"

Chester made show of breaking in and three speakers at once begged him
to proceed: "How much of a book," he asked Mme. Castanado, "will the
manuscript make? How long is it?"

She looked falteringly to her husband: "'Tis about a foot long, nine
inch' wide. Marcel, pazz that to monsieur."

The husband complied. Chester counted the lines of one of the pages.
Madame watched him anxiously.

"Tha'z too wide?" she inquired.

"It isn't long enough to make a book. To do that would take--oh--seven
times as much."

"Ah!" Madame's voice grew in sweetness as it rose: "So much the
better! So much the more room for those advertisement'!--and picture'!"

"And portrait of mademoiselle!" said Mme. Alexandre, and Mme. De l'Isle
smiled assent.

Yet a disappointed silence followed, presently broken by the perfumer:
"All the same, what is the matter to make it a pamphlet?"

Beloiseau objected: "No, then you compete aggains' those magazine'.
But if you permit one of those magazine' to buy it you get the
advantage of all the picture' in the whole magazine."

"Ah!" several demurred, "and let that magazine swallow whole all those
profit' of all those advertisement'!"

Chester spoke: "I have an idea--" But others had ideas and the floor
besides.

Castanado lifted a hand: "Frien'--our counsel."

Counsel tried again: "I have a conviction that we should first offer
this to a magazine--through--yes, of course, through some influential
friend. If one doesn't want it another may----"

Chorus: "Ho! they will all want it! That was not written laz' night!
'Tis fivty year' old; they cannot rif-use that!"

"However," Chester persisted, "if they should--if all should--I'd
advise----"

"Frien's," Castanado pleaded, "let us hear."

"I should advise that we gather together as many such old narratives as
we can find, especially such as can be related to one another----"

"They need not be ril-ated!" cried Dubroca. "_We_ are not ril-ated,
and yet see! Ril-ated? where you are goin' to find them, ril-ated?"

"Royal Street!" Scipion retorted. "Royal Street is pave' with old
narration'!"

"Already," said Castanado, "we chanze to have three or four.
Mademoiselle has that story of her _grand'mere_, and Mr. Chezter he
has--sir, you'll not care if I tell that?--Mr. Chezter has _the sequal
to that_, and written by his uncle!"

"Yes," Chester put in, "but Ovide Landry finds it was printed years
ago."

"Proof!" proclaimed Mme. Ale