“Mrs Tomkins,” I commenced.

“Sir?” said that lady, and then a postman’s knock brought us to a stop, and Jehu skipped across the room to listen at the door.

“That’s him, my dear Jemima,” exclaimed the linen-draper, “I know his knock,” and then he skipped as quickly to his chair again.

The door of the apartment was opened by a servant girl, who entered the room alone and approached her mistress with a card.  Mrs Tomkins looked at it through her eye-glass, said “she was most happy,” and the servant then retired.  The card was placed upon the table near me, and, as I believe, for my inspection.  I took it up, and read the following words, “Mr Stanislaus Levisohn.”  They were engraven in the centre of the paper, and were surrounded by a circle of rays, which in its turn was enveloped in a circle of clouds.  In the very corner of the card, and in very small characters, the words “general merchant” were written.

There was a noise of shoe-cleaning outside the door for about five minutes, then the door was opened again by the domestic, and a remarkable gentleman walked very slowly in.  He was a tall individual, with small cunning eyes, black eye-brows, and a beard.  He was rather shabbily attired, and not washed with care.  He had thick boorish hands, and he smelt unpleasantly of tobacco smoke; an affected grin at variance with every feature, was planted on his face, and sickened an unprejudiced observer at the very first gaze.  His mode of uttering English betrayed him for a foreigner.  He was a native of Poland.  Before uttering a syllable, the interesting stranger walked to a corner of the room, turned himself to the wall, and muttered a few undistinguishable words.  He then bowed lowly to the company, and took a chair, grinning all the while.

“Is that a Polish move?” asked Mr Tomkins.

“It vos de coshtom mit de anshent tribes, my tear sare, vor alles tings, to recommend de family to de protection of de hevins.  Vy not now mit all goot Christians?”

“Why not indeed?” added Mrs Tomkins.  “May I offer you a glass of raisin wine?”

“Tank you.  For de shtomack’s sake—­yase.”

A glass was poured out.  It was but decent to offer me another.  I paid my compliments to the hostess and the gentlemen, and was about to drink it off, when the enlightened foreigner called upon me in a loud voice to desist.

“Shtay, mein young friend—­ve are not de heathen and de cannibal.  It is our privilege to live in de Christian society mit de Christian lady.  Ve most ask blessing—­alvays—­never forget—­you excuse—­vait tree minutes.”

It was not for me to protest against so pious a movement, albeit it presented itself somewhat inopportunely and out of place.  Mr Levisohn covered his face with one hand, and murmured a few words.  The last only reached me.  It was “Amen,” and this was rather heaved up in a sigh, than articulately expressed.