He spoke in a self-approving tone, and with a drawl which I will not attempt to imitate, because I find all such imitation tends to caricature; and I want to be believed. Besides, I find the production of caricature has unfailingly a bad moral reaction upon myself. I daresay it is not so with others, but with that I have nothing to do: it is one of my weaknesses. My worthy old friend, the colonel, met us in the hall--straight, broad-shouldered, and tall, with a severe military expression underlying the genuine hospitality of his countenance, as if he could not get rid of a sense of duty even when doing what he liked best. The door of the dining-room was partly open, and from it came the red glow of a splendid fire, the chink of encountering glass and metal, and, best of all, the pop of a cork. "Would you like to go up-stairs, Smith, or will you have a glass of wine first?--How do you do, Percy?" "Thank you; I'll go to my room at once," I said. "You'll find a fire there, I know. Having no regiment now, I look after my servants. Mind you make use of them. I can't find enough of work for them." He left me, and again addressed the youth, who had by this time got out of his great-coat, and, cold as it was, stood looking at his hands by the hall-lamp. As I moved away, I heard him say, in a careless tone, "And how's Adela, uncle?" The reply did not reach me, but I knew now who the young fellow was. Hearing a kind of human grunt behind me, I turned and saw that I was followed by the butler; and, by a kind of intuition, I knew that this grunt was a remark, an inarticulate one, true, but not the less to the point on that account. I knew that he had been in the dining-room by the pop I had heard; and I knew by the grunt that he had heard his master's observation about his servants. "Come, Beeves," I said, "I don't want your help. You've got plenty to do, you know, at dinner-time; and your master is rather hard upon you--isn't he?" I knew the man, of course. "Well, Mr. Smith, master is the best master in the country, _he is_. But he don't know what work is, _he don't_." "Well, go to your work, and never mind me. I know every turn in the house as well as yourself, Beeves." "No, Mr. Smith; I'll attend to you, if _you_ please. Mr. Percy will take care of _his_-self. There's no fear of him. But you're my business. You are sure to give a man a kind word who does his best to please you." "Why, Beeves, I think that is the least a man can do." "It's the most too, sir; and some people think it's too much." I saw that the man was hurt, and sought to soothe him. "You and I are old friends, at least, Beeves."