ht and smooth about his ears, and slightly
powdered, but without the faintest vestige of a curl. He was attired,
under his greatcoat, in a full suit of black, quite free from any
ornament, and of the most precise and sober cut. The gravity of his
dress, together with a certain lankness of cheek and stiffness of
deportment, added nearly ten years to his age, but his figure was that
of one not yet past thirty. As he stood musing in the red glow of
the fire, it was striking to observe his very bright large eye, which
betrayed a restlessness of thought and purpose, singularly at variance
with the studied composure and sobriety of his mien, and with his
quaint and sad apparel. It had nothing harsh or cruel in its expression;
neither had his face, which was thin and mild, and wore an air of
melancholy; but it was suggestive of an indefinable uneasiness; which
infected those who looked upon him, and filled them with a kind of pity
for the man: though why it did so, they would have had some trouble to
explain.

Gashford, the secretary, was taller, angularly made, high-shouldered,
bony, and ungraceful. His dress, in imitation of his superior, was
demure and staid in the extreme; his manner, formal and constrained.
This gentleman had an overhanging brow, great hands and feet and ears,
and a pair of eyes that seemed to have made an unnatural retreat into
his head, and to have dug themselves a cave to hide in. His manner was
smooth and humble, but very sly and slinking. He wore the aspect of a
man who was always lying in wait for something that WOULDN'T come to
pass; but he looked patient--very patient--and fawned like a spaniel
dog. Even now, while he warmed and rubbed his hands before the blaze,
he had the air of one who only presumed to enjoy it in his degree as a
commoner; and though he knew his lord was not regarding him, he looked
into his face from time to time, and with a meek and deferential manner,
smiled as if for practice.

Such were the guests whom old John Willet, with a fixed and leaden
eye, surveyed a hundred times, and to whom he now advanced with a state
candlestick in each hand, beseeching them to follow him into a worthier
chamber. 'For my lord,' said John--it is odd enough, but certain people
seem to have as great a pleasure in pronouncing titles as their owners
have in wearing them--'this room, my lord, isn't at all the sort of
place for your lordship, and I have to beg your lordship's pardon for
keeping you