application, to the
opinion of a (Mrs.) Elizabeth Brown, of "The Cottage," Bamston, near
Maidstone, Kent, who, he said, knew more about him than anybody else, and
would take him back into her service later if need and opportunity arose.
This opinion described him briefly but emphatically as honest, sober and
willing. By way of the usual caution we wrote to this good lady direct and
asked her to be so kind as to elaborate her views to us in confidence. In
reply she wrote that James had been with her for eleven years on and off,
had left her only because she was leaving "The Cottage," would be welcomed
back by her when she settled down again, and meanwhile was very honest,
very sober and very willing. There was that about the handwriting and style
of this letter which made us feel that the writer might not be one of the
old _noblesse_, but was, at any rate, a kindly, sensible and acute old
body, who knew now and always what she was talking about. Moreover it
indicated, but did not actually state, that the man had come to be regarded
in the writer's household with feelings more friendly than those usually
found between employer and employe: always, we thought, a strong
recommendation of an old servant. On the strength of this correspondence we
decided to give him a trial at least.

There was nothing peculiar about his appearance, except the suggestion of a
secret sorrow, which was no business of ours. His willingness was at once
apparent: our house being full for a hunt ball there was plenty of work for
him to do, but even so he found time between tea and dinner to put in a
preliminary polish of the silver, which, he told us, was his chief joy in
life, or rather one of them. Moreover he refused to go to bed until our
return from the ball, timed not to be earlier than 4 A.M., and insisted
that he would sit up for us.

We drove off after dinner without a qualm; for, though my wife declares
that she detected a suspicious smell of spirits as he put the carriage rug
over her, unhappily she did not think to mention this till the next day.
When we got back in the small hours we found that, in accordance with his
promise, he had indeed not gone to bed. There he was unmistakably in the
hall. But he wasn't sitting up.... No.... Rather, he was lying down, back
uppermost.... So much for his sobriety.

We resolved to show no mercy. Having promised to drive Captain Merriman,
one of our guests, to the station to catch the early train to