, who, curiously enough, were the publishers of the book
reviewed in the _Reader_. He had a few shillings in his possession, and
wrote at once to a bookseller in London for a copy of _The Chorus in
Green_, as the author had oddly named the book. He wrote on June 21st and
thought he might fairly expect to receive the interesting volume by the
24th; but the postman, true to his tradition, brought nothing for him,
and in the afternoon he resolved to walk down to Caermaen, in case it
might have come by a second post; or it might have been mislaid at the
office; they forgot parcels sometimes, especially when the bag was heavy
and the weather hot. This 24th was a sultry and oppressive day; a grey
veil of cloud obscured the sky, and a vaporous mist hung heavily over the
land, and fumed up from the valleys. But at five o'clock, when he
started, the clouds began to break, and the sunlight suddenly streamed
down through the misty air, making ways and channels of rich glory, and
bright islands in the gloom. It was a pleasant and shining evening when,
passing by devious back streets to avoid the barbarians (as he very
rudely called the respectable inhabitants of the town), he reached the
post-office; which was also the general shop.

"Yes, Mr. Taylor, there is something for you, sir," said the man.
"Williams the postman forgot to take it up this morning," and he handed
over the packet. Lucian took it under his arm and went slowly through the
ragged winding lanes till he came into the country. He got over the first
stile on the road, and sitting down in the shelter of a hedge, cut the
strings and opened the parcel. _The Chorus in Green_ was got up in what
reviewers call a dainty manner: a bronze-green cloth, well-cut gold
lettering, wide margins and black "old-face" type, all witnessed to the
good taste of Messrs Beit & Co. He cut the pages hastily and began to
read. He soon found that he had wronged Mr. Ritson--that old literary
hand had by no means stolen his book wholesale, as he had expected. There
were about two hundred pages in the pretty little volume, and of these
about ninety were Lucian's, dovetailed into a rather different scheme
with skill that was nothing short of exquisite. And Mr. Ritson's own work
was often very good; spoilt here and there for some tastes by the
"cataloguing" method, a somewhat materialistic way of taking an inventory
of the holy country things; but, for that very reason, contrasting to a
great advant