Page:Weird Tales Volume 5 Number 4 (1925-04).djvu/68

Rh when Portia went down to see him, and augmented to an extent that would have made the position a highly desirable one from the financial standpoint, had it been known beforehand. Mr. Differdale explained to my niece a bit dryly that he had purposely made it very small in his letter, because he did not care for the type of woman who would have been attracted for the sake of the remuneration alone; he wanted someone whose strongest motive was the character of the work. But I am getting ahead of the story.

went down to Lynbrook. She did not take me with her. She told me that she considered herself capable of judging both the character of the man and the nature of the work. She did not return to Reading, but I received a series of letters telling of her arrival, and of various other matters of interest. Some of these I still have, and shall quote here and there to show her first impressions, especially as some of them have a bearing on later events.

With a check, she wrote:

"Dear Aunt Sophie:

"I am enclosing a check for my first month’s salary in advance, I am sending it all, because I really cannot foresee any particular needs that may arise to necessitate my having on hand more money than the amount of my fare down, which Mr. Differdale refunded, as he offered in his letter.

"I suppose you would like to know what kind of a man my employer is and what the work is for which I am engaged. I am bound by my honor not to divulge the exact nature of the work, but I can say that it is something which is for the good of all humanity, and that Mr. Differdale can be best judged by this: every penny he derives from an invention of his for weighing and sorting watch mechanisms, he devotes to his researches, the nature of which I cannot tell you. His whole life is bound up in carrying on this work.

"He is the most absent-minded of individuals, when it comes to his personal wants, although his mind is astonishingly alert when it is fixed upon his work. Fu Sing, the Chinese man-of-all-work, has to call him to his meals or I verily believe he would forget that such a thing as food existed. Fu Sing is a model servant, by the way; one never sees him about the house, but he accomplishes wonders in making everything clean and comfortable.

"The floors are hardwood with oriental rugs. No chairs; just piles of cushions. I sleep on cushions every night, and I must admit I find it extremely luxurious and comfortable. This is a part of Mr. Differdale’s theory; he believes that the part of our lives spent in repose or recreation should be made as relaxing as possible and that complete change is a relaxation in itself. Oh, we need to gain fresh strength daily for the demanding work in which our nights are passed!

“Yes, all our work is done at night. So far, I have been out under the stars every night except when it has rained. We sleep all day. I am entering upon an entirely different life, Aunt Sophie, and it is wonderful—and fascinating—and inspiring! I admire my employer hugely; he is really a splendid man. You feel this just by being in his vicinity; it is a kind of atmosphere spreading about him."

letter read: "The first week I was here I did practically nothing but read his books or listen to his explanation of some of the experiments in which I am to assist him later on. I am all impatience, but I cannot help him materially until I have learned many, many things. I am studying now, every minute that I am not sleeping or taking the out-of-door recreation upon which he