"lord robert st. simon," announced our page-boy, throwing open the door. a gentleman entered, with a pleasant, cultured face, high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about the mouth, and with the steady, well-opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to be obeyed. his manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop and a little bend of the knees as he walked. his hair, too, as he swept off his very curly-brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin upon the top. as to his dress, it was careful to the verge of foppishness, with high collar, black frock-coat, white waistcoat, yellow gloves, patent-leather shoes, and light-coloured gaiters. he advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left to right, and swinging in his right hand the cord which held his golden eyeglasses.