you feel you can look as long as you like, and
come when you please."

"It is a very good plan," said Lawrence, closing the book, "but the name
I want is not here."

"Perhaps it is in last year's directory," said the man, producing
another volume from under the counter.

"That wouldn't do me much good," said Lawrence. "I want to know where
some one resides this year."

"It will do a great deal of good," said the other, "for if we know where
a person has lived, inquiries can be made there as to where he has gone.
Sometimes we go back three or four years, and when we have once found a
man's name, we follow him up from place to place until we can give the
inquirer his present address. What is the name you wanted, sir? You were
looking in the K's."

"Keswick," said Lawrence, "Junius Keswick."

The man ran his finger and his eyes down a column, and remarked: "There
is Keswick, but it is Peter, laborer; I suppose that isn't the party."

Lawrence smiled, and shook his head.

"We will take the year before that," said the man with cheerful
alacrity, heaving up another volume. "Here's two Keswicks," he said in a
moment, "one John, and the other Stephen W. Neither of them right?"

"No," said Lawrence, "my man is Junius, and we need not go any farther
back. I am afraid the person I am looking for was only a sojourner in
the city, and that his name did not get into the directory. I know that
he was here year before last."

"All right, sir," said the other, pushing aside the volume he had
been consulting. "We'll find the man for you from the hotel books, and
what is more, we can see those two Keswicks that I found last. Perhaps
they were relations of his, and he was staying with them. If you put the
matter in our hands, we'll give you the address to-morrow night,
provided it's an ordinary case. But if he has gone to Australia or
Japan, of course, it'll take longer. Is it crime or relationship?"

"Neither," replied Lawrence.

"It is generally one of them," said the man, "and if it's crime we carry
it on to a certain point, and then put it into the hands of the
detectives, for we've nothing to do with police business, private or
otherwise. But if it's relationship, we'll go right through with it to
the end. Any kind of information you may want we'll give you here;
scientific, biographical, business, healthfulness of localities,
genuineness of antiquities, age and standing of individuals, purity of
liquors or teas from s