As the door opened, he turned a meditative head, and blinked myopically at his visitors before rising.

His movements were very deliberate; his smile, which had the odd effect of elevating one eyebrow and depressing the other, made him look as if he were about to sneeze.

Not without ceremony, Breakspeare presented his companion, whom the old man (his years touched on seventy) greeted in the words of Belshazzar to Daniel: "I have heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and wisdom and excellent understanding are found in thee .-- Be seated, Mr.Lashmar, be seated.

Friend Breakspeare, put your toes on the fender.

Mr.Lashmar, my drink is ale; an honest tap which I have drunk for some three score years, and which never did me harm.