so accustomed to speaking; but not so
bad either, taking everything into consideration, telling them how
flattered I felt by the honour which they had conferred in proposing to
me such an undertaking; expressing, however, my fears that I was not
competent to the task, and concluding by saying what a pity it was that
Crome was dead. 'Crome,' said the little man, 'Crome; yes, he was a
clever man, a very clever man in his way; he was good at painting
landscapes and farm-houses, but he would not do in the present instance,
were he alive. He had no conception of the heroic, sir. We want some
person capable of representing our mayor striding under the Norman arch
out of the cathedral.' At the mention of the heroic, an idea came at
once into my head. 'Oh,' said I, 'if you are in quest of the heroic, I
am glad that you came to me; don't mistake me,' I continued, 'I do not
mean to say that I could do justice to your subject, though I am fond of
the heroic; but I can introduce you to a great master of the heroic,
fully competent to do justice to your mayor. Not to me, therefore, be
the painting of the picture given, but to a friend of mine, the great
master of the heroic, to the best, the strongest, [Greek text],' I added,
for, being amongst orators, I thought a word of Greek would tell."

"Well," said I, "and what did the orators say?"

"They gazed dubiously at me and at one another," said my brother; "at
last the watchmaker asked me who this Mr. Christo was; adding, that he
had never heard of such a person; that, from my recommendation of him, he
had no doubt that he was a very clever man; but that they should like to
know something more about him before giving the commission to him. That
he had heard of Christie the great auctioneer, who was considered to be
an excellent judge of pictures; but he supposed that I
scarcely--Whereupon, interrupting the watchmaker, I told him that I
alluded neither to Christo nor to Christie; but to the painter of Lazarus
rising from the grave, a painter under whom I had myself studied during
some months that I had spent in London, and to whom I was indebted for
much connected with the heroic."

"I have heard of him," said the watchmaker, "and his paintings too; but I
am afraid that he is not exactly the gentleman by whom our mayor would
wish to be painted. I have heard say that he is not a very good friend
to Church and State. Come, young man," he added, "it appears to me that
you are