stuous mate. Often when something went
wrong, rather did not go with the almost ideal smoothness at one of
his many banquets (and there never was a more generously hospitable
man), it was piteous to see her trying to smooth away the incident
with the certainty of inflaming the dictator, and turning his wrath
upon herself.

She knew well that not he, but his malady, was accountable. She
believed from her heart in the duality of Forster. There was a hapless
page boy whose very presence and assumed stupidity used to inflame
his master to perfect Bersaker fits of rage. The scenes were
exquisitely ludicrous, if painful; the contrast between the giant and
the object of his wrath, scared out of his life with terror, was
absolutely diverting. Thus the host would murmur "Biscuits!" which was
not heard or not heeded; then louder and more sharply, "BIScuits!"
then a roar that made all start, "BIScuits!!" Poor Mrs. Forster's
agitation was sad to see, and between her and the butler the luckless
lad was somehow got from the room. This attendant was an admirable
comedy character, and in his way a typical servant, stolid and
reserved. No one could have been so portentously sagacious as _he_
looked. It was admirable to see his unruffled calm during his master's
outbursts when something had gone wrong during the dinner. No violence
could betray him into anything but the most placid and correct
replies. There was something fine and pathetic in this, for it showed
that he also recognised that it was not his true master that was thus
raging. I recall talking with him shortly after his master's death.
After paying his character a fine tribute he spoke of his illness.
"You see, sir," he said at last, "what was at the bottom of it all was
he 'ad no _staminer, no staminer_--NO STAMINER, sir." And he repeated
the word many times with enjoyment. I have no doubt he picked it up at
Forster's table and it had struck him as a good effective English
word, spelled as he pronounced it.

Such was John Forster.

* * * * *

End of Project Gutenberg's John Forster, by Percy Hethrington Fitzgerald

*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOHN FORSTER ***

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