210 HUNTING THE GRISLY. 



dwellers in cities and in old settled places ; 

 and though they waged a very stern and re- 

 lentless warfare upon evil-doers whose mis- 

 deeds had immediate and tangible bad results, 

 they showed a wide toleration of all save the 

 most extreme classes of wrong, and were not 

 given to inquiring too curiously into a strong 

 man's past, or to criticising him over-harshly 

 for a failure to discriminate in finer ethical 

 questions. Moreover, not a few of the men 

 with whom I came in contact with some of 

 whom my relations were very close and 

 friendly had at different times led rather 

 tough careers. This fact was accepted by 

 them and by their companions as a fact, and 

 nothing more. There were certain offences, 

 such as rape, the robbery of a friend, or mur- 

 der under circumstances of cowardice and 

 treachery, which were never forgiven ; but 

 the fact that when the country was wild a 

 young fellow had gone on the road that is, 

 become a highwayman, or had been chief of a 

 gang of desperadoes, horse-thieves, and cattle- 

 killers, was scarcely held to weigh against 

 him, being treated as a regrettable, but cer- 

 tainly not shameful, trait of youth. He was 

 regarded by his neighbors with the same 

 kindly tolerance which respectable mediaeval 

 Scotch borderers doubtless extended to their 

 wilder young men who would persist in raid- 

 ing English cattle even in time of peace. 



Of course if these men were asked outright 

 as to their stories they would have refused 

 to tell them or else would have lied about 



