10/24 The groom brought two letters from his mistress; one addressed to Mr.Franklin, and the other to me. My own letter, I read in my own room. A cheque, which dropped out when I opened it, informed me (before I had mastered the contents) that Sergeant Cuff's dismissal from the inquiry after the Moonstone was now a settled thing. He appeared, with his mind full of the gardener and the dog-rose, declaring that the equal of Mr.Begbie for obstinacy never had existed yet, and never would exist again. I requested him to dismiss such wretched trifling as this from our conversation, and to give his best attention to a really serious matter. |