died, 'avin' a bad liver through takin' gin for
rheumatics; an' Lizbeth Peevey says to me, 'Take lodgers, Jemima; not
that they pays for the trouble, but it 'ill keep an 'ouse'....

"Mr. Perkins' business?"--it was shabby, but the temptation came as a
way of escape from the flow of Mrs. Holmes's autobiography--"now that
I couldn't put a name on, for why, 'e never speaks about 'is affairs;
just 'Good evening, Mrs. 'Olmes; I'll take fish for breakfast
to-morrow;' more than that, or another blanket on 'is bed on the first
of November, for it's by days, not cold, 'e goes...."

It was evident that I must solve the problem for myself.

[Illustration: "I WENT UP TO MR. PERKINS'S ROOM WITHOUT CEREMONY."]

Mr. Perkins could not be a city man, for in the hottest June he never
wore a white waistcoat, nor had he the swelling gait of one who made
an occasional _coup_ in mines, and it went without saying that he did
not write--a man who went to bed at eleven, and whose hair made
no claim to distinction. One's mind fell back on the idea of
law--conveyancing seemed probable--but his face lacked sharpness, and
the alternative of confidential clerk to a firm of dry-salters was
contradicted by an air of authority that raised observations on the
weather to the level of a state document. The truth came upon me--a
flash of inspiration--as I saw Mr. Perkins coming home one evening.
The black frock-coat and waistcoat, dark gray trousers, spotless
linen, high, old-fashioned collar, and stiff stock, were a symbol, and
could only mean one profession.

"By the way, Mr. Perkins," for this was all one now required to know,
"are you Income Tax or Stamps?"

"Neither, although my duty makes me familiar with every department in
the Civil Service. I have the honor to be," and he cleared his throat
with dignity, "a first-class clerk in the Schedule Office.

"Our work," he explained to me, "is very important, and in fact,
vital to the administration of affairs. The efficiency of practical
government depends on the accuracy of the forms issued, and every one
is composed in our office.

"No, that is a common mistake," in reply to my shallow remark; "the
departments do not draw up their own forms, and, in fact, they are not
fit for such work. They send us a memorandum of what their officials
wish to ask, and we put it into shape.

"It requires long experience and, I may say, some--ability, to compose
a really creditable schedule, one that will bring