Excerpt from Birds of Prey, Vol. 1 of 3: A Novel The inscription on the brass-plate informed the neighbourhood that no. 14 was occupied by Mr. Sheldon, surgeon-dentist and the dwellers in F itzgeorge-street amused themselves in their leisure hours by Speculative discussions upon the character and pursuits, belongings and surround ings of this gentleman. Of course he was eminently respectable. On that question no Fitzgeorgian had ever hazarded a doubt. A householder with such a door - step and such muslin curtains could not be other than the most correct of mankind; for, if there is any external evidence by which a dissolute life or an Ill-regulated mind will infallibly betray itself, that evidence is to be found in the yellowness and limpness of muslin window-curtains. The eyes are the windows of the soul, says the poet; but if a man's eyes are not open to your inspection, the windows of his house will help you to discover his character as an individual, and his solidity as a citizen. At least such was the Opinion cherished in Fitzgeorge-street, Russell-square. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.