FROMMR。MATTHEWSHARPINTOCHIEFINSPECTORTHEAKSTONE。
London，6thJuly，18——。
SIR——Youareratheranelderlyperson，andassuch，naturallyinclinedtobealittlejealousofmenlikeme，whoareintheprimeoftheirlivesandtheirfaculties。Underthesecircumstances，itismydutytobeconsideratetowardyou，andnottobeartoohardlyonyoursmallfailings。I
decline，therefore，altogethertotakeoffenseatthetoneofyourletter；Igiveyouthefullbenefitofthenaturalgenerosityofmynature；Ispongetheveryexistenceofyoursurlycommunicationoutofmymemory——inshort，ChiefInspectorTheakstone，Iforgiveyou，andproceedtobusiness。
MyfirstdutyistodrawupafullstatementoftheinstructionsIhavereceivedfromSergeantBulmer。Heretheyareatyourservice，accordingtomyversionofthem。