack could not speak more guardedly.’

‘In the meantime, I care naught about ye, Robert Moore; ye are nothing akin to me or mine, and whether ye lose or find a fortune it mak’s no difference to me. Go home, now; it has stricken ten. Miss Hortense will be wondering where ye are.’