d been willing to engage herself, was, to
Lawrence's mode of thinking, if not a prerequisite procedure in his
contemplated course of action, at least a very desirable one.

But he was rather surprised to find that no one knew much about Mr
Junius Keswick, or could give him any account of his present
whereabouts, although he had been, at the time when his engagement was
in force, a resident of New York. To consult a directory was, therefore,
an obvious first step in the affair; and, with this intent, Mr Croft
entered, one morning, an apothecary's shop in a street which, though a
busy one, was in a rather out-of-the-way part of the city.

"We haven't any directory, sir," said the clerk, "but if you will step
across the street you can find one at that little shop with the green
door. Everybody goes there to look at the directory."

The green door on the opposite side of the street, approached by a
single flat step of stone, had a tin sign upon it, on which was painted:

"INFORMATION
OF EVERY VARIETY
FURNISHED WITHIN."

Pushing open the door, Lawrence entered a long, narrow room, not very
well lighted, with a short counter on one side, and some desks,
partially screened by a curtain, at the farther end. A boy was behind
the counter, and to him Lawrence addressed himself, asking permission to
look at a city directory.

"One cent, if you look yourself; three cents, if we look," said the boy,
producing a thick volume from beneath the counter.

"One cent?" said Lawrence, smiling at the oddity of this charge, as he
opened the book and turned to the letter K.

"Yes," said the boy, "and if the fine print hurts your eyes, we'll look
for three cents."

At this moment a man came from one of the desks at the other end of the
room, and handed the boy a letter with which that young person
immediately departed. The new-comer, a smooth-shaven man of about
thirty, with the air of the proprietor or head manager very strong upon
him, took the boy's position behind the counter, and remarked to
Lawrence: "Most people, when they first come here, think it rather queer
to pay for looking at the directory, but you see we don't keep a
directory to coax people to come in to buy medicines or anything else.
We sell nothing but information, and part of our stock is what you get
out of a directory. But it's the best plan all round, for we can afford
to give you a clean, good book instead of one all jagged and worn; and
as you pay your money,