ms, varied by little tinkling outbursts upon the
pianoforte, which there could be no doubt that Mr. Billy Cracker played
astonishingly well.

"Easy or difficult to set?" inquired the Writer.

"Oh, child's play!"

"That's just what I want it for," remarked the Writer encouragingly,
"child's play, and the sort of tune a child would sing whilst he
played."

"Half a mo," murmured Billy, "I'm getting it fine--lum, lum, lum, lum,
lum, lum, lum, lum, lum. Ha! What do you think of this?"

Out rippled a delicious melody, harmonised with rich full chords this
time.

"That's it!" shouted the Writer excitedly. "Oh! lovely!! Billy,
you're a treasure. Oh! play it again!"

Mr. Billy Cracker obligingly consented.

The Writer was dancing round the room and singing at one and the same
time.

"Ripping! Billy, Ripping! Write it down at once!"

"Suppose you haven't got any music-paper in the place? No, I thought
not; never mind, I can soon manufacture some from this
manuscript-paper."

"No, not that," exclaimed the Writer hastily, "that's my new poem."

"Humph! Hope it's better than the one you have given me to set."

"Billy," exclaimed the Writer enthusiastically, "I am going to stand
you a tip-top lunch, and then I'm going to take you to Balham."

"Balham, good gracious! what on earth for?"

"You've got to give a music lesson in Balham after lunch, Billy, one
lesson will be enough with that tune. Why, it's in my head now, I
can't forget the thing."

"Isn't that exactly what you required?" asked Billy languidly, as he
wrote down notes.

* * * * *

Messrs. Vellum and Crackles, most concise and conservative of
solicitors, found themselves suffering for the first time in the
history of the firm from a fit of astonishment, not to mention dismay,
regarding the strange nature and unusual features of a case concerning
which their firm had recently received instructions.

The case was considered so unusual that a sort of hastily contrived
board meeting was deemed expedient, and was accordingly held in Mr.
Vellum's private room.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Vellum gave instructions for the writing
of a letter to the Board of Works, for special permission to have one
of the Lions, which would be, hereinafter, especially pointed out and
specified, removed from Trafalgar Square to the Law Courts, as its
presence in Court was deemed indispensable in a case of a peculiar and
special natu