the Exodus, learning from the magicians the effect of his
obstinacy in the death of his first-born son. The canvas showed him
seated on his throne, clad in his robes of state. His head was pushed a
little forward, his chin rested in his hand, while his eyes looked
straight before him as though he were endeavouring to peer into the
future in the hope of reading there the answer to the troubled thoughts
inside his brain. Behind him stood the sorcerers, one of whom had found
courage to announce the baneful tidings.

The land of Egypt has always possessed a singular attraction for me--a
taste which, doubtless, I inherit from my poor father, who, as you are
aware, was one of the greatest authorities upon the subject the world
has ever known.

As I have said, it was a miserable night, dark as the pit of Tophet. A
biting wind whistled through the streets, the pavements were dotted with
umbrella-laden figures, the kennels ran like mill-sluices, while the
roads were only a succession of lamp-lit puddles through which the
wheeled traffic splashed continuously. For some reason--perhaps because
the work upon which I had been so long and happily engaged was finished
and I felt lonely without it to occupy my mind--I was stricken with a
fit of the blues. Convinced that my own company would not take me out of
it, I left my studio in search of more congenial society. This was soon
forthcoming; and you will remember, Betford and Trevelyan, that we dined
together at a little restaurant in the neighbourhood of Leicester
Square, and followed the dinner up with a visit to a theatre. As
ill-luck would have it, I was in the minority in the choice of a place
of entertainment. The result was disastrous. Instead of ridding myself
of my melancholy, as I had hoped to do, I intensified it, and when, at
the end of the evening, I bade you farewell in the Strand, my spirits
had reached a lower level than they had attained all day. I remember
distinctly standing beneath a gas-lamp at the corner of Villiers Street,
as the clocks were striking midnight, feeling disinclined to return to
my abode and go to bed, and yet equally at a loss to know in what manner
I should employ myself until there was some likelihood of slumber
visiting my eyelids. To help me make up my mind I lit a fresh cigar and
strolled down toward the river. On the pavement, at the foot of the
steps leading to Hungerford Bridge, a poor tattered creature, yet still
possessing some pretensi