Sentence:  Everything about the old man was clean, if coarse; and, with Death, the <WSD>leveller</WSD>, so close at hand, it was the labourer who made the first advances, and put out his horny hand to the Squire. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  ("especially") Something that transcends people's differences (such as social class, wealth, etc.); something that tends to eliminate advantages and disadvantages.