“Entering beneath the three golden balls, with, the swagger and general air of ownership I thought most likely to impose upon the self-satisfied female who presided over the desk, I asked to see her boss.
“‘On your own business?’ she queried, glancing with suspicion at my short coat, which was rather more showy than elegant.
“‘No,’ I returned, ‘not on my own business, but on that of a young gent–’
“‘Anyone whose name is written here?’ she interposed, reaching towards me the famous book, over the top of which, however, she was careful to lay her arm.
“I glanced down the page she had opened and instantly detected that of the young gentleman on whose behalf I was supposed to be there, and nodded ‘Yes,’ with all the assurance of which I was capable.
“‘Very well, then,’ said she, ‘come!’ and she ushered me without much ado into a den of discomfort where sat a man, with a great beard and such heavy overhanging eyebrows that I could hardly detect the twinkle of his eyes, keen and incisive as they were.