ith the literary arrangement of the paper. I would not do it for my
sister.' Lady Carbury looked greatly pained. 'Send the book out, and
let it take its chance. How much prouder you will be to have it
praised because it deserves praise, than to know that it has been
eulogized as a mark of friendship.'

'No, I shan't,' said Lady Carbury. 'I don't believe that anything like
real selling praise is ever given to anybody, except to friends. I
don't know how they manage it, but they do.' Mr Alf shook his head.
'Oh yes; that is all very well from you. Of course you have been a
dragon of virtue; but they tell me that the authoress of the "New
Cleopatra" is a very handsome woman.' Lady Carbury must have been
worried much beyond her wont, when she allowed herself so far to lose
her temper as to bring against Mr Alf the double charge of being too
fond of the authoress in question, and of having sacrificed the
justice of his columns to that improper affection.

'At this moment I do not remember the name of the lady to whom you
allude,' said Mr Alf, getting up to take his leave; 'and I am quite
sure that the gentleman who reviewed the book,--if there be any such
lady and any such book,--had never seen her!' And so Mr Alf departed.

Lady Carbury was very angry with herself, and very angry also with Mr
Alf. She had not only meant to be piteous, but had made the attempt
and then had allowed herself to be carried away into anger. She had
degraded herself to humility, and had then wasted any possible good
result by a foolish fit of chagrin. The world in which she had to live
was almost too hard for her. When left alone she sat weeping over her
sorrows; but when from time to time she thought of Mr Alf and his
conduct, she could hardly repress her scorn. What lies he had told
her! Of course he could have done it had he chosen. But the assumed
honesty of the man was infinitely worse to her than his lies. No doubt
the 'Pulpit' had two objects in its criticisms. Other papers probably
had but one. The object common to all papers, that of helping friends
and destroying enemies, of course prevailed with the 'Pulpit.' There
was the second purpose of enticing readers by crushing authors,--as
crowds used to be enticed to see men hanged when executions were done
in public. But neither the one object nor the other was compatible
with that Aristidean justice which Mr Alf arrogated to himself and to
his paper. She hoped with all her heart that Mr Alf