139 



THE WRONG MAN 



When a rich man has completed the purchase of a large 

 estate, I suppose it is natural that he should look through 

 the advertisements of other estates in the newspapers, 

 and wonder whether he has made the best choice ; usually 

 concluding that he has not. Here in Hampshire is just 

 the thing he w^anted, whereas the place he has bought 

 possesses several drawbacks. Why did he not wait a 

 little longer ? These, at any rate, were the reflections of 

 Mr. Henry Higgs, the great dyer, proprietor of Higgs's 

 Harmonious Hues, the beauties of which are prominently 

 set forth on innumerable hoardings, in railw^ay carriages, 

 and so forth. One would not have thought that dyes 

 were so necessary to the world as they seem to be from 

 Higgs's success. I never bought any, and hardly know 

 what people use them for ; but there was the undoubted 

 fact of Higgs's huge fortune. He had the largest house 

 in South Kensington, the interior of which was declared 

 by those who had seen it to be dazzling, for the Har- 

 monious Hues had here been laid on thickly ; but this 

 ' noble mansion,' as the house agents had described it — 

 I wonder what the personal qualities of a truly noble 

 mansion are ? — did not satisfy Mr. Higgs's ambition. 

 He wanted a place in the country, a big place that would 

 make its owner look a big man ; and why should he not 

 buy one ? Money w^as plentiful with him, and, goodness 



