hat he preferred to talk about something
else. Save as to matters that did not particularly interest me, Ramon was
as reticent as his master; and as Geist had only been with Mr. Fortescue
during the latter's residence at Kingscote, his knowledge, or, rather, his
ignorance was on a par with my own.

Mr. Fortescue's character was as enigmatic as his history was obscure. He
seemed to be destitute both of kinsfolk and friends, never made any
allusion to his family, neither noticed women nor discussed them. Politics
and religion he equally ignored, and, so far as might appear, had neither
foibles nor fads. On the other hand, he had three passions--science,
horses, and horticulture, and his knowledge was almost encyclopaedic. He
was a great reader, master of many languages, and seemed to have been
everywhere and seen all in the world that was worth seeing. His wealth
appeared to be unlimited, but how he made it or where he kept it I had no
idea. All I knew was that whenever money was wanted it was forthcoming,
and that he signed a check for ten pounds and ten thousand with equal
indifference. As he conducted his private correspondence himself, my
position as secretary gave me no insight into his affairs. My duties
consisted chiefly in corresponding with tradesmen, horse-dealers, and
nursery gardeners, and noting the results of chemical experiments.

Mr. Fortescue was very abstemious, and took great care of his health, and
if he was really verging on eighty (which I very much doubted), I thought
he might not improbably live to be a hundred and ten and even a hundred
and twenty. He drank nothing, whatever, neither tea, coffee, cocoa, nor
any other beverage, neither water nor wine, always quenching his thirst
with fruit, of which he ate largely. So far as I knew, the only liquid
that ever passed his lips was an occasional liquor-glass of a mysterious
decoction which he prepared himself and kept always under lock and key.
His breakfast, which he took every morning at seven, consisted of bread
and fruit.

He ate very little animal food, limiting himself for the most part to fish
and fowl, and invariably spent eight or nine hours of the twenty-four in
bed. We often discussed physiology, therapeutics, and kindred subjects, of
which his knowledge was so extensive as to make me suspect that some time
in his life he had belonged to the medical profession.

"The best physicians I ever met," he once observed, "are the Callavayas of
th