AsthedooropenedtheProphetfoundhimselfinalargeapartmentwhosewallsweredecoratedwiththeeffortsofthosegreatpainterswhofeedthesentimentalimaginationsofthemassesinthebeautifulChristmasnumbersofourartisticday。Enchantinglittlegirlsandexceedinglyhumandogsobservedhisentrancefromeveryhand，whilesuchpenetratingandsuggestivelegendsas\"Don’tbite！\"\"Mustn’t！\"
\"Naughty！\"\"Would’ums？\"andthelike，filledhismindwiththeloftythoughtssosuitabletotheChristmasseason。Overthemantelpiecewasa/Cook’sAlmanacfortheHome/，decoratedinbrightcolours，a/Butler’sownbook/，boundinclaret—colouredlinen，andalargeframedphotographofFrancatelli，thatimmortal/chef/whosememoryiskeptgreeninsomanykitchens，andwhoserecipesarestillfollowedasarefollowedthefootprintsofthegreatonesintheEverlastingSandsofTime。OnecorneroftheroomGustavushadmadehisown，andheremightbeseenhistastefulwhat—notandhislittlelibrary——neatlyarrangedunabridgedfarthingeditionsofDrummond’s/AscentofMan/，Mill’s/Liberty/，Crampton’s/OriginofSelf—Respect/，Barlow’s/A
PhilosophicalExaminationintotheArtandPracticeofTippingandReceivingTips/，andothervolumessuitableforanintellectualfootman’sreading。Aneight—dayclock，whichwascarefullyandlovinglywoundupbytheprudentMrs。FancyQuingleteverymorningandevening，snoredpeacefullyinarecessbythehearth，and，fromacrevicenearthewindow，thebright，intelligenteyesofacoupleofwell—developedblack—beetles——motherandson——contentedlysurveyedthecheerfulscene。
TheProphet，afteramoment’spauseofcontemplation，passedonthroughaswingdoor，coveredwithgreenbaize，anddownsomestairstotheinnercourtsofthisinterestingregion。Thistimehecametoanchorinaroomwhich，hethought，mightwellhavebeenabutler’spantryhaditcontainedalarge—sizedtelescope。Itwasinfacttheparloursetapartfortheuseofthekitchenandscullerymaids，andwasbrightlyfittedupwithadresser，acupboardforskewers，arolling—pin，abastingmachine，andothersimilaradjuncts。Itgaveontothekitchen，inwhichthecatofthehousewasenjoyingwell—earnedslumberintheattitudeofablackball。SofarhisexploringtourhadquitefulfilledtherathervagueexpectationsoftheProphet，buthenowbegantofeelanxious。Timewaspassingonandhehadsworntobeatthetelescopebyelevensharp。Hehad，therefore，alreadyslightlyfracturedhisoath，andhehadnodesiretoearntheanathemaofallsuchmenasRobertGreenbybreakingitintosmallpieces。Wherewasthebutler’spantry？
Heglancedeagerlyroundthekitchen，perceivedadoor，passedthroughit，andfoundhimselfconfrontedbyasink。Hehadgainedthescullery，butnothisgoal。TotherightofthesinkwasyetanotherdoorthroughwhichtheProphet，whocarriedtheplanisphereinonehand，theGeorgetheThirdcandlestickintheother，ratherexcitedlydebouchedintoagood—sizedpassage。Ashedidsoheheardthemuffledaltovoiceoftheeight—dayclockproclaimthatitwasaquarter—pasteleven。Feelingthathewasnowuponthepointofbreakingboththepromisesofthedamnedfool，theProphethastenedalongthepassage，dartedthroughthefirstoutlet，andfoundhimselfabruptlyfacetobackwithwhatappearedatfirstglancetobeanenormouslybroadandbow—leggeddwarf，withabaldheadandablacktailcoat，which，inanattitudeofsavagecuriosity，wasgazingthroughagiganticinstrument，whosemuzzleprojectedfromanopenwindowintoaspaciousarea。SogreatwastheProphet’ssurprise，sosupremetheshocktohiswholenervoussystemoccasionedbythisunexpectedencounter，thathedidnotutteracry。Hisamazementcarriedhimintothatterribleregionwhichliesbeyondtherealmsofspeech。Hesimplystoodquitestillandgazedatthebow—leggeddwarf，which，initsturn，continuedtogazesavagelythroughthegiganticinstrumentintothearea。NotforperhapsthreeorfourminutesdidtheProphetrealisethatthisdwarfwasmerelyaningeniouslyshortenedformofMr。Ferdinand，who，withhislegsverywideapart，andmakingtwoaccuraterightanglesattheirrespectiveknee—joints，hisheadthrownwellback，andhisarmsarrangedintwoperfectcapitalV’s，withtheelbowspointingdirectlyatthewallsoneithersideofhim，hadbeenbusilyengagedforthelasthourandaquarterintryingtofocusfirstlytheLordChancellor’shouseontheoppositesideofthesquare，andsecondlythepleasant—lookingsecond—