w, but he's not a bit like an Englishman,'
said Lord Nidderdale, as he walked out of the station.

CHAPTER XI - LADY CARBURY AT HOME

During the last six weeks Lady Carbury had lived a life of very mixed
depression and elevation. Her great work had come out,--the 'Criminal
Queens,'--and had been very widely reviewed. In this matter it had been
by no means all pleasure, inasmuch as many very hard words had been
said of her. In spite of the dear friendship between herself and Mr
Alf, one of Mr Alf's most sharp-nailed subordinates had been set upon
her book, and had pulled it to pieces with almost rabid malignity. One
would have thought that so slight a thing could hardly have been
worthy of such protracted attention. Error after error was laid bare
with merciless prolixity. No doubt the writer of the article must have
had all history at his finger-ends, as in pointing out the various
mistakes made he always spoke of the historical facts which had been
misquoted, misdated, or misrepresented, as being familiar in all their
bearings to every schoolboy of twelve years old. The writer of the
criticism never suggested the idea that he himself, having been fully
provided with books of reference, and having learned the art of
finding in them what he wanted at a moment's notice, had, as he went
on with his work, checked off the blunders without any more permanent
knowledge of his own than a housekeeper has of coals when she counts
so many sacks into the coal-cellar. He spoke of the parentage of one
wicked ancient lady, and the dates of the frailties of another, with
an assurance intended to show that an exact knowledge of all these
details abided with him always. He must have been a man of vast and
varied erudition, and his name was Jones. The world knew him not, but
his erudition was always there at the command of Mr Alf,--and his
cruelty. The greatness of Mr Alf consisted in this, that he always had
a Mr Jones or two ready to do his work for him. It was a great
business, this of Mr Alf's, for he had his Jones also for philology,
for science, for poetry, for politics, as well as for history, and one
special Jones, extraordinarily accurate and very well posted up in his
references, entirely devoted to the Elizabethan drama.

There is the review intended to sell a book,--which comes out
immediately after the appearance of the book, or sometimes before it;
the review which gives reputation, but does not affect the sale, an