ow run to bid Davenport, the tailor, come hither as fast
as his legs will carry him. And you may make it known that this young
gentleman desires a servant, a good man, mind you, with references, who
knows a gentleman's wants. He will be well paid."

That name of Davenport was a charm,--the mention of a servant was
its finishing touch. The chamberlain bent almost double, and retired,
closing the door softly behind him. And so great had been my surprise
over these last acquirements of the captain that until now I had had no
breath to expostulate.

"I must have my fling, Richard," he answered, laughing; "I shall not be
a gentleman long. I must know how it feels to take your ease, and stroke
your velvet, and order lackeys about. And when my money is gone I shall
be content to go to sea again, and think about it o' stormy nights."

This feeling was so far beyond my intelligence that I made no comment.
And I could not for the life of me chide him, but prayed that all would
come right in the end.

In less than an hour Davenport himself arrived, bristling with
importance, followed by his man carrying such a variety of silks and
satins, flowered and plain, and broadcloths and velvets, to fill the
furniture. And close behind the tailor came a tall haberdasher from
Bond Street, who had got wind of a customer, with a bewildering lot of
ruffles and handkerchiefs and neckerchiefs, and bows of lawn and lace
which (so he informed us) gentlemen now wore in the place of solitaires.
Then came a hosier and a bootmaker and a hatter; nay, I was forgetting
a jeweller from Temple Bar. And so imposing a front did the captain wear
as he picked this and recommended the other that he got credit for
me for all he chose, and might have had more besides. For himself he
ordered merely a modest street suit of purple, the sword to be thrust
through the pocket, Davenport promising it with mine for the next
afternoon. For so much discredit had been cast upon his taste on the
road to London that he was resolved to remain indoors until he could
appear with decency. He learned quickly, as I have said.

By the time we had done with these matters, which I wished to perdition,
some score of applicants was in waiting for me. And out of them I
hired one who had been valet to the young Lord Rereby, and whose
recommendation was excellent. His name was Banks, his face open and
ingenuous, his stature a little above the ordinary, and his manner
respectful. I had