ed, and a most
difficult class it is to deal with. He was the confidential servant or
steward of some ancient and probably noble family, embodying in
himself all the faults and virtues, each a trifle accentuated, of the
line he served, and to which, in order to produce him and his like,
his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had doubtless been
attached. It is frequently the case that the honour of the house he
serves is more dear to him than it is to the representative of that
house. Such a man is almost always the repository of family secrets; a
repository whose inviolability gold cannot affect, threats sway, or
cajolery influence.

I knew, when I looked at him, that practically I was looking at his
master, for I have known many cases where even the personal appearance
of the two was almost identical, which may have given rise to the
English phrase, 'Like master, like man.' The servant was a little more
haughty, a little less kind, a little more exclusive, a little less
confidential, a little more condescending, a little less human, a
little more Tory, and altogether a little less pleasant and easy
person to deal with.

'Sir,' he began, when I had waved him to a seat, 'I am a very rich
man, and can afford to pay well for the commission I request you to
undertake. To ask you to name your own terms may seem unbusinesslike,
so I may say at the outset I am not a business man. The service I
shall ask will involve the utmost secrecy, and for that I am willing
to pay. It may expose you to risk of limb or liberty, and for that I
am willing to pay. It will probably necessitate the expenditure of a
large sum of money; that sum is at your disposal.'

Here he paused; he had spoken slowly and impressively, with a touch of
arrogance in his tone which aroused to his prejudice, the
combativeness latent in my nature. However, at this juncture I merely
bowed my head, and replied in accents almost as supercilious as his
own:--

'The task must either be unworthy or unwelcome. In mentioning first
the compensation, you are inverting the natural order of things. You
should state at the outset what you expect me to do, then, if I accept
the commission, it is time to discuss the details of expenditure.'

Either he had not looked for such a reply, or was loath to open his
budget, for he remained a few moments with eyes bent upon the floor,
and lips compressed in silence. At last he went on, without change of
inflection, without a