said nothing very definite for my employer went on:

 

"I'm serious, Stevens. I really think you should take a break. I'll foot the

bill for the gas. You fellows, you're always locked up in these big Houses

helping out, how do you ever get to see around this beautiful country of yours?"

 

This was not the first time my employer had raised such a question; indeed, it

seems to be something which genuinely troubles him. On this occasion, in fact, a

reply of sorts did occur to me as I stood up there on the ladder; a reply to the

effect that those of our profession, although we did not see a great deal of the

country in the sense of touring the countryside and visiting picturesque sites,

did actually 'see' more of England than most, placed as we were in houses where

the greatest ladies and gentlemen of the land gathered. Of course, I could not

have expressed this view to Mr Farraday without embarking upon what might have

seemed a presumptuous speech. I thus contented myself by saying simply:

 

"It has been my privilege to see the best of England over the years, sir, within

these very walls."

 

Mr Farraday did not seem to understand this statement, for he merely went on: "I

mean it, Stevens. It's wrong that a man can't get to see around his own country.

 

Take my advice, get out the house for a few days.

 

As you might expect, I did not take Mr Farraday's suggestion at all seriously