undered no better than a
twopenny cannon. Henry had heard as good at a church debating society in
Wheelton. At least, the disparity was scarce appreciable, and yet the
men he had listened to were, each of them, capable of great things pen
in hand; most of them would have been a loadstar of interest in any
large provincial city. They were best beheld at a distance and behind
the glamour of their books, he thought.

But he had reason to modify his opinion in the light of the club-room
gossip which followed the dinner and discussion. He was soon tingling
with delight at hearing men whose names were widely known discussing the
affairs of the literary world. He felt that he stood at the very fount
of those streams of gossip which flow far and wide through the channels
of the Press. He knew that many a paragraph he had clipped from a London
journal and printed in his column in the _Laysford Leader_ had
originated in the after-dinner chatter of his club, or some such
coterie. "I am informed that Mr. Blank's next novel will deal with," or
"My readers may be interested to know that Mr. So-and-So, the celebrated
author of this or that, is about to," or again, "Mr. Such-and-Such is
contemplating a holiday in Timbuctoo with a view to local colour for his
next romance, which has been arranged to appear in"--he could now see
that these pleasant pars, with their delightful "behind-the-scenes"
flavour, grew out of meetings like this.

After leaving the "Magpie," Adrian Grant walked with Henry as far as
Long Acre, where the latter could get a 'bus Bloomsburyward.

"An interesting gathering," said the novelist; "how did it impress you?"

"Chiefly that distinguished authors are very like human beings, on the
whole."

"I'm glad of that. Now you're learning. But you'll find much true
camaraderie among them, if you allow for the little eccentricities of
the artistic temperament, which you are sure to notice the more you know
of them. I overheard a very third-rate novelist to-night telling a guest
that his own books were divided into three periods; the middle one being
a bridge that linked the two expressions of his mind together. Heavens!
I don't suppose there's a score of people in the country who are the
least concerned in his work. But he's a good fellow for all his vanity.
We're all of us vain, more or less."

"I was also struck by the number of well-known people--men, I mean,
whose names are discussed throughout the whole country,