"
Again Briggs responded, "Very good, my lord!" And, like an exemplary
servant as he was, he lingered about the passage while Lord Winsleigh
entered his library, and, after remaining there some ten minutes or so,
came out again in hat and great coat. The officious Briggs handed him
his cane, and inquired--
"'Ansom, my lord?"
"Thanks, no. I will walk."
It was a fine moonlight night, and Briggs stood for some minutes on the
steps, airing his shapely calves and watching the tall, dignified figure
of his master walking, with the upright, stately bearing which always
distinguished him, in the direction of Pall Mall. Park Lane was full of
crowding carriages with twinkling lights, all bound to the different
sources of so-called "pleasure" by which the opening of the season is
distinguished. Briggs surveyed the scene with lofty indifference,
sniffed the cool breeze, and, finding it somewhat chilly, re-entered the
house and descended to the servant's hall. Here all the domestics of the
Winsleigh household were seated at a large table loaded with hot and
savory viands,--a table presided over by a robust and perspiring lady,
with a very red face and sturdy arms bare to the elbow.
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