Part 1 (2/2)
”Passepartout suits”You are well recoood report of you You know my conditions?”
”Yes, monsieur”
”Good! What time is it?”
”Twenty-twoan enormous silver watch from the depths of his pocket
”You are too slow,” said Mr Fogg
”Pardon me, monsieur, it is impossible--”
”You are four h to mention the error Now from this moment, twenty-nine minutes after eleven, am, this Wednesday, 2nd October, you are in ot up, took his hat in his left hand, put it on his head with an automatic motion, and went off without a word
Passepartout heard the street door shut once; it was his new ain; it was his predecessor, Ja in his turn Passepartout remained alone in the house in Saville Row
Chapter II
IN WHICH PassEPARTOUT IS CONVINCED THAT HE HAS AT LAST FOUND HIS IDEAL
”Faith,” muttered Passepartout, somewhat flurried, ”I've seen people at Madame Tussaud's as lively as my new master!”
Madame Tussaud's ”people,” let it be said, are of wax, and areto g, Passepartout had been carefully observing hie, with fine, handsoure; his hair and whiskers were light, his forehead conificent His countenance possessed in the highest degree what physiognomists call ”repose in action,” a quality of those who act rather than talk Cal seeelica Kauffmann has so skilfully represented on canvas Seen in the various phases of his daily life, he gave the idea of being perfectly well-balanced, as exactly regulated as a Leroy chrono was, indeed, exactitude personified, and this was betrayed even in the expression of his very hands and feet; for in men, as well as in animals, the limbs themselves are expressive of the passions
He was so exact that he was never in a hurry, was always ready, and was economical alike of his steps and his motions He never took one step too many, and alent to his destination by the shortest cut; he estures, and was never seen to be itated He was the most deliberate person in the world, yet always reached his destination at the exact moment
He lived alone, and, so to speak, outside of every social relation; and as he knew that in this world account must be taken of friction, and that friction retards, he never rubbed against anybody
As for Passepartout, he was a true Parisian of Paris Since he had abandoned his own country for England, taking service as a valet, he had in vain searched for a master after his own heart Passepartout was by no means one of those pert dunces depicted by Moliere with a bold gaze and a nose held high in the air; he was an honest felloith a pleasant face, lips a trifle protruding, soft-ood round head, such as one likes to see on the shoulders of a friend His eyes were blue, his coure almost portly and well-built, his body muscular, and his physical powers fully developed by the exercises of his younger days
His brown hair was somewhat tumbled; for, while the ancient sculptors are said to have known eighteenMinerva's tresses, Passepartout was fa his own: three strokes of a large-tooth comb completed his toilet
It would be rash to predict how Passepartout's lively nature would agree with Mr Fogg It was impossible to tell whether the new servant would turn out as absolutely methodical as his master required; experience alone could solve the question Passepartout had been a sort of vagrant in his early years, and now yearned for repose; but so far he had failed to find it, though he had already served in ten English houses But he could not take root in any of these; with chagrin, he found hisabout the country, or on the look-out for adventure
His last ferry, Mehts in the Hay on policeentleman whom he served, ventured aill-received, he took his leave Hearing that Mr Phileas Fogg was looking for a servant, and that his life was one of unbroken regularity, that he neither travelled nor stayed froht, he felt sure that this would be the place he was after
He presented himself, and was accepted, as has been seen
At half-past eleven, then, Passepartout found hian its inspection without delay, scouring it froed, solemn a mansion pleased hihted and waras, which sufficed for both these purposes When Passepartout reached the second story he recognised at once the room which he was to inhabit, and he ell satisfied with it Electric bells and speaking-tubes afforded communication with the lower stories; while on the g's bedcha the saood, that'll do,” said Passepartout to hi over the clock, a card which, upon inspection, proved to be a programme of the daily routine of the house
It coht in therose, till half-past eleven, when he left the house for the Reform Club--all the details of service, the tea and toast at twenty-three -water at thirty-seven minutes past nine, and the toilet at twenty ulated and foreseen that was to be done froht, the hour at which the 's wardrobe was amply supplied and in the best taste Each pair of trousers, coat, and vest bore a nu the time of year and season at which they were in turn to be laid out for wearing; and the same system was applied to the master's shoes In short, the house in Saville Rohich must have been a very temple of disorder and unrest under the illustrious but dissipated Sheridan, was cosiness, comfort, and method idealised There was no study, nor were there books, which would have been quite useless to Mr Fogg; for at the Reforeneral literature and the other of law and politics, were at his service A moderate-sized safe stood in his bedroolars; but Passepartout found neither ar betrayed thescrutinised the house from top to bottom, he rubbed his hands, a broad smile overspread his features, and he said joyfully, ”This is just what I wanted! Ah, we shall get on together, Mr Fogg and I!
What a doentle a machine”