They were four in all, and as they came in, bowing, and grinning, and blushing, the housekeeper, and cook, and housemaid, brought up the rear.
'Seven,' said brother Ned, filling a corresponding number of glasses with the double-diamond, 'and David, eight.

There! Now, you're all of you to drink the health of your best friend Mr Timothy Linkinwater, and wish him health and long life and many happy returns of this day, both for his own sake and that of your old masters, who consider him an inestimable treasure.

Tim Linkinwater, sir, your health.

Devil take you, Tim Linkinwater, sir, God bless you.' With this singular contradiction of terms, brother Ned gave Tim Linkinwater a slap on the back, which made him look, for the moment, almost as apoplectic as the butler: and tossed off the contents of his glass in a twinkling.
The toast was scarcely drunk with all honour to Tim Linkinwater, when the sturdiest and jolliest subordinate elbowed himself a little in advance of his fellows, and exhibiting a very hot and flushed countenance, pulled a single lock of grey hair in the middle of his forehead as a respectful salute to the company, and delivered himself as follows--rubbing the palms of his hands very hard on a blue cotton handkerchief as he did so: 'We're allowed to take a liberty once a year, gen'lemen, and if you please we'll take it now; there being no time like the present, and no two birds in the hand worth one in the bush, as is well known--leastways in a contrairy sense, which the meaning is the same.

(A pause--the butler unconvinced.) What we mean to say is, that there never was (looking at the butler)--such--( looking at the cook) noble--excellent--( looking everywhere and seeing nobody) free, generous-spirited masters as them as has treated us so handsome this day.