Odds and Ends by B.M. Croker

Edgar Lovett, Esq., B.A., Collector of Munser, lounged in a long chair in his verandah, enjoying an excellent cheroot; and as he had but recently despatched a satisfactory day's work and a fairly satisfactory meal, the condition of his mind was serene.

Lovett was a clever, hard-working civilian -- to whom the adjective "rising" had been applied; he was thirty years of age, heir to a nice property -- and unmarried.