His nearest relatives of the name were Sir Felix and Henrietta, but they were no more than second cousins.

He had sisters, but they had long since been married and had gone away into the world with their husbands, one to India, and another to the far west of the United States.

At present he was not much short of forty years of age, and was still unmarried.

He was a stout, good-looking man, with a firmly set square face, with features finely cut, a small mouth, good teeth, and well-formed chin.
His hair was red, curling round his head, which was now partly bald at the top.

He wore no other beard than small, almost unnoticeable whiskers.