Sanstead House was an imposing building in the Georgian style. Itstood, foursquare, in the midst of about nine acres of land. Forthe greater part of its existence, I learned later, it had beenthe private home of a family of the name of Boone, and in itsearly days the estate had been considerable. But the progress ofthe years had brought changes to the Boones. Money losses hadnecessitated the sale of land. New roads had come into being,cutting off portions of the estate from their centre. Newfacilities for travel had drawn members of the family away fromhome. The old fixed life of the country had changed, and in theend the latest Boone had come to the conclusion that to keep up solarge and expensive a house was not worth his while.

　　That the place should have become a school was the natural processof evolution. It was too large for the ordinary purchaser, and theestate had been so whittled down in the course of time that it wasinadequate for the wealthy. Colonel Boone had been glad to let itto Mr Abney, and the school had started its career.

　　It had all the necessary qualifications for a school. It wasisolated. The village was two miles from its gates. It was nearthe sea. There were fields for cricket and football, and insidethe house a number of rooms of every size, suitable for classroomsand dormitories.

　　The household, when I arrived, consisted, besides Mr Abney, myself,another master named Glossop, and the matron, of twenty-four boys,the butler, the cook, the odd-job-man, two housemaids, a scullery-maid,and a parlour-maid. It was a little colony, cut off from the outerworld.

　　With the exception of Mr Abney and Glossop, a dismal man of nervesand mannerisms, the only person with whom I exchanged speech on myfirst evening was White, the butler. There are some men one likesat sight. White was one of them. Even for a butler he was a man ofremarkably smooth manners, but he lacked that quality of austerealoofness which I have noticed in other butlers.

　　He helped me unpack my box, and we chatted during the process. Hewas a man of medium height, square and muscular, with something,some quality of springiness, as it were, that seemed unusual in abutler. From one or two things he said, I gathered that he hadtravelled a good deal. Altogether he interested me. He had humour,and the half-hour which I had spent with Glossop made me set apremium on humour. I found that he, like myself, was a new-comer.

　　His predecessor had left at short notice during the holidays, andhe had secured the vacancy at about the same time that I wassecuring mine. We agreed that it was a pretty place. White, Igathered, regarded its isolation as a merit. He was not fond ofvillage society.

　　On the following morning, at eight o'clock, my work began.

　　My first day had the effect of entirely revolutionizing what ideasI possessed of the lot of the private-school assistant-master.