ocker persisted it was felt
that Crocker was a bore. When Crocker declared to Roden personally
that his conscience would not allow him to encounter a man whom he
believed to be a nobleman without calling him by his title, the
office generally felt that Crocker was an ass. Aeolus was known to
have expressed himself as very angry, and was said to have declared
that the man must be dismissed sooner or later. This had been
reported to Crocker. "Sir Boreas can't dismiss me for calling a
nobleman by his right name," Crocker had replied indignantly. The
clerks had acknowledged among themselves that this might be true,
but had remarked that there were different ways of hanging a dog. If
Aeolus was desirous of hanging Crocker, Crocker would certainly find
him the rope before long. There was a little bet made between Bobbin
and Geraghty that the office would know Crocker no longer before the
end of the year.

Alas, alas;--just before the time fixed for the poor fellow's
marriage, during the first week of July, there came to our Aeolus not
only an opportunity for dismissing poor Crocker, but an occasion on
which, by the consent of all, it was admitted to be impossible that
he should not do so, and the knowledge of the sin committed came
upon Sir Boreas at a moment of great exasperation caused by another
source. "Sir Boreas," Crocker had said, coming into the great man's
room, "I hope you will do me the honour of being present at my
wedding breakfast." The suggestion was an unpardonable impertinence.
"I am asking no one else in the Department except the Duca," said
Crocker. With what special flea in his ear Crocker was made to leave
the room instantly cannot be reported; but the reader may be quite
sure that neither did Aeolus nor the Duca accept the invitation. It
was on that very afternoon that Mr. Jerningham, with the assistance
of one of the messengers, discovered that Crocker had--actually torn
up a bundle of official papers!

Among many official sins of which Crocker was often guilty was that
of "delaying papers." Letters had to be written, or more probably
copies made, and Crocker would postpone the required work from day to
day. Papers would get themselves locked up, and sometimes it would
not be practicable to trace them. There were those in the Department
who said that Crocker was not always trustworthy in his statements,
and there had come up lately a case in which the unhappy one was
supposed to have hidden a bundle