" 'Well enough,' says he. 'I know you will. Who knows—perhaps the signs are false, what? Tokens of mutiny, in a place where Russia's been stirrin' the pot, an' the local ruler's chafin' under our authority—it's happened before, an' it may amount to nothin' in the end. But if the signs are true, make no mistake—' and he gave me his steady stare '—it's the gravest peril our country has faced since Bonaparte. it's no light commission we're placin' in your hands, sir—but they're the safest hands in England, I believe.'
"So help me God, it's absolutely what he said; it makes you wonder how these fellows ever get elected. I believe I made some manly sounds, and as usual my sick terror must have been manifesting itself by making me red in the face, which in...