Robert Barr

“ Striking across country, and walking through forest and field, mostly over his own property, at last he saw Stranleigh Manor-house, nestling in the upper part of a well-wooded valley, sheltered on three sides from the winds.
Stranleigh had tramped over the hills, and now stood for a few minutes enjoying the view from the highest part of his estate. Half a mile further down the valley, along the banks of the stream, lay the rural village, quaint with its grey stone, ivy-covered walls and thatched roofs, while above it rose the grey, square Norman tower of the old church. ”

“ It is a cloud no bigger than a lady's hand—most suitable phrase that, 'a lady's hand'—but soon to increase until it becomes a suitable enclosure for a strong man's arm, looming above the horizon as the inevitable She, and Stranleigh's pose of indifference to women, in which, if he only knew it, he is a mere plagiarist of my Lord Kitchener, will dissolve. ”

“ The Russian's arms were gesticulating like those of a Sicilian actor, as he continued:
"My great symphony of humanity, could I but be allowed to render it here in London, will concentrate upon me the attention of the universe. The echoes of its harmonies and its discords will ring down the ages, and yet am I nullified for the lack of a hundred roubles."
"No; you are not," said Stranleigh. "You wish to collect a critical audience here in London, and perform before it?" ”

“ I acknowledge a great liking and respect for Sir George Selwyn, even if he is old-fashioned, and Alexander Corbitt seems to me an upright, energetic man, whom I should be sorry to see come a cropper."
"Then let him look out for himself," replied Mackeller with determination. "Now, may I ask you a question or two? Do I exceed my rights in founding a bank?"
"Certainly not."
"Is it not a fact that every man with money possesses a bank account?"
"I suppose that is true."
"Consequently, must not all the customers I procure for my bank be drawn from some similar institution?" ”

“ It seemed as if the motorists had come to the end of all things, and indeed, they were at the end of England, approaching its most southerly point excepting only the Lizard and Land's End.
At last the valley widened, and there broke gloriously upon the tourists a view of the blue sea, with a wild, rocky headland jutting into it to the east. Here Blake sprang out to open an obstructing gate, and the chauffeur drove his machine through, the wheels sinking deep into the sand. Stranleigh stepped out of the car to stretch his limbs. ”

“ Stranleigh walked down Kingsway to the Strand, entered the Gaiety Restaurant, and treated himself to a well-chosen supper. When he emerged, remembering the last scene of the play, he strolled down Arundel Street to the Thames Embankment, intended to be London's chief boulevard, although this thoroughfare, bordered by great luxurious hotels, becomes after nightfall an out-door bedroom for the penniless; millionaire and pauper sleeping within a stone's throw of one another. ”

“ As long as I am manager of Selwyn's Bank, I'm against any tinkering with the Constitution. All such meddling is bad for business. I'm a banker first, and a politician a long way to the rear."
I quite agree with you, Alexander," remarked Sir George, solemnly.
Stranleigh looked from one to the other in perplexity.
"The trouble with this club," he protested, "is that its members are all of one opinion, therefore an ignorant man like myself cannot learn the other side to any question."
"My dear Stranleigh," said Corbitt, "you've been having both sides of radium, I understand." ”

“ BORROWING STRANLEIGH'S NAME.
There comes a period in the life of every man when, no matter how successful he may have been, he thinks for the moment he has chosen the wrong career. The comedian yearns to play Hamlet, and the world-renowned portrayer of the melancholy prince imagines he could set audiences in a roar of laughter. The carpenter regrets that he did not select the trade of blacksmith, and the blacksmith, as he mops his perspiring brow over red-hot irons, hankers for the ice business, while the ice man wishes he dealt in coal. ”

“ Furthermore, to show that you are not bereft of friends, I shall proceed direct from Vienna to Paris, seek out this man, challenge him, fight him, and kill him, if I can."
"Oh, no, no, no, no!" cried the girl, for the first time some animation coming into her voice.
"Why not?"
"Because—because I love him."
"You can't possibly love him now!" exclaimed Stranleigh, with indignation.
The girl made no answer, but began to cry.
"Do you mean to say you would marry Lieutenant Grunwald if he asked you?"
"Yes," she murmured. "When a woman is really in love, all pride forsakes her." ”

“ Stranleigh Park is supposed to be a relaxing place; a climatic feature for which an iron man like you makes no allowance. You mustn't expect the alertness of Threadneedle Street when you are within sound of a waterfall, and not of a motor-bus."
"My lord," said Mackeller, formally, "I have had enough of genial persiflage."
"My dear Peter, if you compel a man, against his will, to gulp down the bitter powder of business, may he not be allowed a tablespoonful of persiflage to take away the taste? I have already acknowledged defeat, so, as you are strong, be merciful. ”

“ Such is the power of money that in every instance his lordship's reputation as a very wealthy man carried the day. Did you say sole, or salmon, Mr. Mackeller?"
"A grilled sole," muttered Mackeller, who thereupon retired to dress. Ponderby's words were unexceptionable, but his tone implied a subtle condescension which Mackeller resented. It was only too evident that Stranleigh's valet regarded him as a fussy muddler of affairs, in no way to be compared with his slothful, but efficient master. ”

“ What's that poem about sheep and the rich man, and sleep and the poor man?"
"I'm sure I don't know," replied Blake.
"Why don't you know? You're my private secretary, and it's the business of a private secretary to know ever so much more than his employer. A private secretary should let his gifts so shine before men through his chief, that the public overestimate the qualities of that chief. ”

“ The head gardener was a man who knew his business, but who speedily found that the business he had learned was not that which he was compelled chiefly to exercise. His principal duty proved to be keeping the men at work, because the moment he disappeared from one side of the building, the amateur horticulturists dropped their spades, filled up clay pipes, and, the better to enjoy their smoke, sat in a row with their backs against the phalanstery, ready to jump up in a hurry when a whistled signal warned them that the gardener was approaching. ”

“ You always prospered, Peter, when you linked your fortunes with mine."
"What do you want?"
"I have become interested in a mining property. I want you to go right away and examine it."
"Oh, hang it all, I've given up that sort of thing long ago! London is full of excellent mining engineers."
"True; but they are not Peter Mackellers," and then Stranleigh added under his breath, "Thank the Lord!" but that injudicious ejaculation did not go over the wires.
"I'm sorry it is impossible, Stranleigh."
"Nothing is impossible, Peter, when a man has made up his mind. ”

“ My project settles the invasion question, settles the tariff question, settles the cheap and dear loaf question, settles the unemployment question, brings steady prosperity to our dominions over sea, while at the same time it places our industries at home upon a solid foundation."
"Great heavens!" murmured Stranleigh under his breath, but not loud enough for his confident visitor to overhear.
"I'm not a man who looks upon merely one item in a programme. ”

“ With the rise of wireless telegraphy, and the tremendous increase of speed both on sea and land, coastguards are now as picturesque and antiquated as bows and arrows. No one appreciates more than I do the stalwart, manly, efficient coastguardsman, and there is enough of the Celt in me to be touched by the thought that while we sleep, this splendid body of men marches to and fro along the ramparts of England, never out of sound of the sea. ”

“ Indeed, if Corbitt wakes up in time, my competition may be to the advantage of Selwyn's Bank, but he is such a conceited ass that he may not come to a realisation of the crisis until it is too late. His methods are antiquated. Nowadays a man must search for business and find it. The days have passed when the manager of a bank could sit in his room, and wait for the good things of life to fall into his lap. ”

“ The Lieutenant, with a scowl, said—
"I name the Princess Azelie of Austria."
Stranleigh laughed.
"You see, gentlemen, how clever he is? He has beaten me in this contest of wits. The lady in question," Stranleigh bowed deeply, "from the proudest Court in Europe, will reject my suit with scorn, and serve me right. I name, as Lieutenant Grunwald's wife, Fraulein Seidel, of Vienna, with whom the Lieutenant is already acquainted." ”

“ Stranleigh laughed.
"You're willing to take my word for it?"
"Perfectly."
"But I can furnish evidence that most other people are fools, too."
"Carlyle said that years ago."
"Look here, Blake, although I complain of your lack of knowledge, you mustn't infer that I want too much information. Some of your remarks are singularly inopportune, and you should remember that when a man complains of his own mental equipment, he always does so to a person undoubtedly his intellectual inferior."
"I thought you said a while ago that most men owe their brilliancy to private secretaries?" ”

“ Does a man equipped with my brain power require the blind assistance of luck? Not so; my fortune has come to me through deep calculation; through my accurate and extensive knowledge of human nature. It was a coup, carefully planned, and the proceeds are now in my bank, subject to my order. I address Lord Stranleigh on terms of equality, as rich man talking to rich man. ”

“ I should feel rather nervous if taking part in a similar display through the streets of Petersburg."
"Oh, you are quite safe here!" replied his lordship. "Rightly or wrongly, we are so tender with the denizens of the under-world, that they will not risk their own safety——"
Stranleigh sprang suddenly to his feet, and stood covering the Prince with his body.
"Seize that man!" he shouted, in a voice that rang out above the cheers, so startling was its note.
To Stranleigh the whole mob had but one face; the pallid, ecstatic countenance of the mad musician. ”

“ He always regretted his own lack of cleverness, and admitted shamefacedly that many features of the London season he thoroughly enjoyed, such as polo at Ranelagh, cricket at Lord's, and most of the races. Besides, he knew that London expects every man to do his duty in a country where the women out-number the men, so Stranleigh, in addition to being an occasional host, was an indefatigable guest. ”

“ You've been in a crisis, Corbitt?"
"I've been between the devil and the deep sea, with no Stranleigh to advise me."
The younger man laughed.
"Your implied compliment is refreshing. I have always found my advice to be at a discount; at a bank discount, I might say, with financiers like yourself. My advice was to be shaken, but not taken. As for your situation between the devil and the deep sea, that's easy. Avoid the deep sea, unless you're a good swimmer, but resist the devil, and he will flee from you." ”

“ The moment the footman opened the door, they rushed him; nearly knocked Spilkins over, my lord, and now they're all in the hall, except one, who stands outside the door, waving a banner inscribed 'Votes for Women.'"
This time Stranleigh did smile, in spite of himself, as he pictured the six-foot Spilkins, so cold and formal in manner, unexpectedly submerged at the door by an impetuous onrush.
"Ponderby, when you are captured, the only thing to do is to capitulate as gracefully as possible. ”

“ Once at Stranleigh Park I may not return to London at once. Blake, you're grinning again! It's a bad habit. Avoid it. Truth is, I've got some new fishing tackle that I wish to test. I love an old stream, old clothes, and new tackle. Besides, by the lassitude that's coming over Ponderby, I know he wishes to visit his relatives, though he will sacrifice himself as long as I stay in London. It seems ludicrous to think of Ponderby having relatives, but we must take his word for it, so on my behalf strike a sort of social balance-sheet, and close the books. ”

“ I shall not add what I think of it."
"Will you lend me fifty thousand pounds on my note of hand?"
"Yes."
"Will you deposit a hundred thousand pounds in my new bank?"
"Yes, if you insist on it."
"I thank you, Stranleigh, most sincerely. You will find it one of the best deals you have ever made."
"It is not a business deal, Peter: it is philanthropy. I told you I was making experiments in that line. Every capitalist in England would reject your proposal. However, I have a good reason for my action." ”