somewhat chaotic record.

The affairs of John Lexman recalled Kara, and Kara's great
reception. Mansus would have made arrangements to secure a
verbatim report of the speeches which were made, and these would
be in his hands by the night. Mansus did not tell him that Kara
was financing some very influential people indeed, that a certain
Under-secretary of State with a great number of very influential
relations had been saved from bankruptcy by the timely advances
which Kara had made. This T. X. had obtained through sources
which might be hastily described as discreditable. Mansus knew of
the baccarat establishment in Albemarle Street, but he did not
know that the neurotic wife of a very great man indeed, no less
than the Minister of Justice, was a frequent visitor to that
establishment, and that she had lost in one night some 6,000
pounds. In these circumstances it was remarkable, thought T. X.,
that she should report to the police so small a matter as the
petty pilfering of servants. This, however, she had done and
whilst the lesser officers of Scotland Yard were interrogating
pawnbrokers, the men higher up were genuinely worried by the
lady's own lapses from grace.

It was all sordid but, unfortunately, conventional, because highly
placed people will always do underbred things, where money or
women are concerned, but it was necessary, for the proper conduct
of the department which T. X. directed, that, however sordid and
however conventional might' be the errors which the great ones of
the earth committed, they should be filed for reference.

The motto which T. X. went upon in life was, "You never know."