lord abbots? And if not, why not? And why should the stacks
of the Earls of Marney be destroyed, and those of the Abbots
of Marney spared?

Brooding over these suggestions, some voices disturbed him,
and looking round, he observed in the cemetery two men: one
was standing beside a tomb which his companion was apparently
examining.

The first was of lofty stature, and though dressed with
simplicity, had nothing sordid in his appearance. His
garments gave no clue to his position in life: they might have
been worn by a squire or by his gamekeeper; a dark velveteen
dress and leathern gaiters. As Egremont caught his form, he
threw his broad-brimmed country hat upon the ground and showed
a frank and manly countenance. His complexion might in youth
have been ruddy, but time and time's attendants, thought and
passion, had paled it: his chesnut hair, faded, but not grey,
still clustered over a noble brow; his features were regular
and handsome, a well-formed nose, the square mouth and its
white teeth, and the clear grey eye which befitted such an
idiosyncracy. His time of vigorous manhood, for he was much
nearer forty than fifty years of age, perhaps better suited
his athletic form, than the more supple and graceful season of
youth.

Stretching his powerful arms in the air, and delivering
himself of an exclamation which denoted his weariness, and
which had broken the silence, he expressed to his companion
his determination to rest himself under the shade of the yew