If anything, there seemed to be more business in Fenchurch Street and more luxury at the residence at Eccleston Square than in former days.

Only the stern-faced and silent senior partner knew how thin the veneer was which shone so deceptively upon the surface.
Many things had contributed towards this state of affairs.

The firm had been involved in a succession of misfortunes, some known to the world, and others known to no one save the elder Girdlestone.

The former had been accepted with such perfect stoicism and cheerfulness that they rather increased than diminished the reputation of the concern; the latter were the more crushing, and also the more difficult to bear.
Lines of fine vessels from Liverpool and from Hamburg were running to the West Coast of Africa, and competition had cut down freightage to the lowest possible point.

Where the Girdlestones had once held almost a monopoly there were now many in the field.