In Paris, in Rome, in Florence, in Berlin, in Vienna — in fact, over half the face of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Russian frontier — I am now known as "The Count's Chauffeur".

An Englishman, as my name, George Ewart denotes, I am of cosmopolitan birth and education, my early youth being spent on the Continent, where my father was agent for a London firm. When I was fourteen, my father, having prospered, came to London, and established himself as an agent in Wood Street, City, representing a great firm of silk manufacturers in Lyons. At twenty I tried City life, but an office with a high stool, a dusty ledger, and sandwich lunches, had no attraction for me. I had always had a turn for mechanics, but was never allowed to adopt engineering as a profession, my father's one idea being that I should follow in his footsteps — a delusive hope entertained by many a fond parent.