"Is not a department. The Treasury is
a department; the Home Office is a department; the India Board is a
department--"

"No, Mr Kissing, it isn't," said a young clerk from the other end of
the room.

"You know very well what I mean, sir. The India Office is a
department."

"There's no Board, sir."

"Never mind; but how any gentleman who has been in the service three
months,--not to say three years,--can suppose Somerset House to be a
department, is beyond my comprehension. If you have been improperly
instructed--"

"We shall know all about it another time," said Eames. "Mr Love will
make a memorandum of it."

"I shan't do anything of the kind," said Mr Love.

"If you have been wrongly instructed--" Mr Kissing began again,
stealing a glance at Mr Love as he did so; but at this moment the
door was again opened, and a messenger summoned Johnny to the
presence of the really great man. "Mr Eames to wait upon Sir Raffle."
Upon hearing this Johnny immediately started, and left Mr Kissing and
the big book in possession of his desk. How the battle was waged,
and how it raged in the large room, we cannot stop to hear, as it is
necessary that we should follow our hero into the presence of Sir
Raffle Buffle.

"Ah, Eames,--yes," said Sir Raffle, looking up from his desk when
the young man entered; "just wait half a minute, will you?" And the
knight went to work at his papers, as though fearing that any delay
in what he was doing might be very prejudicial to the nation at
large. "Ah, Eames,--well,--yes," he said again, as he pushed away
from him, almost with a jerk, the papers on which he had been
writing. "They tell me that you know the business of this office
pretty well."

"Some of it, sir," said Eames.

"Well, yes; some of it. But you'll have to understand the whole of it
if you come to me. And you must be very sharp about it too. You know
that FitzHoward is leaving me?"

"I have heard of it, sir."

"A very excellent young man, though perhaps not-- But we won't mind
that. The work is a little too much for him, and he's going back into
the office. I believe Lord De Guest is a friend of yours; isn't he?"

"Yes; he is a friend of mine, certainly. He's been very kind to me."

"Ah, well. I've known the earl for many years,--for very many years;
and intimately at one time. Perhaps you may have heard him mention my
name?"

"Yes, I have, Sir Raffle."

"We were intimate once, but those things go off, you know. He