as steaming out. It was a close thing,
and the boatmen made a small fortune out of my hurry.

Now Coppinger was only an hotel acquaintance, and as I was up to the
eyes in work when I got back to England, I'm afraid I didn't think very
much more about him at the time. One doesn't with people one just meets
casually abroad like that. And it must have been at least a year later
that I saw by a paragraph in one of the papers, that he had given the
lump of sheets to the British Museum, and that the estimated worth of
them was ten thousand pounds at the lowest valuation.

Well, this was a bit of revelation, and as he had so repeatedly
impressed on me that the things were mine by right of discovery, I wrote
rather a pointed note to him mentioning that he seemed to have been
making rather free with my property. Promptly came back a stilted letter
beginning, "Doctor Coppinger regrets" and so on, and with it the English
translation of the wax-upon-talc MSS. He "quite admitted" my claim,
and "trusted that the profits of publication would be a sufficient
reimbursement for any damage received."

Now I had no idea that he would take me unpleasantly like this, and
wrote back a pretty warm reply to that effect; but the only answer I got
to this was through a firm of solicitors, who stated that all further
communications with Dr. Coppinger must be made through them.

I will say here publicly that I regret the line he has taken over the
matter; but as the affair has gone so far, I am disposed to follow out
his proposition. Accordingly the old history is here printed; the credit
(and the responsibility) of the translation rests with Dr. Coppinger;
and whatever revenue accrues from readers, goes to the finder of the
original talc-upon-wax sheets, myself.

If there is a further alteration in this arrangement, it will be
announced publicly at a later date. But at present this appears to be
most unlikely.

1. MY RECALL

The public official reception was over. The sentence had been read, the
name of Phorenice, the Empress, adored, and the new Viceroy installed
with all that vast and ponderous ceremonial which had gained its pomp
and majesty from the ages. Formally, I had delivered up the reins of my
government; formally, Tatho had seated himself on the snake-throne, and
had put over his neck the chain of gems which symbolised the supreme
office; and then, whilst the drums and the trumpets made their
proclamation of clamour, he