Mr Utterson the lawyer was a quiet, serious man. Hewas shy with strangers and afraid of showing his feelings. Among friends, however, his eyes shone with kindnessand goodness.And, although this goodness never found itsway into his conversation, it showed itself in his way of life.He did not allow himself many enjoyable things in life. He ateand drank simply and, although he enjoyed the theatre,hehad not been to a play for twenty years. However, he wasgentler towards other men' s weaknesses,and was alwaysready to help rather than blame them. As a lawyer, he was often the last good person that evil-doers met on their way toprison,or worse. These people often carried with them memories of his politeness and fairness.
Mr Utterson's best friend was a distant cousin calledRichard Enfield,who was well known as a fun-loving 'manabout town'.Nobody could understand why they werefriends, as they were different from each other in every way.They often took long walks together,however, marchingthrough the streets of London in companionable silence.
One of these walks used to take them down a narrow sidestreet in a busy part of London. It was a clean, busy, friendlystreet with bright little shops and shiny doorknockers. Nearthe end of this street, however, stood a dark, mysterious,windowless building.The door had neither bell nor knockerand looked dusty and uncared for. Dirty children played fearlessly on the doorstep, and nobody ever opened the door todrive them away.