Thro' Love and War Volume 1 (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. Sydney Adolphus Podmore, of Palmyra House, was one of those favoured individuals who give the lie to a popular adage. He was ' a hero to his valet-de-chambre.' Mr. Kitchens, a grave, grey, elderly man, who, it was surmised, might once have known better days, apparently looked upon his master as a living concentration of power, urbanity, nagnificence. A benevolent sun-god, perpetually lavishing his favours upon those who were in need of them; and even when one of these took the rather prosaic form of a live lobster,?firmly manacled, and wrapped up in the latest edition of the Daily Telegraph,?the admiration of the loyal valet underwent no sort of diminution. ' My Guv'nor's sent this round for the two ladies' (he had said when he delivered over the creature into Sarah's hands). ' She's to be boileda little better than half-an-hour with his kindest regards; and I s'pose, my dear, as he may drop in upon 'em in the evening, when he's finished his dinner ? . . . . He'd have sent 'em prawns, as well, if the fishing-boats had been out a-Sunday, which they was not Ah! my girl, if everybody upon this earth were given their correct dues, that master of mine ought to have been a born Prince !' and herewith he had handed her the hen-lobster and departed with a sigh. And indeed, Mr. Podmore was possessed of many of the attributes which go towards the making of a popular idol, his magnificence being of that surface kind which appeals directly to the vulgar. In the first place, he was large, easily observed, profuse in his cellar and stable expenditure, very particular as to his liveries, and scrupulously careful with regard to his own personal attire. He was as highly jewelled as any Englishman can be who has any sort of regard for public opinion; and yet, over all the...