nor did that air which bespoke the unhappiness of his mind, at any time forsake
them. Yet his manners were by no means such as denoted moroseness and
misanthropy. He was compassionate and considerate for others, though the
stateliness of his carriage and the reserve of his temper were at no time
interrupted. His appearance and general behaviour might have strongly interested
all persons in his favour; but the coldness of his address and the
impenetrableness of his sentiments seemed to forbid those demonstrations of
kindness to which one might otherwise have been prompted.
    Such was the general appearance of Mr. Falkland; but his disposition was
extremely unequal. The distemper which afflicted him with incessant gloom, had
its paroxysms. Sometimes he was hasty, peevish and tyrannical; but this
proceeded rather from the torment of his mind than an unfeeling disposition,
and, when reflexion recurred, he appeared willing that the weight of his
misfortune should fall wholly upon himself. Sometimes he entirely lost his
self-possession, and his behaviour was changed into frenzy. He would strike his
forehead, his brows became knit, his features distorted, and his teeth ground
one against the other. When he felt the approach of these symptoms, he would
suddenly rise, and, leaving the occupation whatever it was in which he was
engaged, hasten into a solitude upon which no person dared to intrude.
    It must not be supposed that the whole of what I am describing was visible
to the persons about him; nor indeed was I acquainted with it in the extent here
stated, but after a considerable time, and in gradual succession. With respect
to the domestics in general, they saw but little of their master. None of them,
except myself from the nature of my functions, and Mr. Collins from the
antiquity of his service and the respectableness of his character, approached
Mr. Falkland, but at stated seasons and for a very short interval. They knew him
only by the benevolence of his actions and the principles of inflexible
integrity by which he was ordinarily guided; and, though they would sometimes
indulge their conjectures respecting his singularities, they regarded him upon
the whole with veneration as a being of superior order.
    One day when I had been about three months in the service of my patron, I
went to a closet or small apartment which was separated from the library by a
narrow gallery that was lighted by a small window near the roof. I had conceived
that there was no person in the room, and intended only to put any thing in
order that I might find out of its place. As I opened the door, I heard at the