d was regarded as a remarkably
honest and faithful man,--and so he was; but those qualities which
rendered him valuable to his lordship, of course rendered him devilish
obnoxious to me,--for he suspected my real character, and was
continually playing the spy upon me, and informing my master of all my
little peccadilloes. For instance, his lordship would send for me in
his library, and say, sternly,--'Simpson, my valet Lagrange informs me
that you are improperly intimate with one of the female domestics; you
must stop it, or quit my service.' And perhaps the next day he would
again summon me before him, and, with that cursed valet grinning
maliciously at me from behind his chair, say to me,--'Simpson, I hear
that you make too free with my wine, and are frequently intoxicated;
stop it, or I shall dismiss you.' In short, Lagrange was the bane of
my existence, and I secretly swore to be terribly revenged upon him
for his tattling propensities. You'll soon see how well I kept my
oath.

"My Lady Hawley was a very gay, dissipated and beautiful woman, and I
had long been aware that during my master's absence she was in the
habit of receiving the clandestine visits of a handsome young officer
of dragoons. To tell the truth, I used to admit him to the house, and
see that no one was in the way to observe him enter her ladyship's
chamber, for which services I received very liberal rewards from both
her ladyship, and Captain St. Clair. Lord Hawley doted upon his wife,
who was many years younger than himself; and often have I laughed in
my sleeve when I thought what a cuckold she made of him. But he
suspected nothing of the kind; I was the only person, besides the
parties, who knew of the intrigue; even Lagrange, artful spy as he
was, did not discover it. My master, who was addicted to gambling, was
absent until a late hour every night, at Crockford's; and thus her
ladyship had every opportunity to enjoy frequent interviews with her
lover. As I knew of her frailty, I had her completely in my power; and
often I was tempted to threaten her with exposure, unless she would
"come down" handsomely with a thousand pounds or so, and grant me _any
other favor_ that I might choose to demand, as the price of my
silence,--for, as I said before, she was a beautiful woman, and a
butler has feelings as ardent as those of a captain of dragoons.

"Well, matters continued very qu