Forrest Leo - The Gentleman

*Lancaster family legend holds that we have a shadowy, possibly illegitimate great-uncle who was a famous boxer. I do not know if that is true or not. But it is an undeniable fact that we Lancasters have a rather devastating uppercut. — HL.

*Mr Savage does not record it, but he in fact broke three bones in his left hand — I do not know why he used his left, but he did — and was compelled to wear a plaster cast for the next several weeks. As he makes no mention of this, I can only assume it was an embarrassment to him. — HL.

*The holes in the walls at Pocklington Place have yet to be filled. Attempts have been made, but the study is Mr Savage’s domain and he has forbidden it. He says that the holes serve to remind him of the ‘marvellous eccentricity’ of his family. — HL.

*This is unquestionably the case. I have become very dear friends with Miss Savage, and I do not think she would be offended to hear me say that her anger, on the rare occasions it is displayed, is more frightening than anything I have yet witnessed. — HL.

*Mr Savage of course refers to Lord Macaulay’s hero who single-handedly held a bridge against an army by forcing it to engage him one soldier at a time. Mr Savage claims to deplore Macaulay’s verse as simplistic and pandering, but I do not think that he can truly mean it, as his is very much the same. — HL.

*This gun is still in Mr Savage’s study. It has a place of honour on the wall, beside a pair of crossed sabres. Mr Savage refers to it as ‘the only gun which ever began a friendship.’—HL.

*Bruegel. — HL.

*It had been eighteen months. — HL.

*Miss Savage was not flirting with him: I believe she was toying with him. She does this often with men. It can sometimes feel demeaning. — HL.

*It is common knowledge that Dr Nansen’s ship was designed with an egg-shaped hull, so that instead of being crushed by pack ice it should pop out of the water like a champagne cork and ride atop the ice farther north than any ship has hitherto sailed. — HL.

*Such reports are common in Norway. I assume they are groundless, but cannot be certain. Cousin Ashley seems to put some stock in them. — HL.

*I believe this to be true. I once had the privilege of accompanying Cousin Ashley on an expedition of sorts. We were boys, and decided to have an adventure. We snuck out of Garrick Hall, which is the Lancaster estate, and spent the night somewhere in the park, under a willow tree. It was awful. But at about two in the morning Vivien found us. She had also snuck out, and had brought pillows, blankets, candles, water, and a mincemeat pie. I have the fondest recollections of that night. — HL.

*I am glad that Mr Savage prevented Cousin Ashley from revealing himself to Miss Savage. His motives derived perhaps more from a personal and less a moral feeling, but all the same it was well done. Sometimes I believe that Miss Savage must be protected, if I can be forgiven for saying it, from herself. — HL.

*I cannot help but feel that there must be a middle ground which is healthier than either extreme. I like to think that I live in this middle ground. — HL.

*I have attempted to debunk this, as it is scarcely credible. However, I have not yet been able to. — HL.

*Watching these two gentle, unassuming intellectual giants spar is one of the great pleasures of any educated man’s life. — HL.

*The island nation of Iceland has a history as dramatic and fascinating as our own. I recommend study of it to any reader who has an interest in such things. — HL.

*Dissolute? — HL.

*I cannot better Mr Savage’s description — I can but confirm that this is precisely what it looks like, and if you doubt it you may go there and see for yourself. — HL.

*The Hefestaeum in fact caused so much trouble for the Metropolitan Fire Brigade that the government became involved. A fine system was imposed. The club was allowed two fires per annum, which the MFB would put out gratis. Each fire after that would incur a heavy fee. — HL.

*Well said, sir, and God save the Queen! — HL.

*What neither of my cousins grasped is that the answering of three questions to gain admittance was a typical trial undergone by questers and knights errant in days gone by. Had they borne this in mind, they would have perhaps found themselves more amenable to their situation, and much trouble could have been prevented. I have pointed this out to them, but have received in return for my pains only blank, unamused stares. — HL.

*I have spoken with several members of the Hefestaeum, none of whom can agree on what kind of metal it was — but they do confirm that it was not iron. — HL.

*The reader will be amused to note that the possessor of this Jovian forehead is the inventor of that mysterious device which has lately been the subject of so much press, the Minerva Mechanism. — HL.

*I have consulted multiple sources, including Messrs Lancaster, Benton, Kensington, and Asquith, and am assured that in fact no more than about fifteen minutes could have elapsed. — HL.

*See the note here. What I failed to mention there is that, to avoid the fee (for the Hefestaeum has far more than two fires a year), the club has formed its own in-house fire brigade. — HL.

*I like Mr Kensington very much, and wish he did not have this unfortunate distrust of Her Majesty’s government. — HL.

*What is ironic is that I had not read this (or had not attended, if I had) when I wrote the note here. Also, I beg the reader to observe that the people Mr Savage sees he imagines all to belong to the seedier parts of humanity. This is to me sad. I would have seen soldiers, scholars, doctors, lawyers, ministers, and perhaps even a poet. — HL.

*A ‘great honour,’ ‘equal gravity,’ and a ‘small bow’—you will note that my cousin’s politeness decreases proportionally to the amount of civility with which he is treated. I once chanced to compliment him on a poem and he replied, ‘Hubert, if I cared about your opinion or thought you in any way qualified to judge such things, I would be gratified.’ This shows you what I mean. — HL.

*What my cousin fails to articulate is that he finds beauty and wisdom in the chivalric tales of long ago. It is a knightly quality which he is attempting to describe. He does so poorly because there is no room in those tales for cynicism, and Mr Savage is made nervous by sincerity. — HL.

*I cannot speak to the truth of this. Mr Savage seems always to have thought rather well of himself. — HL.

*As do I. It is one of the few things Mr Savage and I agree upon. — HL.

*Both Mr Savage and Mr Lancaster often work in this way. It is why, together, they tend to be dangerous and unpredictable. — HL.

*Yes. One does. I have checked with Mr Kensington — though I do not know why Mr Savage could not have done that himself. — HL.

*It is of course called a palette. — HL.

*There may be sense in what she says. I do not know, however, and I do not wish to court controversy and so shall not delve into the fraught question of feminism. — HL.

*Candidly, Mr Savage’s first apologies rarely are sincere. — HL.

*I, too, can attest to this. I once sailed for an afternoon with Cousin Ashley upon the Daydream . I enjoyed it very much, but learned first-hand the weight of good sailcloth. — HL.

*This figure has been questioned. — HL.

*Mr Savage wears this coat still. He refuses to have it mended. He says it is for sentimental reasons, but I believe it is so that when people point out the rip, he can tell the story. — HL.

*Doubtful. — HL.

*Again, yes. — HL.

*I have taken the liberty of inserting this fragment, which was written by Mr Savage’s comrade-in-words Whitley Pendergast — who was an eyewitness to the events recorded in this chapter, and who wrote voluminously of them. It seemed to me a fitting addition, and I thought the reader would benefit from a third-party perspective. — HL.