ay, which naturally led me to think
of the owner of the house, at that moment my employer. In my mind's eye
I could see her just as she had stood on that old stone bridge at
Bishopstowe, with the sunset behind her and the church bells sounding
across the meadows, calling the villagers to evensong. How much better
it was, I argued, to be standing talking to her there in that old world
peace, than to be dressing for a dinner at an up-to-date French
restaurant. My toilet completed, I descended to the street, hired a
_fiacre_, and drove to the restaurant where I had arranged to meet my
friend. The place in question is neither an expensive nor a fashionable
one. It has no halls of mirrors, no dainty little cabinets, but, to my
thinking, you can obtain the best dinner in all Paris there. On reaching
it I found my guest had been the first to arrive. We accordingly
ascended the stairs to the room above, where we selected our table and
sat down. My companion was a witty little man with half the languages of
Europe on his tongue, and a knowledge of all the tricks and dodges of
all the criminal fraternity at his finger-ends. He has since written a
book on his experiences, and a stranger volume, or one more replete with
a knowledge of the darker side of human nature it would be difficult to
find. He had commenced his professional career as a doctor, and like
myself had gradually drifted into the detective profession. Among other
things he was an inimitable hand at disguising himself, as many a
wretched criminal now knows to his cost. Even I, who know him so well,
have been taken in by him. I have given alms to a blind beggar in the
streets, have encountered him as a _chiffonier_ prowling about the
gutters, have sat next to him on an omnibus when he has been clothed as
an artisan in a blue blouse, and on not one of those occasions have I
ever recognized him until he made himself known to me. Among other
things he was a decided epicure, and loved a good dinner as well as any
of his compatriots. Could you but see him with his napkin tucked under
his chin, his little twinkling eyes sparkling with mirth, and his face
wreathed in smiles, you would declare him to be one of the
jolliest-looking individuals you have ever encountered. See him,
however, when he is on business and has a knotty problem to solve, and
you will find a different man. The mouth has become one of iron, the
eyes are as fierce as fierce can be. Some one, I remember, like