/ 
 
 /
 
 tJ^'^ 
 
 A MAN OF MARK
 
 BY THE SAME AUTHOR 
 
 Mk WiTi's W'innw 
 
 Sport Royai. 
 
 A Change ok Aik 
 
 Half a Hkro 
 
 The Prisoner of Zkxda 
 
 Father Stafford 
 
 Thk God in the Car
 
 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 BY 
 
 ANTHONY HOPE 
 
 A wi^e m;in will make more opportunities than he finds ' 
 
 Fkancis Bacon 
 
 A N'F.VV KDITION 
 
 METHUEN & CO. 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET, W.C. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 1S95
 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN, ... I 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT, . . . . II 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITV, .... 30 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION, . . 40 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION, ... 63 
 
 CHAPTER \ I 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! ... 82 
 
 CHAI'TKR VII 
 THE MINE IS LAID, . . . . 10 2 
 
 * «.-• <y '»j t^j* '
 
 viii CON'lENTS 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 JOHNNY CAKK lb WlLKUl-, . . . . Il6 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS, . 
 
 yAUK 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 A SUPPER PARTY, 133 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 TWO SURPRISES, 141 
 
 166 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES, . • • ■ • ^87 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 1 WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE, . • . 211 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND, . . • 228 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT, . • 25 1
 
 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN 
 
 IN the year 1884 the RepubHc of 
 Aureataland was certainly not in a 
 flourishing condition. Although most 
 happily situated (it lies on the coast of 
 South America, rather to the north — I 
 mustn't be more definite), and gifted with 
 an extensive territory, nearly as big as 
 Yorkshire, it had yet failed to make that 
 material progress which had been hoped 
 by its founders. It is true that the State 
 was still in its infancy, being an offshoot 
 
 A
 
 2 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 from another and larger realm, and hav- 
 ing obtained the boon of freedom and 
 self-government only as recently as 1871, 
 after a series of political convulsions of a 
 violent character, which may be studied 
 with advantage in the well-known history 
 of The Making of Aureat aland, by a 
 learned professor of the Jeremiah P. 
 Jecks University in the United States 
 of America. This profound historian is, 
 beyond all question, accurate in attribut- 
 ing the chief share in the national 
 movement to the energy and ability of 
 the first President of Aureataland, His 
 Excellency President Marcus W. Whitt- 
 ingham, a native of Virginia. Having 
 enjoyed a personal friendship (not, un- 
 happily, extended to public affairs) with 
 that talented man, as will subsequently 
 appear, I have great pleasure in publicly 
 endorsing the professor's eulogium. Not 
 only did the President bring Aureataland 
 into being, but he moulded her whole
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN 3 
 
 constitution. ' It was his genius' (as the 
 professor observes with propriety) ' which 
 was fired with the idea of creating a truly 
 modern state, instinct with the progressive 
 spirit of the Anglo-Saxon race. It was 
 his genius which cast aside the worn- 
 out traditions of European dominion, and 
 taught his fellow-citizens that they were, 
 if not all by birth, yet one and all by 
 adoption, the sons of freedom.' Any mis- 
 takes in the execution of this fine con- 
 ception must be set down to the fact that 
 the President's great powers were rather 
 the happy gift of nature than the result of 
 culture. To this truth he was himself in 
 no way blind, and he was accustomed to 
 attribute his want of a liberal education to 
 the social ruin brought upon his family by 
 the American Civil War, and to the dis- 
 location thereby produced in his studies. 
 As the President was, when I had the 
 honour of making his acquaintance in the 
 year 1880, fifty years old if he was a day,
 
 4 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 this explanation hardly agrees with dates, 
 unless it is to be supposed that the Presi- 
 dent was still pursuing his education when 
 the war began, being then of the age of 
 thirty-five, or thereabouts. 
 
 Starting under the auspices of such a 
 gifted leader, and imbued with so noble 
 a zeal for progress, Aureataland was, at 
 the beginning of her history as a nation, 
 the object of many fond and proud hopes. 
 But in spite of the blaze of glory in which 
 her sun had risen (to be seen duly reflected 
 in the professor's work) her prosperity, as 
 I have said, was not maintained. The 
 country was well suited for agriculture and 
 grazing, but the population — a very queer 
 mixture of races — was indolent, and more 
 given to keeping holidays and festivals 
 than to honest labour. Most of them 
 were unintelligent ; those who were in- 
 telligent made their living out of those 
 who weren't, a method of subsistence 
 satisfactory to the individual, but adding
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN 5 
 
 little to the aggregate of national wealth. 
 Only two classes made fortunes of any 
 size — Government officials and bar-keepers 
 — and even in their case the wealth was 
 not great, looked at by an English or 
 American standard. Production was slack, 
 invention at a standstill, and taxation 
 heavy. I suppose the President's talents 
 were more adapted to founding a State in 
 the shock and turmoil of war, than to the 
 dull details of administration ; and although 
 he was nominally assisted by a Cabinet of 
 three Ministers, and an Assembly com- 
 prising twenty-five members, it was on 
 his shoulders that the real work of Govern- 
 ment fell. On him, therefore, the moral 
 responsibility must also rest — a burden 
 the President bore with a cheerfulness 
 and equanimity almost amounting to un- 
 consciousness. 
 
 I first set foot in Aureataland in March 
 1880, when I was landed on the beach 
 by a boat from the steamer at the capital
 
 6 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 town of Whittlngham. I was a young 
 man, entering on my twenty-sixth year, 
 and full of pride at finding myself at so 
 early an age sent out to fill the respon- 
 sible position of manager at our Aureata- 
 land branch. The Directors of the Bank 
 were then pursuing what may without un- 
 fairness be called an adventurous policy, 
 and, in response to the urgent entreaties 
 and glowing exhortations of the President, 
 they had decided on establishing a branch 
 at Whittingham. I commanded a certain 
 amount of interest on the Board, inasmuch 
 as the Chairman owed my father a sum of 
 money, too small to mention but too large 
 to pay, and when, led by the youthful itch 
 for novelty, I applied for the post, I suc- 
 ceeded in obtaining my wish at a salary 
 of a hundred dollars a month. I am 
 sorry to say that in the course of a later 
 business dealing the balance of obligation 
 shifted from the Chairman to my father, 
 an unhappy event which deprived me of
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN 7 
 
 my hold on the Company and seriously in- 
 fluenced my conduct in later days. When 
 I arrived in Aureataland the bank had 
 been open some six months, under the 
 guidance of Mr Thomas Jones, a steady- 
 going old clerk, who was in future to 
 act as chief (and indeed only) cashier 
 under my orders. 
 
 I found Whittingham a pleasant little 
 city of about five thousand inhabitants, 
 picturesquely situated on a fine bay, at 
 the spot where the river Marcus de- 
 bouched into the ocean. The town was 
 largely composed of Government buildings 
 and hotels, but there was a street of shops 
 of no mean order, and a handsome square, 
 called the 'Piazza 1 871,' embellished with 
 an equestrian statue of the President. 
 Round about this national monument were 
 a large number of seats, and, hard by, a 
 caf^ and bandstand. Here, I soon found, 
 was the centre of life in the afternoons 
 and evenings. Going along a fine avenue
 
 8 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 of trees for half a mile or so you came 
 to the ' Golden House,' the President's 
 official residence, an imposing villa of 
 white stone with a gilt statue of Aureata- 
 land, a female figure sitting on a plough- 
 share, and holding a sword in the right 
 hand, and a cornucopia in the left. By 
 her feet lay what was apparently a badly- 
 planed cannon ball ; this, I learnt, was a 
 nugget, and from its presence and the 
 name of the palace, I gathered that the 
 President had once hoped to base the 
 prosperity of his young republic on the 
 solid foundation of mineral wealth. This 
 hope haH been long abandoned. 
 
 I have always hated hotels, so I lost 
 no time in looking round for lodgings 
 suitable to my means, and was fortunate 
 enough to obtain a couple of rooms in 
 the house occupied by a Catholic priest, 
 Father Jacques Bonchr^tien. He was a 
 very good fellow, and, though we did not 
 become intimate, I could always rely on
 
 THE MOVEMENT AND THE MAN 9 
 
 his courtesy and friendly services. Here 
 I lived in great comfort at an expense 
 of fifty dollars a month, and I soon found 
 that my spare fifty made me a well-to-do 
 man in Whittingham. Accordingly I had 
 the entree of all the best houses, includ- 
 ing the Golden House, and a very pleas- 
 ant little society we had ; occasional 
 dances, frequent dinners, and plenty of 
 lawn tennis and billiards prevented me 
 feeling the tedium I had somewhat feared, 
 and the young ladies of Whittingham did 
 their best to solace my exile. As for 
 business, I found the bank doing a small 
 business but a tolerably satisfactory one, 
 and if we made some bad debts, we got 
 high interest on the good ones, so that, 
 one way or another, I managed to send 
 home pretty satisfactory reports, and time 
 passed on quietly enough in spite of cer- 
 tain manifestations of discontent among 
 the population. These disturbing phe- 
 nomena were first brought prominently to
 
 lo A MAN OF MARK 
 
 my notice at the time when I became 
 involved in the fortunes of the Aureata- 
 land national debt, and as all my story 
 turns on this incident, it perhaps is a fit 
 subject for a new chapter.
 
 CHAPTE R I I 
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 
 
 WHEN our branch was established 
 at Whittingham there had been 
 an arrangement made between ourselves 
 and the Government, by the terms of 
 which we were to have the Government 
 business, and to occupy, in fact, much that 
 quasi-official position enjoyed by the Bank 
 of England at home. As a quid pro quo, 
 the bank was to lend to the Republic the 
 sum of 500,000 dollars, at six per cent. 
 The President was at the time floating a 
 loan of one million dollars for the purpose 
 of works at the harbour of Whitting- 
 ham. This astute ruler had, it seemed, 
 
 II
 
 12 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 hit on the plan of instituting pubHc 
 works on a large scale as a corrective 
 to popular discontent, hoping thereby 
 not only to develop trade, but also to 
 give employment to many persons who, 
 if unoccupied, became centres of agita- 
 tion. Such at least was the official 
 account of his policy ; whether it was 
 the true one I saw reason to doubt later 
 on. As regards this loan, my office 
 was purely ministerial. The arrange- 
 ments were duly made, the proper 
 guarantees given, and in June 1880, 
 I had the pleasure of handing over to 
 the President the 500,000 dollars. I 
 learnt from him on that occasion that, 
 to his great gratification, the balance of 
 the loan had been taken up. 
 
 ' We shall make a start at once, sir, 
 said the President, in his usual confident 
 but quiet way. ' In two years Whitt- 
 ingham harbour will walk over the 
 world. Don't be afraid about your
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 13 
 
 interest. Your Directors never made 
 a better investment.' 
 
 I thanked his Excellency, accepted a 
 cigar, and withdrew with a peaceful 
 mind. I had no responsibility in the 
 matter, and cared nothing whether the 
 Directors got their interest or not. I 
 was however somewhat curious to know 
 who had taken up the rest of the loan, 
 a curiosity which was not destined to 
 be satisfied for some time. 
 
 The works were begun and the interest 
 was paid, but I cannot say that the 
 harbour progressed rapidly ; in fact, I 
 doubt if more than 100,000 dollars ever 
 found their way into the pockets of con- 
 tractors or workmen over the job. The 
 President had some holes dug and some 
 walls built ; having reached that point, 
 about two years after the interview above 
 recorded, he suddenly drew off the few 
 labourers still employed, and matters 
 came to a dead stop.
 
 14 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 It was shortly after this occurrence 
 that I was honoured with an invitation 
 to dine at the Golden House. It was 
 in the month of July 1882. Needless 
 to say, I accepted the invitation, not 
 only because it was in the nature of a 
 command, but also because the President 
 gave uncommonly good dinners, and, 
 although a bachelor (in Aureataland at 
 all events), had as well ordered a house- 
 hold as I have ever known. My grati- 
 fication was greatly increased when, on 
 my arrival, I found myself the only 
 guest, and realised that the President con- 
 sidered my society in itself enough for 
 an evening's entertainment. It did cross 
 my mind that this might mean business, 
 and I thought it none the worse for 
 that. 
 
 We dined in the famous verandah, 
 the scene of so many brilliant Whitting- 
 ham functions. The dinner was beyond 
 reproach, the wines perfection. The
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 15 
 
 President was a charming companion. 
 Though not, as I have hinted, a man 
 of much education, he had had a wide 
 experience of hfe, and had picked up a 
 manner at once quiet and cordial, which 
 set me completely at my ease. More- 
 over, he paid me the compliment, alwa3'S 
 so sweet to youth, of treating me as a 
 man of the world. With condescending 
 confidence he told me many tales of his 
 earlier days ; and as he had been every- 
 where and done everything where and 
 which a man ought not to be and do, 
 his conversation was naturally most in- 
 teresting. 
 
 ' I am not holding myself up as an 
 example,' he said, after one of his most 
 unusual anecdotes. * I can only hope that 
 my public services will be allowed to 
 weigh in the balance against my private 
 frailties.' He said this with some emotion. 
 
 'Even your Excellency,' said I, 'may 
 be content to claim in that respect the
 
 i6 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 same indulgence as Caesar and Henri 
 Quatre.' 
 
 ' Quite so,' said the President. ' I 
 suppose they were not exactly — eh ? ' 
 
 * I beheve not,' I answered, admiring 
 the President's readiness, for he certainly 
 had a very dim notion who either of 
 them was. 
 
 Dinner was over and the table cleared 
 before the President seemed inclined for 
 serious conversation. Then he called for 
 cigars, and pushing them towards me 
 said, 
 
 ' Take one, and fill your glass. Don't 
 believe people who tell you not to drink 
 and smoke at the same time. Wine is 
 better without smoke, and smoke is better 
 without wine, but the combination is better 
 than either separately.' 
 
 I obeyed his commands, and we sat 
 smoking and sipping in silence for some 
 moments. Then the President said, 
 suddenly,
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 17 
 
 ' Mr Martin, this country is in a peril- 
 ous condition.' 
 
 'Good God, your Excellency,' said 
 I, 'do you refer to the earthquake?' 
 (There had been a slight shock a few 
 days before.) 
 
 'No, sir,' he replied, 'to the finances. 
 The harbour works have proved far 
 more expensive than I anticipated. I 
 hold in my hand the engineer's certifi- 
 cate that 903,000 dollars have been 
 actually expended on them, and they 
 are not finished — not by any means 
 finished.' 
 
 They certainly were not ; they were 
 hardly begun. 
 
 ' Dear me,' I ventured to say, ' that 
 seems a good deal of money, consider- 
 ing what there is to show for it.' 
 
 ' You cannot doubt the certificate, Mr 
 Martin,' said the President. 
 
 I did doubt the certificate, and should 
 have liked to ask what fee the engineer 
 
 B
 
 i8 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 had received. But I hastily said it was, 
 of course, beyond suspicion. 
 
 ' Yes,' said he steadily, ' quite beyond 
 suspicion. You see, Mr Martin, in my 
 position I am compelled to be liberal. 
 The Government cannot set other em- 
 ployers the example of grinding men down 
 by low wages. However, reasons apart, 
 there is the fact. We cannot go on with- 
 out more money ; and I may tell you, 
 in confidence, that the political situation 
 makes it imperative we should go on. 
 Not only is my personal honour pledged, 
 but the Opposition, Mr Martin, led by 
 the Colonel, is making itself obnoxious 
 — yes, I may say very obnoxious.' 
 
 'The Colonel, sir,' said I, with a free- 
 dom engendered of dining, ' is a beast.' 
 
 ' Well,' said the President, with a 
 tolerant smile, ' the Colonel, unhappily 
 for the country, is no true patriot. But 
 he is powerful ; he is rich ; he is, under 
 myself alone, in command of the army.
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 19 
 
 And, moreover, I believe he stands well 
 with the Signorina. The situation, in 
 fact, is desperate. I must have money, 
 Mr Martin. Will your Directors make 
 me a new loan ? ' 
 
 I knew very well the fate that would 
 attend any such application. The Di- 
 rectors were already decidedly uneasy 
 about their first loan ; shareholders had 
 asked awkward questions, and the Chair- 
 man had found no small difficulty in 
 showing that the investment was likely 
 to prove either safe or remunerative. 
 Again, only a fortnight before, the 
 Government had made a formal appli- 
 cation to me on the same subject. I 
 cabled the Directors, and received a 
 prompt reply in the single word ' Toot- 
 sums,' which in our code meant ' Must 
 absolutely and finally decline to entertain 
 any applications.' I communicated the 
 contents of the cable to Senor Don 
 Antonio de la Casabianca, the Minister
 
 \ 
 
 20 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 of Finance, who had, of course, com- 
 municated them in turn to the Presi- 
 dent. 
 
 I ventured to remind his Excellency of 
 these facts. He heard me with silent 
 attention. 
 
 ' I fear,' I concluded, ' therefore, that 
 it is impossible for me to be of any assist- 
 ance to your Excellency.' 
 
 He nodded, and gave a slight sigh. 
 Then, with an air of closing the subject, 
 he said, 
 
 ' I suppose the Directors are past reason. 
 Help yourself to a brandy and soda.' 
 
 'Allow me to mix one for you, sir,' I 
 answered. 
 
 While I was preparing our beverages 
 he remained silent. When I had sat 
 down again he said, 
 
 ' You occupy a very responsible posi- 
 tion here for so young a man, Mr Martin 
 — not beyond your merits, I am sure.' 
 
 I bowed.
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 21 
 
 ' They leave you a pretty free hand, 
 don't they ? ' 
 
 I replied that as far as routine business 
 went I did much as seemed good in my 
 own eyes. 
 
 'Routine business? including invest- 
 ments, for instance ? ' he asked. 
 
 ' Yes,' said I ; ' investments in the 
 ordinary course of business — discounting 
 bills and putting money out on loan and 
 mortgage over here. I place the money, 
 and merely notify the people at home of 
 what I have done.' 
 
 ' A most proper confidence to repose in 
 you,' the President was good enough to 
 say. ' Confidence is the life of business ; 
 you must trust a man. It would be absurd 
 to make you send home the bills, and 
 deeds, and certificates, and what not. Of 
 course they wouldn't do that' 
 
 Though this was a statement, somehow 
 it also sounded like a question, so I 
 answered,
 
 2 2 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' As a rule they do me the compliment 
 of taking my word. The fact is, they are, 
 as your Excellency says, obliged to trust 
 somebody.' 
 
 ' Exactly as I thought. And you some- 
 times have large sums to place ? * 
 
 At this point, notwithstanding my respect 
 for the President, I began to smell a rat. 
 
 ' Oh no, sir,' I replied, ' usually very 
 small. Our business is not so extensive 
 as we could wish.' 
 
 ' Whatever,' said the President, looking 
 me straight in the face, ' whatever may be 
 usual, at this moment you have a large 
 sum — a very respectable sum — of money 
 in your safe at the bank, waiting for 
 investment.' 
 
 'How the devil do you know that?' 
 I cried. 
 
 'Mr Martin! It is no doubt my fault ; 
 I am too prone to ignore etiquette ; but 
 you forget yourself.' 
 
 I hastened to apologise, although I
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 23 
 
 was pretty certain the President was con- 
 templating a queer transaction, if not flat 
 burglary. 
 
 ' Ten thousand pardons, your Excel- 
 lency, for my most unbecoming tone, but 
 may I ask how you became possessed of 
 this information ? ' 
 
 'Jones told me,' he said, simply. 
 
 As it would not have been polite to ex- 
 press the surprise I felt at Jones's sim- 
 plicity in choosing such a confidant, I 
 held my peace. 
 
 ' Yes,' continued the President, * owing 
 to the recent sales of your real property in 
 this country (sales due, I fear, to a want 
 of confidence in my administration), you 
 have at this moment a sum of 300,000 
 dollars in the bank safe. Now (don't in- 
 terrupt me, please) the experience of a 
 busy life teaches me that commercial re- 
 putation and probity depend on results, 
 not on methods. Your Directors have a 
 prejudice against me and my Government.
 
 24 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 That prejudice you, with your superior 
 opportunities for judgment, cannot share. 
 You will serve your employers best by 
 doing for them what they haven't the 
 sense and courage to do for themselves. 
 I propose that you should assume 
 the responsibility of lending me this 
 money. The transaction will redound 
 to the profit of the bank. It shall 
 also,' he added slowly, 'redound to your 
 profit.' 
 
 I began to see my way. But there 
 were difficulties. 
 
 ' What am I to tell the Directors ? ' 1 
 asked. 
 
 ' You will make the usual return of in- 
 vestments and debts outstanding — mort- 
 gages — loans on approved security — but 
 you know better than I do.' 
 
 'False returns, your Excellency means .'*' 
 
 'They will no doubt be formally inac- 
 curate,' the President admitted. 
 
 ' What if they ask for proofs ? ' said I.
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 25 
 
 * Sufficient unto the day,' said the Pre- 
 sident. 
 
 ' You have rather surprised me, sir,' I 
 said, ' but I am most anxious to oblige 
 you, and to forward the welfare of 
 Aureataland. There are, however, two 
 points which occur to me. First, how 
 am I to be insured against not getting 
 my interest? That I must have.' 
 
 'Quite so,' he interrupted. 'And the 
 second point I can anticipate. It is, what 
 token of my gratitude for your timely 
 assistance can I prevail on you to 
 accept ? ' 
 
 'Your Excellency's knowledge of human 
 nature is surprising.' 
 
 ' Kindly give me your attention, Mr 
 Martin, and I will try to satisfy both 
 your very reasonable requirements. You 
 have 300,000 dollars ; those you will hand 
 over to me, receiving in return Govern- 
 ment 6 per cent, bonds for that amount. I 
 will then hand back to you 65,000 dollars.
 
 26 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 45,000 you will retain as security for your 
 interest ; in the event of any failure on 
 the part of Aureataland to meet her ob- 
 ligations honourably, you will pay the 
 interest on the whole 300,000 out of that 
 sum. That secures you for more than 
 two years against absolute failure of 
 interest, which in reality you need not 
 fear. Till the money is wanted, you 
 will have the use of it. The remaining 
 20,000 I shall beg of you to accept as 
 your commission, or rather as a token of 
 my esteem. 20,000 absolutely — 45,000 
 as long as Aureataland pays interest! 
 You must admit I deal with you as one 
 gendeman with another, Mr Martin. In 
 the result, your Directors get their 
 interest, I get my loan, you get your 
 bonus. We are all benefited, no one is 
 hurt! All this is effected at the cost 
 of a harmless stratagem.' 
 
 I was full of admiration. The scheme 
 was very neat, and, as far as the President
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 27 
 
 and myself were concerned, he had been 
 no more than just in pointing out its 
 advantages. As for the Directors, they 
 would probably get their interest ; any- 
 how, they would get it for two years. 
 There was risk, of course ; a demand for 
 evidence of my alleged investments or a 
 sudden order to realise a heavy sum at 
 short notice would brinof the house about 
 my ears. But I did not anticipate this 
 contretemps, and at the worst I had my 
 20,000 dollars, and could make myself 
 scarce therewith. These calculations were 
 quite correct at the moment, but I upset 
 them afterwards by spending the dollars 
 and by contracting a tie which made flight 
 from Aureataland a distasteful alternative. 
 'Well, Mr Martin,' said the President, 
 do you agree } ' 
 
 I still hesitated. Was it a moral 
 scruple.-^ Probably not, unless, indeed, 
 prudence and morality are the same 
 thing.
 
 28 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 The President rose and put his hand 
 on my shoulder. 
 
 ' Better say yes. I might take it, you 
 know, and cause you to disappear — be- 
 lieve me, with reluctance, Mr Martin. 
 It is true I shouldn't like this course. It 
 would perhaps make my position here 
 untenable. But not having the money 
 would certainly make it untenable.' 
 
 I saw the force of this argument, and, 
 gulping down my brandy and soda, I 
 said, 
 
 ' I can refuse your Excellency nothing.' 
 
 ' Then take your hat and come along 
 to the bank,' said he. 
 
 This was sharp work. 
 
 ' Your Excellency does not mean to 
 take the money now — to-night ? ' I ex- 
 claimed. 
 
 * Not to take, Mr Martin — to receive 
 it from you. We have made our bargain. 
 What is the objection to carrying it out 
 promptly ? '
 
 A FINANCIAL EXPEDIENT 29 
 
 ' But I must have the bonds. They 
 must be prepared, sir.' 
 
 ' They are here,' he said, taking a 
 bundle from the drawer of a writing-table. 
 '300,000 dollars 6 per cent, stock, signed 
 by myself, and countersigned by Don An- 
 tonio. Take your hat and come along.' 
 
 I did as I was bid.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY 
 
 IT was a beautiful moonlight night, 
 and Whittingham was looking her 
 best as we made our way along the 
 avenue leading to the Piazza 1871. 
 The President walked briskly, silent 
 but serene ; I followed, the trouble in 
 my mind reflected in a somewhat hang- 
 doe air, and I was not much comforted 
 when the President broke the stillness 
 of the night by saying, 
 
 ' You have set your foot on the first 
 rung of the ladder that leads to fame 
 
 and wealth, Mr Martin.' 
 
 30
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY 31 
 
 I was rather afraid I had set it on the 
 first runof of the ladder that leads to the 
 gallows. But there the foot was ; what 
 the ladder turned out to be was in the 
 hands of the gods ; so I threw off care, 
 and as we entered the Piazza I pointed 
 to the statue, and said, 
 
 ' Behold my inspiring example, your 
 Excellency ! ' 
 
 * By Jove, yes,' he replied, ' I make the 
 most of my opportunities,' 
 
 I knew he regarded me as one of his 
 opportunities, and was making the most of 
 me. This is not a pleasant point of view 
 to regard one's self from, so I changed the 
 subject, and said, 
 
 ' Shall we call for Don Antonio ? ' 
 
 'Why?' 
 
 ' Well, as he's Minister of Finance, I 
 thought perhaps his presence would make 
 the matter more regular.' 
 
 ' If the presence of the President,' said 
 that official, ' can't make a matter regular.
 
 32 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 I don't know what can. Let him sleep on. 
 Isn't his signature on the bonds enough .'' ' 
 
 What could I do ? I made one more 
 weak objection : 
 
 ' What shall we tell Jones?' 
 
 ' What shall zve tell Jones ? ' he echoed. 
 ' Really, Mr Martin, you must use your 
 discretion as to what you tell your employes. 
 You can hardly expect me to tell Jones 
 anything, beyond that it's a fine morning.' 
 
 We had now reached the bank, which 
 stood in Liberty Street, a turning out of 
 the Piazza. I took out my key, unlocked 
 the door, and we entered together. We 
 passed into my inner sanctum, where the 
 safe stood. 
 
 ' What's it in ? ' asked the President. 
 
 ' United States bonds, and bills on New 
 York and London,' I replied. 
 
 ' Good,' said he. ' Let me look.' 
 
 I unlocked the safe, and took out the 
 securities. He examined them carefully, 
 placing each after due scrutiny in a small
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY 35 
 
 handbag, in which he had brought down 
 the bonds I was to receive. I stood by, 
 holding a shaded candle. At this moment 
 a voice cried from the door, 
 
 ' If you move you're dead men ! ' 
 I started and looked up. The President 
 looked up without starting. There was 
 dear old Jones, descended from his upper 
 chamber, where he and Mrs Jones resided. 
 He was clad only in his night-shirt, and 
 was levelling a formidable gun full at the 
 august head of his Excellency. 
 
 *Ah, Mr Jones,' said the latter, 'it's a 
 fine morning.' 
 
 ' Good heavens, the President ! ' cried 
 Jones; 'and Mr Martin! Why, what on 
 earth, gentlemen — ? ' 
 
 The President gently waved one hand 
 towards me, as if to say, ' Mr Martin will 
 explain,' and went on placing his securities 
 in the bag. 
 
 In face of this crisis my hesitation left 
 me. 
 
 c
 
 34 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' I have received a cable from Europe, 
 Jones,' said I, 'instructing me to advance 
 a sum of money to his Excellency ; I am 
 engaged in carrying out these instructions.' 
 
 ' Cable ? ' said Jones. ' Where is it ? ' 
 
 'In my pocket,' said I, feeling for it. 
 ' No ! Why, I must have left it at the 
 Golden House.' 
 
 The President came to my assistance. 
 
 ' I saw it on the table just before we 
 started. Though I presume Mr Jones 
 has no right — ? ' 
 
 ' None at all,' I said briskly, 
 
 ' Yet, as a matter of concession, Mr 
 Martin will no doubt show it to him to- 
 morrow ? ' 
 
 * Strictly as a matter of concession per- 
 haps I will, though I am bound to say that 
 I am surprised at your manner, Mr Jones.' 
 
 Jones looked sadly puzzled. 
 
 ' It's all irregular, sir,' said he. 
 
 ' Hardly more so than your costume ! ' 
 said the President, pleasantly.
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY 35 
 
 Jones was a modest man, and being 
 thus made aware of the havoc the draught 
 was playing with his airy covering, he 
 hastily closed the door, and said to me 
 appeal ingly, 
 
 ' It's all right, sir, I suppose? ' 
 
 * Perfectly right,' said I. 
 
 ' But highly confidential,' added the 
 President. ' And you will put me under 
 a personal obligation, Mr Jones, and at 
 the same time fulfil your duty to your 
 employers, if you preserve silence till the 
 transaction is officially announced. A 
 man who serves me does not reofret it.' 
 
 Here he was making the most of 
 another opportunity — Jones this time. 
 
 ' Enough of this,' I said. ' I will go 
 over the matter in the morning, and mean- 
 while hadn't you better go back to — ' 
 
 ' Mrs Jones,' interjected his Excellency. 
 ' And mind, silence, Mr Jones ! ' 
 
 He walked up to Jones as he said this, 
 and looked hard at him.
 
 36 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Silent men prosper best, and live 
 longest, Mr Jones.' 
 
 Jones looked into his steely eyes, and 
 suddenly fell all of a tremble. 
 
 The President was satisfied. He 
 abruptly pushed him out of the room, 
 and we heard his shambling steps going 
 up the staircase. 
 
 His Excellency turned to me, and said 
 with apparent annoyance, 
 
 ' You leave a great deal to me, Mr 
 Martin.' 
 
 He had certainly done more than tell 
 Jones it was a fine morning. But I was 
 too much troubled to thank him ; I was 
 thinking of the cable. The President 
 divined my thoughts, and said, 
 
 ' You must prepare that cable.' 
 
 ' Yes,' I replied ; ' that would reassure 
 him. But I haven't had much practice in 
 that sort of thing, and I don't quite know — ' 
 
 The President scribbled a few words on 
 a bit of paper, and said,
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY 37 
 
 ' Take that to the Post Office, and 
 they'll give you the proper form ; you 
 can fill it up.' 
 
 Certainly some things go easily if the 
 head of the State is your fellow criminal. 
 
 'And now, Mr Martin, it grows late. 
 I have my securities ; you have your bonds. 
 We have won over Jones. All goes well. 
 Aureataland is saved. You have made 
 your fortune, for there lie your 65,000 
 dollars. And, in fine, I am much obliged 
 to you. I will not trouble you to attend 
 me on my return. Good-night, Mr 
 Martin.' 
 
 He went out, and I threw myself down 
 in my office chair, and sat gazing at the 
 bonds he had left me. I wondered 
 whether he had merely made a tool of me ; 
 whether I could trust him ; whether I had 
 done well to sacrifice my honesty, relying 
 on his promises. And yet there lay my 
 reward ; and, as purely moral considera- 
 tions did not trouble me, I soon arose, put
 
 38 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 the Government bonds and the 65,000 
 dollars in securities in the safe, locked up 
 everything, and went home to my lodgings. 
 As I went in it was broad daylight, for 
 the clock had gone five, and I met Father 
 Jacques sallying forth. He had already 
 breakfasted, and was on his way to ad- 
 minister early consolation to the flower- 
 women in the Piazza. He stopped me 
 with a grieved look, and said, 
 
 'Ah, my friend, these are untimely 
 hours.' 
 
 I saw I was labouring under an unjust 
 suspicion — a most revolting thing. 
 
 *I have only just come from the bank,' 
 I said. ' I had to dine at the Golden 
 House and afterwards returned to finish 
 up a bit of work.' 
 
 ' Ah ! that is well/ he cried. ' It is then 
 the industrious and not the idle apprentice 
 I meet ? ' referring to a series of famous 
 prints with which my room was decorated 
 a gift from my father on my departure.
 
 AN EXCESS OF AUTHORITY 39 
 
 I nodded and passed on, saying to my- 
 self: 'Deuced industrious, indeed. Not 
 many men have done such a night's work 
 as I have.' 
 
 And that was how my fortunes became 
 bound up with those of the Aureataland 
 National Debt.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 
 
 AFTER the incidents above recorded, 
 things went on quietly enough for 
 some months. I had a serious talk with 
 Jones, reproaching him gravely for his 
 outrageous demeanour. He capitulated 
 abjectly on being shown the cable, which 
 was procured in the manner kindly indi- 
 cated by the President. The latter had 
 perhaps been in too great a hurry with 
 his heavy guns, for his hint of violence 
 had rather stirred than allayed Jones's 
 apprehensions. If there were nothing to 
 conceal, why should his Excellency not 
 stick at murder to hide it."^ However 
 
 I explained to him the considerations of 
 
 40
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 41 
 
 high policy, dictating inviolable secrecy, 
 and justifying a somewhat arbitrary way 
 of dealing with a trusted official ; and the 
 marked graciousness with which Jones was 
 received when he met the President at 
 the Ministry of Finance on current busi- 
 ness went far to obliterate his unpleasant 
 recollections. I further bound him to my 
 fortunes by obtaining for him a rise of 
 salary from the Directors, ' in consequence 
 of the favourable report of his conduct 
 received from Mr Martin.' 
 
 Peaceful as matters seemed, I was not 
 altogether at ease. To begin with, the 
 new loan did not apparently at all im- 
 prove the financial position of Aureata- 
 land. Desolation still reiofoed on the 
 scene of the harbour works ; there was 
 the usual difficulty in paying salaries and 
 meeting current expenditure. The Presi- 
 dent did not invite my confidence as to 
 the disposal of his funds ; indeed before 
 long I was alarmed to see a growing cold-
 
 42 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ness in his manner, which I considered at 
 once ungrateful and menacing ; and when 
 the half-year came round he firmly refused 
 to disburse more than half the amount of 
 interest due on the second loan, thus forc- 
 ing me to make an inroad on my reserve 
 of 45,000 dollars. He gave me many 
 good reasons for this course of conduct, 
 dwelling chiefly on the necessary unpro- 
 ductiveness of public works in their early 
 stages, and confidently promising full pay- 
 ment with arrears next time. Neverthe- 
 less I began to see that I must face the 
 possibility of a continual drain on resources 
 that I had fondly hoped would be available 
 for my own purposes for a considerable 
 time at least. Thus one thing and another 
 contributed to open a breach between his 
 Excellency and myself, and, although I 
 never ceased to feel his charm as a private 
 companion, my distrust of him as a ruler, 
 and, I may add, as a fellow-conspirator, 
 steadily deepened.
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 43 
 
 Other influences were at this time — for 
 we have now reached the beginning of 
 '8^ — at work in the same direction. Rich 
 in the possession of my ' bonus,' I had 
 plunged even more freely than before into 
 the gaieties of Whittingham, and where 
 I was welcome before, I was now a doubly- 
 honoured guest. I had also taken to play 
 on a somewhat high scale, and it was my 
 reputation as a daring gambler that pro- 
 cured me the honour of an acquaintance 
 with the Signorina, the lady to whom the 
 President had referred during his inter- 
 view with me ; and my acquaintance with 
 the Signorina was very rich in results. 
 
 This lady was, after the President, per- 
 haps the best known person in Aureata- 
 land — best known, that is, by name and 
 face and fame ; for her antecedents and 
 circumstances were wrapped in impene- 
 trable mystery. When I arrived in the 
 country the Signorina Christina Nugent 
 had been settled there about a year. She
 
 44 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 had appeared originally as a member of 
 an Operatic Company, which had paid a 
 visit to our ' National Theatre ' from the 
 United States. The Company passed on 
 its not very brilliant way, but the Sig- 
 norlna remained behind. It was said she 
 had taken a fancy to Whittlngham, and, 
 being independent of her profession, had 
 determined to make a sojourn there. At 
 any rate, there she was ; whether she took 
 a fancy to Whittlngham, or whether some- 
 one in Whittlngham took a fancy to her, 
 remained in doubt. She established her- 
 self in a pretty villa closely adjoining the 
 Golden House ; it stood opposite the pre- 
 sidential grounds, commanding a view of 
 that stately enclosure ; and here she dwelt, 
 under the care of a lady whom she called 
 ' Aunt,' known to the rest of the world 
 as Mrs Carrington. The title ' Signorina' 
 was purely professional ; for all I know 
 the name * Nugent ' was equally a creature 
 of choice; but, anyhow, the lady herself
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 45 
 
 never professed to be anything but 
 English, and openly stated that she 
 retained her title simply because it was 
 more musical than that of * Miss.' The 
 old lady and the young one lived together 
 in great apparent amity, and certainly in 
 the utmost material comfort ; for they pro- 
 bably got through more money than any 
 one in the town, and there always seemed 
 to be plenty more where that came from. 
 Where it did come from was, I need 
 hardly say, a subject of keen curiosity in 
 social circles ; and when I state that the 
 Signorina was now about twenty-three 
 years of age, and of remarkably pre- 
 possessing appearance, it will be allowed 
 that we in Whittingham were no worse 
 than other people if we entertained some 
 uncharitable suspicions. The Signorina, 
 however, did not make the work of de- 
 tection at all easy. She became almost 
 at once a leading figure in society ; her 
 * salon ' was the meeting-place of all parties
 
 46 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 and most sets ; she received many gracious 
 attentions from the Golden House, but 
 none on which slander could definitely 
 settle. She was also frequently the hostess 
 of members of the Opposition, and of no 
 one more often than their leader, Colonel 
 George McGregor, a gentleman of Scotch 
 extraction, but not pronouncedly national 
 characteristics, who had attained a high 
 position in the land of his adoption ; for 
 not only did he lead the Opposition in 
 politics, but he was also second in command 
 of the Army. He entered the Chamber 
 as one of the President's nominees (for the 
 latter had reserved to himself power to 
 nominate five members), but at the time 
 of which I write the Colonel had deserted 
 his former chief, and, secure in his popu- 
 larity with the forces, defied the man by 
 whose help he had risen. Naturally the 
 President disliked him, a feeling I cordially 
 shared. But his Excellency's disapproval 
 did not prevent the Signorina receiving
 
 OVERTURES EROM THE OPPOSFITON 47 
 
 McGregor with great cordiality, though 
 here again with no more empressement 
 than his position seemed to demand. 
 
 I have as much curiosity as my neigh- 
 bours, and I was proportionately gratified 
 when the doors of ' Mon Repos,' as the 
 Signorina called her residence, were opened 
 to me. My curiosity, I must confess, was 
 not unmixed with other feelings ; for I was 
 a young man at heart though events had 
 thrown sobering responsibilities upon me, 
 and the sight of the Signorina in her daily 
 drives was enough to inspire a thrill even 
 in the soul of a bank manao^er. She was 
 certainly very beautiful — a tall fair girl, 
 with straight features and laughing eyes. I 
 shall not attempt more description, because 
 all such descriptions sound commonplace, 
 and the Sig^norina was, even bv the admis- 
 sion of her enemies, at least very far from 
 commonplace. It must suffice to say that, 
 like F'ather O'Flynn, she ' had such a way 
 with her ' that all of us men in Aureataland,
 
 48 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 old and young, rich and poor, were at her 
 feet, or ready to be there on the least en- 
 couragement. She was, to my thinking, 
 the very genius of health, beauty and 
 gaiety ; and she put the crowning touch 
 to her charms by very openly and frankly 
 solicitins: and valuino;- the admiration she 
 received. For, after all, it's only excep- 
 tional men who are attracted by difficile 
 beauty ; to most of us a gracious recep- 
 tion of our timid advances is the most 
 subtle temptation of the Devil. 
 
 It may be supposed, then, that I 
 thought my money very well invested 
 when it procured me an invitation to ' Mon 
 Repos,' where the lady of the house was in 
 the habit of allowing a genteel amount of 
 gambling among her male friends. She 
 never played herself, but stood and looked 
 on with much interest. On occasion she 
 would tempt fortune by the hand of a 
 chosen deputy, and nothing could be 
 prettier or more artistic than her behaviour.
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 49 
 
 She was just eager enough for a girl unused 
 to the excitemetit and fond of triumph, 
 just indifferent enough to show that her 
 play was merely a pastime, and the gain 
 of the money or its loss a matter of 
 no moment. Ah, Signorina, you were a 
 great artist ! 
 
 At * Mon Repos ' I soon became an 
 habitual, and, I was fain to think, a wel- 
 come guest. Mrs Carrington, who en- 
 tertained a deep distrust of the manners 
 and excesses of Aureataland, was good 
 enough to consider me eminently respect- 
 able, while the Signorina was gracious- 
 ness itself. I was even admitted to the 
 select circle at the dinner party which, as 
 a rule, preceded her Wednesday evening 
 reception, and I was a constant figure 
 round the little roulette board, which, of 
 all forms of gaming, was our hostess's 
 favourite delectation. The Colonel was, 
 not to my pleasure, an equally invariable 
 guest, rind the President himself would 
 
 D
 
 50 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 often honour the party with his presence, 
 an honour we found rather expensive, 
 for his luck at all games of skill or 
 chance was extraordinary. 
 
 ' I have always trusted Fortune,' he 
 would say, 'and to me she is not fickle.' 
 
 ' Who would be fickle if your Excel- 
 lency were pleased to trust her ? ' the 
 Signorina would respond, with a glance 
 of almost fond admiration. 
 
 This sort of thing did not please 
 McGregor. He made no concealment 
 of the fact that he claimed the foremost 
 place among the Signorina's admirers, 
 utterly declining to make way even for 
 the President. The latter took his boor- 
 ishness very quietly ; and I could not 
 avoid the conclusion that the President 
 held, or thought he held, the trumps. 
 I was, naturally, intensely jealous of both 
 these great men, and, although I had no 
 cause to complain of my treatment, I 
 could not stifle some resentment at the
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 51 
 
 idea that I was, after all, an outsider and 
 not allowed a part in the real drama that 
 was going on. My happiness was further 
 damped by the fact that luck ran steadily 
 against me, and I saw my bonus dwindl- 
 ing very rapidly. I suppose I may as 
 well be frank, and confess that my bonus, 
 to speak strictly, vanished within six 
 months after I first set foot in ' Mon 
 Repos,' and I found it necessary to make 
 that temporary use of the ' interest-fund ' 
 which the President had indicated as 
 open to me under the terms of our 
 bargain. However my uneasiness on 
 this score was lightened when the next 
 instalment of interest was punctually paid, 
 and, with youthful confidence, I made 
 little doubt that luck would turn before 
 long. 
 
 Thus time passed on, and the begin- 
 ning of 1884 found us all leading an 
 apparently merry and untroubled life. In 
 public affairs the temper was very dif-
 
 52 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 terent. The scarcity of money was 
 intense, and serious murmuring had 
 arisen when the President ' squandered ' 
 his ready money in paying interest, 
 leaving his civil servants and soldiers 
 unpaid. This was the topic of much 
 discussion in the Press at the time when 
 I went up one March evening to the 
 Signorina's. I had been detained at the 
 bank, and found the play in full swing 
 when I came in. The Signorina was 
 taking no part in it, but sat by herself 
 on a low lounge by the verandah window. 
 I went up to her and made my bow. 
 
 ' You spare us but little of your time, 
 Mr Martin,' she said. 
 
 * Ah, but you have all my thoughts,' I 
 replied, for she was looking charming. 
 
 ' I don't care so much about your 
 thoughts,' she said. Then, after a pause, 
 she went on, 'It's very hot here, come 
 into the conservatory.' 
 
 It almost looked as though she had
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 53 
 
 been waiting for me, and I followed in 
 high dehght into the long narrow glass 
 house running parallel to the ' salon.' 
 High green plants hid us from the view 
 of those inside, and we only heard dis- 
 tinctly his Excellency's voice, saying with 
 much geniality to the Colonel, ' Well, 
 you must be lucky In love, Colonel,' from 
 which I concluded that the Colonel was 
 not in the vein at cards. 
 
 The Signorina smiled slightly as she 
 heard ; then she plucked a white rose, 
 turned round, and stood facing me, 
 slightly flushed as though with some 
 inner excitement. 
 
 * I am afraid those two gentlemen do 
 not love one another,' she said. 
 
 ' Hardly,' I assented. 
 
 * And you, do you love them — or either 
 of them ? ' 
 
 ' I love only one person In Aureataland,' 
 I replied, as ardently as I dared. 
 
 The Signorina bit her rose, glancing
 
 54 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 up at me with unfeigned amusement and 
 pleasure. I think I have mentioned that 
 she didn't object to honest admiration. 
 
 ' Is it possible you mean me ?' she said, 
 making me a little curtsey. ' I only think 
 so because most of the Whittingham 
 ladies would not satisfy your fastidious 
 taste.' 
 
 * No lady in the world could satisfy 
 me except one,' I answered, thinking she 
 took it a little too lightly. 
 
 ' Ah, so you say,' she said. ' And yet 
 I don't suppose you would do anything 
 for me, Mr Martin ? ' 
 
 ' It would be my greatest happiness,' 
 I cried. 
 
 She said nothing, but stood there, biting 
 the rose. 
 
 ' Give it me,' I said ; ' it shall be my 
 badge of service.' 
 
 ' You will serve me, then ? ' said she. 
 
 * For what reward ? ' 
 
 ' Why, the rose ! '
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 55 
 
 ' I should like the owner too/ I ven- 
 tured to remark. 
 
 'The rose Is prettier than the owner,' 
 she said ; ' and, at anyrate, one thing at 
 a time, Mr Martin ! Do you pay your 
 servants all their wages in advance?' 
 
 My practice was so much the contrary 
 that I really couldn't deny the force of 
 her reasoning. She held out the rose. 
 I seized it and pressed it close to my lips, 
 thereby squashing it considerably. 
 
 ' Dear me,' said the Signorina, ' I wonder 
 if I had given you the other thing whether 
 you would have treated it so roughly.' 
 
 * I'll show you in a moment,' said I. 
 
 ' Thank you, no, not just now,' she said, 
 showing no alarm, for she knew she was 
 safe with me. Then she said abruptly, 
 
 'Are you a Constitutionalist or a 
 Liberal, Mr Martin?' 
 
 I must explain that, in the usual race 
 for the former title, the President's party 
 had been first at the post, and the
 
 56 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 Colonel's gang (as I privately termed it) 
 had to put up with the alternative desig- 
 nation. Neither name bore any relation 
 to facts. 
 
 'Are we going to talk politics ?' said I, 
 reproachfully. 
 
 ' Yes, a little ; you see we got to an 
 impasse on the other topic. Tell me.' 
 
 'Which are you, Signorina?' I asked. 
 
 I really wanted to know ; so did a great 
 many people. 
 
 She thought for a moment, and then 
 said, 
 
 ' I have a great regard for the President. 
 He has been most kind to me. He has 
 shown me real affection.' 
 
 ' The devil he has ! ' I muttered. 
 
 ' I beg your pardon ? ' said she. 
 
 ' I only said " Of course he has." The 
 President has the usual complement of 
 eyes.' 
 
 The Signorina smiled again, but went 
 on as if I hadn't spoken.
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 57 
 
 ' On the other hand, I cannot disguise 
 from myself that some of his measures 
 are not wise.' 
 
 I said I had never been able to disguise 
 it from myself 
 
 ' The Colonel, of course, is of the same 
 opinion,' she continued. 'About the debt, 
 for instance. I believe your bank is in- 
 terested in it ?' 
 
 This was no secret, so I said, 
 
 ' Oh, yes, to a considerable extent.' 
 
 ' And you ? ' she asked, softly. 
 
 ' Oh, I am not a capitalist ; no money 
 of mine has gone into the debt.' 
 
 ' No money of yours, no. But aren't 
 you interested in it?' she persisted. 
 
 This was rather odd. Could she know 
 anything ? 
 
 She drew nearer to me, and, laying a 
 hand lightly on my arm, said reproach- 
 fully, 
 
 ' Do you love people, and yet not trust 
 them, Mr Martin ? '
 
 58 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 This was exactly my state of feeling 
 towards the Signorina, but I could not say 
 so. I was wondering how far I should be 
 wise to trust her, and that depended largely 
 on how far his Excellency had seen fit to 
 trust her with my secrets. I said finally, 
 
 ' Without disclosing other people's 
 secrets, Signorina, I may admit that if 
 anything went wrong with the debt 
 my employers' opinion of my discretion 
 would be severely shaken.' 
 
 ' Of your discretion^ she said, laughing. 
 ' Thank you, Mr Martin. And you would 
 wish that not to happen ? ' 
 
 ' I would take a good deal of pains to 
 prevent its happening.' 
 
 ' Not less willingly if your interest and 
 mine coincided '^. ' 
 
 I was about to make a passionate reply 
 when we heard the President's voice 
 saying, 
 
 ' And where is our hostess } I should 
 like to thank her before I go.'
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 59 
 
 ' Hush,' whispered the Signorlna. ' We 
 must go back. You will be true to me, 
 Mr Martin ? ' 
 
 ' Call me Jack,' said I, idiotically. 
 
 ' Then you will be true, O Jack ? ' she 
 said, stifling a laugh. 
 
 ' Till death,' said I, hoping it would not 
 be necessary. 
 
 She gave me her hand, which I kissed 
 with fervour, and we returned to the 'salon,' 
 to find all the players risen from the 
 table and standing about in groups, wait- 
 ing to make their bows till the President 
 had gone through that ceremony. I was 
 curious to hear if anything passed between 
 him and the Signorina, but I was pounced 
 upon by Donna Antonia, the daughter of 
 the Minister of Finance, who happened 
 to be present, notwithstanding the late 
 hour, as a guest of the Signorina's for the 
 night. She was a handsome young lady, 
 a Spanish brunette of the approved 
 pattern, but with manners formed at a
 
 6o A MAN OF MARK 
 
 New York boarding-school, where she had 
 undergone a training that had tempered 
 without destroying her native gentihty. 
 She had distinguished me very favourably, 
 and I was vain enough to suppose she 
 honoured me by some jealousy of my 
 penchant for the Signorina. 
 
 ' I hope you have enjoyed yourself in 
 the conservatory,' she said maliciously. 
 
 ' We were talking business, Donna 
 Antonia,' I replied. 
 
 ' Ah, business ! I hear of nothing but 
 business. There is papa gone down to 
 the country, and burying himself alive to 
 work out some great scheme of business ! ' 
 
 I pricked up my ears. 
 
 ' Ah, what scheme is that ? ' I asked. 
 
 ' Oh ! I don't know. Something about 
 that horrid debt. But I was told not to 
 say anything about it ! ' 
 
 The debt was becoming a bore. The 
 whole air was full of it. I hastily paid 
 Donna Antonia a few incoherent compH-
 
 OVERTURES FROM THE OPPOSITION 6i 
 
 ments, and took my leave. As I was 
 putting on my coat Colonel McGregor 
 joined me and, with more friendliness than 
 he usually showed me, accompanied me 
 down the avenue towards the Piazza. 
 After some indifferent remarks he began, 
 
 ' Martin, you and I have separate 
 interests in some matters, but I think 
 we have the same in others.' 
 
 I knew at once what he meant : it was 
 that debt over again ! 
 
 I remained silent, and he continued, 
 
 ' About the debt, for instance. You are 
 interested in the debt ? ' 
 
 ' Somewhat,' said I. 'A banker gener- 
 ally is interested in a debt.' 
 
 ' I thought so,' said the Colonel. * A 
 time may come when we can act together. 
 Meanwhile, keep your eye on the debt. 
 Good-night.' 
 
 We parted at the door of his chambers 
 in the Piazza, and I went on to my lodg- 
 ings.
 
 62 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 As I got into bed, rather puzzled and 
 very uneasy, I damned the debt. Then, 
 remembering that the debt was, as it 
 seemed, for some reason a common 
 interest to the Signorina and myself, I 
 apologized to it, and fell asleep.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 
 
 THE flight of time brought no allevia- 
 tion to the troubles of Aureataland. 
 If an individual hard-up is a pathetic 
 sight, a nation hard-up is an alarming 
 spectacle ; and Aureataland was very 
 hard-up. I suppose somebody had some 
 money. But the Government had none ; 
 in consequence the Government employes 
 had none, the officials had none, the 
 President had none, and finally, I had 
 none. The bank had a little — of other 
 people's, of course — but I was quite pre- 
 pared for a ' run ' on us any day, and had 
 cabled to the Directors to implore a re- 
 
 63
 
 64 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 mittance in cash, for our notes were at 
 a discount humiliating" to contemplate. 
 Political strife ran high. I dropped into 
 the House of Assembly one afternoon 
 towards the end of May, and, looking 
 down from the gallery, saw the Colonel 
 in the full tide of wrathful declamation. 
 He was demanding of the miserable Don 
 Antonio when the army was to be paid. 
 The latter sat cowering under his scorn, 
 and would, I verily believe, have bolted 
 out of the House had he not been nailed 
 to his seat by the cold eye of the 
 President, who was looking on from his 
 box. The Minister on rising had nothing 
 to urge but vague promises of speedy 
 payment ; but he utterly lacked the con- 
 fident effrontery of his chief, and nobody 
 was deceived by his weak protestations. 
 I left the House in a considerable uproar, 
 and strolled on to the house of a friend 
 of mine, one Madame Devarges, the 
 widow of a French gentleman who had
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 65 
 
 found his way to Whittingham from New 
 Caledonia. Politeness demanded the 
 assumption that he had found his way 
 to New Caledonia owing to political 
 troubles, but the usual cloud hung over 
 the precise date and circumstances of 
 his patriotic sacrifice. Madame some- 
 times considered it necessary to bore 
 herself and others with denunciations of 
 the various tyrants or would-be tyrants 
 of France ; but, apart from this pious 
 offering on the shrine of her husband's 
 reputation, she was a bright and pleasant 
 little woman. I found assembled round 
 her tea-table a merry party, including 
 Donna Antonia, unmindful of her father's 
 agonies, and one Johnny Carr, who de- 
 serves mention as being the only honest 
 man in Aureataland. I speak, of course, 
 of the place as I found it. He was a 
 young Englishman, what they call a 
 ' cadet,' of a good family, shipped off 
 with a couple of thousand pounds to 
 
 E
 
 66 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 make his fortune. Land was cheap 
 among us, and Johnny had bought an 
 estate and settled down as a landowner. 
 Recently he had blossomed forth as a 
 keen Constitutionalist and a devoted 
 admirer of the President's, and held a 
 seat in the Assembly in that interest. 
 Johnny was not a clever man nor a 
 wise one, but he was merry, and, as I 
 have thought it necessary to mention, 
 honest. 
 
 ' Hullo, Johnny ! Why not at the 
 House ? ' said I to him. ' You'll want 
 every vote to-night. Be off and help 
 the Ministry, and take Donna Antonia 
 with you. They're eating up the Minister 
 of Finance.' 
 
 * All right ! I'm going as soon as I've 
 had another muffin,' said Johnny. ' But 
 what's the row about ? ' 
 
 ' Well, they want their money,' I re- 
 plied ; 'and Don Antonio won't give it 
 them. Hence bad feeling.'
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 67 
 
 ' Tell you what it is,' said Johnny ; ' he 
 hasn't g:ot a — ' 
 
 Here Donna Antonia struck in, rather 
 suddenly, I thought. 
 
 ' Do stop the gentlemen talking politics, 
 Madame Devarges. They'll spoil our 
 tea-party.' 
 
 ' Your word is law,' I said ; '1 
 should like to know what Don Antonio 
 hasn't got.' 
 
 'Now do be quiet,' she rejoined; 'isn't 
 it quite enough that he has got — a charm- 
 ing daughter?' 
 
 ' And a most valuable one,' I replied 
 with a bow, for I saw that for some 
 reason or other Donna Antonia did not 
 mean to let me pump Johnny Carr, and 
 I wanted to pump him. 
 
 ' Don't say another word, Mr Carr,' she 
 said, with a laugh. ' You know you don't 
 know anything, do you ? ' 
 
 'Good Lord, no!' said Johnny. 
 
 Meanwhile Madame Devarges was giv-
 
 68 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ing me a cup of tea. As she handed it 
 to me, she said in a low voice, 
 
 ' If I were his friend I should take care 
 Johnny didn't know anything-, Mr Martin.' 
 
 ' If I were his friend I should take care 
 he told me what he knew, Madame 
 Devarges,' I replied. 
 
 ' Perhaps that's what the Colonel thinks,' 
 she said. 'Johnny has just been telling 
 us how very attentive he has become. 
 And the Signorina too, I hear.' 
 
 ' You don't mean that ? ' I exclaimed. 
 * But, after all, pure kindness, no dcubt ! ' 
 
 'You have received many attentions 
 from those quarters,' she said. ' No 
 doubt you are a good judge of the 
 motives.' 
 
 ' Don't, now don't be disagreeable,' said 
 I. 'I came here for peace.' 
 
 ' Poor young man ! Have you lost all 
 your money? Is it possible that you, like 
 Don Antonio, haven't got a — ? ' 
 
 ' What is going to happen ? ' I asked.
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 69 
 
 for Madame Devarges often had informa- 
 tion. 
 
 ' I don't know,' she said. * But if I 
 owned National Bonds, I should sell' 
 
 ' Pardon me, madame ; you would offer 
 to sell.' 
 
 She laughed, saying, 
 
 * Ah, I see my advice comes too late ! ' 
 
 I did not see any need to enlighten 
 her farther. So I passed on to Donna 
 Antonia, who had sat somewhat sulkily 
 since her outburst. I sat down by her 
 and said, 
 
 ' Surely I haven't offended you ? * 
 
 'You know you wouldn't care if you had,' 
 she said, with a reproachful but not unkind 
 glance. ' Now, if it were the Signorina — ' 
 
 I never object to bowing down in the 
 temple of Rimmon, so I said, 
 
 ' Hanof the Si^jnorina ! ' 
 
 'If I thought you meant that,' said 
 Donna Antonia, ' I might be able to help 
 you.'
 
 70 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Do I want help ? ' I asked. 
 
 ' Yes,' said she. 
 
 ' Then suppose I do mean it ? ' 
 
 Donna Antonia refused to be frivolous. 
 With a look of genuine distress she 
 said, 
 
 * You will not let j^our real friends save 
 you, Mr Martin. You know you want 
 help. Why don't you consider the state 
 of your affairs ? ' 
 
 ' In that, at least, my friends in Whitt- 
 ingham are very ready to help me,' I 
 answered, with some annoyance. 
 
 ' If you take it in that way,' she replied 
 sadly, * I can do nothing.' 
 
 I was rather touched. Clearly she 
 wished to be of some use to me, and for 
 a moment I thought I might do better to 
 tear myself free from my chains, and turn 
 to the refuge opened to me. But I could 
 not do this ; and, thinking it would be 
 rather mean to take advantage of her 
 interest in me only to use it for my own
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 71 
 
 purposes, I yielded to conscience and 
 said, 
 
 * Donna Antonia, I will be straight- 
 forward with you. You can only help 
 me if I accept your guidance ? I can't do 
 that. I am too deep in.' 
 
 ' Yes, you are deep in, and eager to 
 be deeper,' she said. 'Well, so be it. If 
 that is so I cannot help you.' 
 
 ' Thank you for your kind attempt,' said 
 I. * I shall very likely be sorry some day 
 that I repulse it. I shall always be glad 
 to remember that you made it.' 
 
 She looked at me a moment, and said, 
 
 ' We have ruined you among us.' 
 
 ' Mind, body, and estate?' 
 
 She made no reply, and I saw my return 
 to flippancy wounded her. So I rose and 
 took my leave. Johnny Carr went with 
 me. 
 
 ' Things look queer, eh, old man ? ' said 
 he. ' But the President will pull through 
 in spite of the Colonel and his Signorina.'
 
 72 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 'Johnny,' said I, 'you hurt my feelings ; 
 but, still I will give you a piece of advice.' 
 
 * Drive on,' said Johnny. 
 
 * Marry Donna Antonia,' said I. ' She's 
 a good girl and a clever girl, and won't let 
 you get drunk or robbed.' 
 
 ' By Jove, that's not a bad idea,' said he. 
 ' Why don't you do it yourself ? ' 
 
 ' Because I'm like you, Johnny — an ass,' 
 I replied, and left him wondering why, if 
 he was an ass and I was an ass, one ass 
 should marry Donna Antonia, and not both 
 or neither. 
 
 As I went along I bought the Gazette, 
 the Government organ, and read therein : — 
 
 * At a Cabinet Council this afternoon, 
 presided over by his Excellency, we under- 
 stand that the arrangements connected 
 with the National Debt formed the subject 
 of discussion. The resolutions arrived at 
 are at present strictly confidential, but we 
 have the best authority for stating that the
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 73 
 
 measures to be adopted will have the effect 
 of materially alleviating the present tension, 
 and will afford unmixed satisfaction to the 
 immense majority of the citizens of Aure- 
 ataland. The President will once again 
 be hailed as the Saviour of his country.' 
 
 * I wonder if the immense majority will 
 include me,' said I. * I think I will go 
 and see his Excellency.' 
 
 Accordingly, the next morning I took 
 my way to the Golden House, where I 
 learnt that the President was at the 
 Ministry of Finance. Arriving there, I 
 sent in my card, writing thereon a humble 
 request for a private interview. I was 
 ushered into Don Antonio's room, where I 
 found the Minister himself, the President, 
 and Johnny Carr. As I entered and the 
 servant, on a sign from his Excellency, 
 placed a chair for me, the latter said 
 rather stiffly, 
 
 ' As I presume this is a business visit,
 
 74 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 Mr Martin, it is more regular that I should 
 receive you in the presence of one of my 
 constitutional advisers. Mr Carr is acting 
 as my secretary, and you can speak freely 
 before him.' 
 
 I was annoyed at failing in my attempt 
 to see the President alone, but not wishing 
 to show it, I merely bowed and said, 
 
 ' I venture to intrude on your Excel- 
 lency, in consequence of a letter from my 
 Directors. They inform me that, to use 
 their words, "disquieting rumours" are 
 afloat on the Exchanofes in reo^ard to the 
 Aureataland loan, and they direct me to 
 submit to your Excellency the expediency 
 of giving some public notification relative 
 to the payment of the interest falling due 
 next month. It appears from their com- 
 munication that it is apprehended that 
 some difficulty may occur in the matter.' 
 
 ' Would not this application, if necessary 
 at all, have been more properly made to 
 the Ministry of Finance in the first in-
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 75 
 
 stance ? ' said the President. * These 
 details hardly fall within my province.' 
 
 ' I can only follow my instructions, your 
 Excellency,' I replied. 
 
 ' Have you any objection, Mr Martin,' 
 said the President, 'to allowing myself 
 and my advisers to see this letter ? ' 
 
 ' I am empowered to submit it only to 
 your Excellency's own eye.' 
 
 ' Oh, only to my eye,' said he, with an 
 amused expression. ' That was why the 
 interview was to be private ? ' 
 
 * Exactly, sir,' I replied. ' I intend no 
 disrespect to the Minister of Finance or 
 to your secretary, sir, but I am bound by 
 my orders.' 
 
 ' You are an exemplary servant, Mr 
 Martin. But I don't think I need trouble 
 you about it further. Is it a cable ? ' 
 
 He smiled so wickedly at this question 
 that I saw he had penetrated my little 
 fiction. However, I only said, 
 
 ' A letter, sir.'
 
 76 A MAN OF IMARK 
 
 ' Well, gentlemen,' said he to the others, 
 ' I think we may reassure Mr Martin. 
 Tell your Directors this, Mr Martin. 
 The Government does not see any need 
 of a public notification, and none will be 
 made. I think we agree, gentlemen, that 
 to acknowledge the necessity of any such 
 action would be highly derogatory. But 
 assure them that the President has stated 
 to you, Mr Martin, personally, with the 
 concurrence of his advisers, that he antici- 
 pates no difficulties in your being in a 
 position to remit the full amount of 
 interest to them on the proper day.' 
 
 ' I may assure them, sir, that the interest 
 will be punctually paid ? ' 
 
 ' Surely I expressed myself in a manner 
 you could understand,' said he, with the 
 slightest emphasis on the ' you.' ' Aureata- 
 land will meet her obligations. You will 
 receive all your due, Mr Martin. That is 
 so, gentlemen ? ' 
 
 Don Antonio acquiesced at once.
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 77 
 
 Johnny Carr, I noticed, said nothing and 
 fidgeted rather uneasily in his chair. I 
 knew what the President meant. He 
 meant, 'If we don't pay, pay it out of 
 your reserve fund.' Alas, the reserve 
 fund was considerably diminished ; I had 
 enough, and just enough, left to pay the 
 next instalment if I paid none of my own 
 debts. I felt very vicious as I saw his 
 Excellency taking keen pleasure in the 
 consciousness of my difficulties (for he 
 had a shrewd notion of how the land lay), 
 but of course I could say nothing. So I 
 rose and bowed myself out, feeling I had 
 gained nothing, except a very clear con- 
 viction that I should not see the colour of 
 the President's money on the next interest 
 day. True, I could just pay myself. But 
 what would happen next time ? And if 
 he wouldn't pay, and I couldn't pay, the 
 game would be up. As to the original 
 loan, it is true I had no responsibility ; but 
 then, if no interest were paid, the fact that
 
 78 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 I had applied the second loan, my loan, in 
 a manner different from that which my in- 
 structions authorised and my own reports 
 represented, would be inevitably discovered. 
 And my acceptance of the bonus, my deal- 
 ings with the reserve fund, my furnishing 
 inaccurate returns of investments, all this 
 would, I knew, look rather queer to people 
 who didn't know the circumstances. 
 
 When I went back to the bank, revolv- 
 ing these things in my mind, I found 
 Jones employed in arranging the corre- 
 spondence. It was part of his duty to see 
 to the preservation and filing of all letters 
 arriving from Europe, and, strange to say, 
 he delighted in the task. It was part of 
 my duty to see he did his ; so I sat down 
 and began to turn over the pile of letters 
 and messages which he had put on my 
 desk ; they dated back two years ; this 
 surprised me, and I said, 
 
 ' Rather behindhand, aren't you, J ones .'^' 
 'Yes, sir, rather. Fact is, I've done
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 79 
 
 'em before, but as you've never initialled 
 'em, I thought 1 ought to bring 'em to 
 your notice,' 
 
 'Quite right — very neglectful of me. 
 I suppose they're all right ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, sir, all right.' 
 
 ' Then I won't trouble to go through 
 them.' 
 
 ' They're all there, sir, except, of course, 
 the cable about the second loan, sir.' 
 
 ' Except what ? ' I said. 
 
 ' The cable about the second loan,' he 
 repeated. 
 
 I was glad to be reminded of this, 
 for of course I wished to remove that 
 document before the bundle finally took 
 its place among the archives. Indeed, 
 I thought I had done so. But why 
 had Jones removed it ? Surely Jones 
 was not as sceptical as that? 
 
 ' Ah, and where have you put that ? ' 
 
 'Why, sir, his Excellency took that.' 
 
 'What?' I cried.
 
 8o A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Yes, sir. Didn't I mention it ? Why, 
 the day after you and the President were 
 here that night, his Excellency came down 
 in the afternoon, when you'd gone out 
 to the Piazza, and said he wanted it. He 
 said, sir, that you'd said it was to go to 
 the Ministry of Finance. He was very 
 affable, sir, and told me that it was 
 necessary the original should be submitted 
 to the Minister for his inspection ; and as 
 he was passing by (he'd come in to cash 
 a cheque on his private account) he'd 
 take it up himself. Hasn't he given it 
 back to you, sir? He said he would.' 
 
 I had just strength enough to gasp 
 out, 
 
 ' Slipped his memory, no doubt. All 
 right, Jones.' 
 
 ' May I go now, sir ? ' said Jones. ' Mrs 
 Jones wanted me to go with her to — ' 
 
 ' Yes, go,' said I, and as he went out, 
 I added a destination different no doubt 
 from what the good lady had proposed.
 
 I APPRECIATE THE SITUATION 8i 
 
 For I saw it all now. That old villain 
 (pardon my warmth) had stolen my forged 
 cable, and, if need arose, meant to produce 
 it as his own justification. I had been 
 done, done brown — and Jones's idiocy had 
 made the task easy. I had no evidence 
 but my word that the President knew 
 the message was fabricated. Up till 
 now I had thought that if I stood con- 
 victed I should have the honour of his 
 Excellency's support in the dock. But 
 now ! — why now, I might prove myself 
 a thief, but I couldn't prove him one- 
 I had convinced Jones, not for my good, 
 but for his. I had forged papers, not 
 for my good, but for his. True, I had 
 spent the money myself, but — 
 
 ' Damn it all,' I cried in the bitter- 
 ness of my spirit, ' he won about three- 
 quarters of that ! ' 
 
 And his Excellency's words came back 
 to my memory, ' I make the most of my 
 opportunities.' 
 
 F
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 
 
 THE next week was a busy one for 
 me. I spent It in scraping together 
 every bit of cash I could lay my hands on. 
 If I could get together enough to pay the 
 interest on the 300,000 dollars supposed to 
 be invested in approved securities — really 
 disposed of in a manner only known to his 
 Excellency — I should have six months to 
 look about me. Now remaining out of 
 my ' bonus ' was nil, out of my ' reserve 
 fund' 10,000 dollars. This was enough. 
 But, alas, how happened it that this sum 
 was in my hands ? Because I had 
 borrowed 5000 from the bank! If they 
 
 82
 
 MOURONS rOUR LA PATRIE ! 83 
 
 wouldn't let their own manager overdraw, 
 whom would they ? So I overdrew. But 
 if this money wasn't back before the 
 monthly balancing, Jones would know ! 
 And I dared not rely on being able to 
 stop his mouth again. When I said Johnny 
 Carr was the only honest man in Aureata- 
 land I forgot Jones. To my grief and 
 annoyance Jones also was honest, and 
 Jones would consider it his duty to let 
 the Directors know of my overdraft. If 
 once they knew, I was lost, for an over- 
 draft effected privately from the safe by 
 the manager is, I do not deny it, decidedly 
 irregular. Unless I could add 5000 
 dollars to my 10,000 before the end of 
 the month I should have to bolt ! 
 
 This melancholy conclusion was rein- 
 forced and rendered demonstrable by a 
 letter which arrived, to crown my woes, 
 from my respected father, informing me 
 that he had unhappily become indebted 
 to our Chairman in the sum of ^2000,
 
 84 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 the result of a deal between them, that he 
 had seen the Chairman, that the Chair- 
 man was urgent for payment, that he used 
 most violent language against our family 
 in general, ending by declaring his inten- 
 tion of stopping my salary to pay the 
 parental debt. 'If he doesn't like it he 
 may go, and small loss.' This was a most 
 unjustifiable proceeding, but I was hardly 
 in a position to take up a high moral 
 attitude towards the Chairman, and in the 
 result I saw myself confronted with the 
 certainty of beggary and the probability 
 of gaol. But for this untoward reverse of 
 fortune I might have taken courage and 
 made a clean breast of my misdoings, re- 
 lying on the Chairman's obligations to my 
 father to pull me through. But now, where 
 was I ? I was, as Donna Antonia put 
 it, very deep in indeed. So overwhelmed 
 was I by my position, and so occupied 
 vv'ith my frantic efforts to improve it, that 
 I did not even find time to go and see the
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 85 
 
 Signorina, much as I needed comfort ; 
 and, as the days went on, I fell into such 
 despair that I went nowhere, but sat 
 dismally in my own rooms, looking at 
 my portmanteau, and wondering how 
 soon I must pack and fly, if not for life, 
 at least for liberty. 
 
 At last the crash came. I was sitting in 
 my office one morning, engaged in the 
 difficult task of trying to make ten into 
 fifteen, when I heard the clatter of hoofs. 
 
 A moment later the door was opened, 
 and Jones ushered in Colonel McGregor. 
 I nodded to the Colonel, who came in 
 with his usual leisurely step, sat himself 
 down, and took off his gloves. I roused 
 myself to say, 
 
 ' What can I do for you, Colonel ? ' 
 
 He waited till the door closed behind 
 Jones, and then said, 
 
 ' I've 2fOt to the bottom of it at last, 
 Martin.' 
 
 This was true of myself also, but
 
 86 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 the Colonel meant it in a different 
 sense. 
 
 ' Bottom of what ? ' I asked, rather 
 testily. 
 
 'That old scamp's villainy,' said he, 
 jerking his thumb towards the Piazza 
 and the statue of the Liberator. ' He's 
 very 'cute, but he's made a mistake at 
 last.' 
 
 * Do come to the point, Colonel. 
 What's it all about?' 
 
 'Would you be surprised to hear,' said 
 the Colonel, adopting a famous mode 
 of speech, ' that the interest on the 
 debt would not be paid on the 31st?' 
 
 ' No, I shouldn't,' said I, resignedly. 
 
 ' Would you be surprised to hear that 
 no more interest would ever be paid ? ' 
 
 ' The devil ! ' I cried, leaping up. 
 ' What do you mean, man ? ' 
 
 'The President,' said he, calmly, 'will, 
 on the 31st instant, 7'epudiaie the National 
 Debt ! '
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! ' 87 
 
 I had nothing left to say. I fell back 
 in my chair, and gazed at the Colonel, 
 who was now employed in lighting a 
 cigarette. At the same moment a sound 
 of rapid wheels struck on my ears. Then 
 I heard the sweet clear voice I knew 
 so well saying, 
 
 ' I'll just disturb him for a moment, Mr 
 Jones. I want him to tear himself from 
 work for a day, and come for a ride.' 
 
 She opened my door, and came swiftly 
 in. On seeing the Colonel she took in 
 the position, and said to that gentleman, 
 
 ' Have you told him ? ' 
 
 ' I have just done so, Signorina/ he 
 replied. 
 
 I had not energy enough to greet 
 her ; so she also sat down uninvited, 
 and took off her gloves — not lazily, like 
 the Colonel, but with an air as though 
 she would, if a man, take off her coat, 
 to meet the crisis more energetically. 
 
 At last I said, with conviction,
 
 88 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' He's a wonderful man ! How did 
 you find it out, Colonel?' 
 
 * Had Johnny Carr to dine and made 
 him drunk,' said that worthy. 
 
 'You don't mean he trusted Johnny?' 
 
 'Odd, isn't it?' said the Colonel. 
 * With his experience, too. He might 
 have known Johnny was an ass. I 
 suppose there was no one else.' 
 
 ' He knew,' said the Signorina, 'anyone 
 else in the place would betray him ; he 
 knew Johnny wouldn't if he could help it. 
 He underrated your powers, Colonel.' 
 
 'Well,' said I, ' I can't help it, can I? 
 My Directors will lose. The Bond- 
 holders will lose. But how does it hurt 
 me ? ' 
 
 The Colonel and the Signorina both 
 smiled gently. 
 
 ' You do it very well, Martin,' said 
 the former, ' but it will save time if I 
 state that both Sig-norina Nuo-ent and 
 
 o o 
 
 myself are possessed of the details re-
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 89 
 
 garding the — ' (the Colonel paused, and 
 stroked his moustache.) 
 
 ' The second loan,' said the Sig- 
 norina. 
 
 I was less surprised at this, recollect- 
 ing certain conversations. 
 
 ' Ah, and how did you find that out ? ' 
 I asked. 
 
 ' She told me,' said the Colonel, indi- 
 cating his fair neighbour. 
 
 ' And may I ask how you found it 
 out, Signorina ? ' 
 
 ' The President told me,' said that lady. 
 
 'Did you make him drunk?' 
 
 ' No, not drunk,' was her reply, in a 
 very demure voice, and with downcast 
 eyes. 
 
 We could guess how it had been done, 
 but neither of us cared to pursue the 
 subject. After a pause, I said, 
 
 ' Well, as you both know all about it, 
 it's no good keeping up pretences. It's 
 very kind of you to come and warn me.'
 
 90 A MAN OV MARK 
 
 'You dear good Mr Martin,' said the 
 Signorina, ' our motives are not purely 
 those of friendship.' 
 
 'Why, how does it matter to you?' 
 
 ' Simply this,' said she, ' the bank and 
 its excellent manager own most of the 
 debt. The Colonel and I own the rest. 
 If it is repudiated, the bank loses; yes, 
 but the manao^er and the Colonel and 
 the Siornorina Nugrent are lost ! ' 
 
 ' I didn't know this,' I said, rather 
 bewildered. 
 
 'Yes,' said the Colonel, 'when the first 
 loan was raised I lent him 100,000 dollars. 
 We were thick then, and I did it in re- 
 turn for my rank and my seat in the 
 Chamber. Since then I've bought up 
 some more shares.' 
 
 ' You got them cheap, I suppose ? ' 
 said I. 
 
 ' Yes,' he replied, I averaged them at 
 about 75 cents the five-dollar share.' 
 
 'And what do you hold now, nominal.'*'
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 91 
 
 ' Three hundred thousand dollars,' said 
 he, shortly. 
 
 ' I understand your interest in the 
 matter. But you, Signorina .'* ' 
 
 The Signorina appeared a little embar- 
 rassed. But at last she broke out — 
 
 ' I don't care if I do tell you. When I 
 agreed to stay here, he ' (we knew whom 
 she meant) ' gave me 100,000 dollars. 
 And I had 50,000, or thereabouts, of my 
 own that I had — ' 
 
 ' Saved out of your salary as a prima 
 donna,' put in the Colonel. 
 
 ' What does it matter ? ' said she, 
 flushing ; ' I had it. Well, then, what 
 did he do ? He persuaded me to put 
 it all — the whole 150,000 — into his 
 horrid debt. Oh ! wasn't it mean, Mr 
 Martin ? ' 
 
 The President had certainly combined 
 business and pleasure in this matter. 
 
 ' Disgraceful ! ' I remarked. 
 
 ' And if that goes, I am penniless —
 
 92 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 penniless. And there's poor aunt. What 
 will she do ? ' 
 
 ' Never mind your aunt,' said the 
 Colonel, rather rudely. ' Well,' he went 
 on, * you see we're in the same boat 
 with you, Martin.' 
 
 ' Yes ; and we shall soon be in the same 
 deep water,' said I. 
 
 ' Not at all,' said the Colonel. 
 
 ' Not at all,' echoed the Signorina. 
 
 ' Why, what on earth are you going to 
 do .? ' 
 
 ' Financial probity is the backbone of a 
 country,' said the Colonel. ' Are we to 
 stand by and see Aureataland enter on 
 the shameful path of repudiation ? ' 
 
 ' Never ! ' cried the Signorina, leaping 
 up with sparkling eyes. ' Never ! ' 
 
 She looked enchantinof. But business 
 is business ; and I said again, 
 
 ' What are you going to do ? ' 
 
 ' We are going, with your help, Martin, 
 to prevent this national disgrace. We are
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 93 
 
 going — ' he lowered his voice, — uselessly, 
 for the Signorina struck in, in a high 
 merry tone, waving her gloves over head 
 and dancing a little pas setU on the floor 
 before me, with these remarkable words, — 
 
 'Hurrah for the Revolution! Hip! 
 hip ! hurrah ! ' 
 
 She looked like a Goddess of Freedom 
 in high spirits and a Paris bonnet. I 
 lost my mental balance. Leaping up, I 
 grasped her round the waist, and we 
 twirled madly about the office, the Sig- 
 norina breaking forth into the ' Marseil- 
 laise' 
 
 ' For God's sake, be quiet ! ' said 
 McGregor, in a hoarse whisper, mak- 
 ing a clutch at me as I sped past him. ' If 
 they hear you ! Stop, I tell you, Christina.' 
 
 The Signorina stopped. 
 
 ' Do you mean me, Colonel McGregor ? ' 
 she asked. 
 
 'Yes,' he said, 'and that fool Martin, 
 too.'
 
 94 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Even in times of revolution, Colonel,' 
 said I, 'nothing is lost by politeness. But 
 in substance you are right. Let us be 
 sober.' 
 
 We sat down again, panting, the Sig- 
 norina between her gasps still faintly 
 humming the psalm of liberty. 
 
 ' Kindly unfold your plan, Colonel,' I 
 resumed. * I am aware that out here you 
 think little of revolutions, but to a new- 
 comer they appear to be matters requiring 
 some management. You see we are only 
 three.' 
 
 ' I have the army with me,' said he, 
 grandly. 
 
 ' In the outer office?' asked I, indulg- 
 inof in a sneer at the dimensions of the 
 Aureataland forces. 
 
 ' Look here, Martin,' he said, scowling, 
 ' if you're coming in with us, keep your 
 jokes to yourself.' 
 
 ' Don't quarrel, gentlemen,' said the 
 Siofnorina. * It's waste of time. Tell
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 95 
 
 him the plan, Colonel, while I'm getting 
 cool.' 
 
 I saw the wisdom of this advice, so I 
 said, 
 
 ' Your pardon, Colonel. But won't this 
 repudiation be popular with the army } 
 If he lets the debt slide, he can pay 
 them.' 
 
 ' Exactly,' said he. ' Hence we must 
 get at them before that aspect of the case 
 strikes them. They are literally starving, 
 and for ten dollars a man they would make 
 Satan himself President. Have you got 
 any money, Martin ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' said I, 'a little.' 
 
 ' How much } ' 
 
 ' Ten thousand,' I replied ; ' I was keep- 
 ing it for the interest.' 
 
 ' Ah, you won't want it now.' 
 
 ' Indeed I shall — fur the second loan, 
 you know.' 
 
 ' Look here, Martin ; give me that ten 
 thousand for the troops. Stand in widi
 
 96 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 us, and the day I become President I'll 
 give you back your 300,000. Just look 
 where you stand now. I don't want to 
 be rude, but isn't it a case of — ? ' 
 
 'Some emergency?' said I, thoughtfully. 
 * Yes, it is. But where do you suppose 
 you're going to get 300,000 dollars, to 
 say nothing of your own shares ? ' 
 
 He drew his chair closer to mine, and, 
 leaning forward, said, 
 
 * He's never spent the money. He's 
 got It somewhere ; much the greater part, 
 at least.' 
 
 ' Did Carr tell you that ? ' 
 
 ' He didn't know for certain ; but he 
 told me enough to make it almost certain. 
 Besides,' he added, glancing at the Sig- 
 norlna, ' we have other reasons for sus- 
 pecting it. Give me the ten thousand. 
 You shall have your loan back, and. If 
 you like, you shall be Minister of Finance. 
 We practically know the money's there, 
 don't we, Slgnorina ? '
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 97 
 
 She nodded assent. 
 
 'If we fail?' said I. 
 
 He drew a neat little revolver from his 
 pocket, placed it for a moment against 
 his ear, and re-pocketed it. 
 
 ' Most lucidly explained, Colonel,' said 
 I. 'Will you give me half-an-hour to 
 think it over?' 
 
 'Yes,' he said. 'You'll excuse me it 
 I stay in the outer office ? Of course I 
 trust you, Martin, but in this sort of 
 thing — ' 
 
 'All right, I see/ said I. 'And you, 
 Signorina?' 
 
 ' I'll wait too,' she said. 
 
 They both rose and went out, and I 
 heard them in conversation with Jones. 
 I sat still, thinking hard. But scarcely 
 a moment had passed, when I heard the 
 door behind me open. It was the Sig- 
 norina. She came in, stood behind my 
 chair, and, leaning over, put her arms 
 round my neck.
 
 98 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 I looked up, and saw her face full of 
 mischief. 
 
 * What about the rose, Jack ? ' she 
 asked. 
 
 I remembered. Bewildered with de- 
 light, and believing I had won her, I 
 said, 
 
 ' Your soldier till death, Signorlna.' 
 
 ' Bother death ! ' said she, saucily. ' No- 
 body's going to die. We shall win, and 
 then— ! ' 
 
 ' And then,' said I, eagerly, ' you'll 
 marry me, sweet ? ' 
 
 She quietly stooped down and kissed 
 my lips. Then, stroking my hair, she 
 said, 
 
 ' You're a nice boy, but you're not a 
 good boy. Jack.' 
 
 * Christina, you won't marry him ? ' 
 'Him?' 
 
 * McGregor,' said I. 
 
 ' Jack,' said she, whispering now, ' I 
 hate him ! '
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! 99 
 
 'So do I,' I answered promptly. 'And 
 if it's to win you, I'll upset a dozen 
 presidents.' 
 
 ' Then you'll do it for me ? I like to 
 think you'll do it for me, and not for the 
 money.' 
 
 As the Signorina was undoubtedly 
 * doing it ' for her money, this was a 
 shade unreasonable. 
 
 ' I don't mind the money coming in,' 
 I began. 
 
 ' Mercenary wretch ! ' she cried. ' I 
 didn't kiss you, did I ? ' 
 
 ' No,' I replied. ' You said you would 
 in a minute, when I consented.' 
 
 ' Very neat, Jack,' she said. But she 
 went and opened the door and called to 
 McGregor, ' Mr Martin sees no objec- 
 tion to the arrangement, and he will 
 come to dinner to-night, as you suggest, 
 and talk over the details. We're all 
 going" to make our fortunes, Mr Jones,' 
 she went on, without waiting for any
 
 ICO A MAN OF MARK 
 
 acceptance of her implied invitation, 'and 
 when we've made ours, we'll think about 
 you and Mrs Jones.' 
 
 I heard Jones making some noise in- 
 coherently suggestive of gratification, for 
 he was as bad as any of us about the Sig- 
 norina, and then I was left to my reflec- 
 tions. These were less sombre than the 
 reader would, perhaps, anticipate. True, 
 I was putting my head into a noose ; 
 and if the President's hands ever found 
 their way to the end of the rope, I fancied 
 he would pull it pretty tight. But, again, 
 I was immensely in love, and equally 
 in debt ; and the scheme seemed to open 
 the best chance of satisfying my love, 
 and the only chance of filling my pocket. 
 To a young man, life without love isn't 
 worth much ; to a man of any age, in 
 my opinion, life without money isn't 
 worth much ; it becomes worth still less 
 when he is held to account for money 
 he ought to have. So I cheerfully entered
 
 MOURONS POUR LA PATRIE ! loi 
 
 upon my biggest gamble, holding the 
 stake of life well risked. My pleasure in 
 the affair was only marred by the en- 
 forced partnership of McGregor. There 
 was no help for this, but I knew he wasn't 
 much fonder of me than I of him, and 
 I found myself gently meditating on the 
 friction likely to arise between the new 
 President and his Minister of Finance, 
 in case our plans succeeded. Still the 
 Signorina hated him, and by all signs 
 she loved me. So I lay back in my 
 chair, and recalled my charmer's presence 
 by whistling the hymn of liberty until 
 it was time to go to lunch, an observ- 
 ance not to be omitted even by con- 
 spirators.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE MINE IS LAID 
 
 THE morning meeting had been de- 
 voted to principles and to the 
 awakening of enthusiasm ; in the evening 
 the conspirators condescended upon de- 
 tails, and we held a prolonged and anxious 
 conference at the Sigfnorina's. Mrs Car- 
 rinofton was commanded to have a head- 
 ache after dinner, and retired with it to 
 bed ; and from ten till one we sat and 
 conspired. The result of our delibera- 
 tions was a very pretty plan, of which 
 the main outlines were as follows : 
 
 This was Tuesday. On Friday night, 
 the Colonel, with twenty determined 
 
 1 02
 
 THE MINE IS LAID lo 
 
 o 
 
 ruffians (or resolute patriots) previously 
 bound to him, body and soul, by a dona- 
 tion of no less than fifty dollars a man, 
 was to surprise the Golden House, seize 
 the person of the President and all cash 
 and securities on the premises ; no kill- 
 ing if it could be avoided, but on the 
 other hand no shilly-shally. McGregor 
 wanted to put the President out of the 
 way at once, as a precautionary measure, 
 but I strongly opposed this proposal, 
 and, finding the Signorina was absolutely 
 inflexible on the same side, he yielded. 
 I had a strong desire to be present at 
 this midnight surprise, but another duty 
 called for my presence. There was a 
 gala supper at the barracks that evening, 
 to commemorate some incident or other 
 in the national history, and I was to be 
 present and to reply to the toast of ' The 
 Commerce of Aureataland.' My task 
 was, a^ all hazards, to keep this party 
 going till the Colonel's job was done,
 
 104 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 when he would appear at the soldiers' 
 quarters, bribe in hand, and demand 
 their allecjlance. Our knowledge of the 
 character of the troops made us regard 
 the result as a certainty, if once the Presi- 
 dent were a prisoner and the dollars before 
 their eyes. The Colonel and the troops 
 were to surround the officers' messroom, 
 and offer them life and largesse, or death 
 and destruction. Here again we antici- 
 pated their choice with composure. The 
 army was then to be paraded in the 
 Piazza, the town overawed or converted, 
 and, behold, the Revolution was accom- 
 plished ! The success of this design 
 entirely depended on its existence re- 
 maining a dead secret from the one man 
 we feared, and on that one man being 
 found alone and unguarded at twelve 
 o'clock on Friday night. If he discovered 
 the plot, we were lost. If he took it 
 into his head to attend the supper, our 
 difficulties would be greatly increased.
 
 THE MINE IS LAID 105 
 
 At this point we turned to the Signorina, 
 and I said, briefly, 
 
 ' This appears to be where you come 
 in, Signorina. Permit me to invite you 
 to dine with his Excellency on Friday 
 evening, at eight precisely.' 
 
 'You mean,' she said slowly, 'that I 
 am to keep him at home, and, but for 
 myself, alone, on Friday ? ' 
 
 ' Yes,' said I. 'Is there any difficulty ? ' 
 
 ' I do not think there is great difficulty,' 
 she said, ' but I don't like it ; it looks so 
 treacherous.' 
 
 Of course it did. I didn't like her 
 doing it myself, but how else was the 
 President to be secured ? 
 
 ' Rather late to think of that, isn't it ? ' 
 asked McGregor, with a sneer. * A re- 
 volution won't run on high moral wheels.' 
 
 ' Think how he jockeyed you about 
 the money,' said I, assuming the part of 
 the tempter. 
 
 ' By the way,' said McGregor, ' it's under-
 
 io6 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 stood the SIgnorina enters into possession 
 of the President's country villa, isn't it ? ' 
 
 Now my poor Signorina had a longing 
 for that choice Httle retreat, and between 
 resentment for her lost money and a desire 
 for the pretty house on the one hand, and, 
 on the other, her dislike of the Delilah-like 
 part she was to play, she was sore beset. 
 Left to herself, I believe she would have 
 yielded to her better feelings and spoilt 
 the plot. As it was, the Colonel and I, 
 alarmed at this recrudescence of con- 
 science, managed to stifle its promptings, 
 and bent her to our wicked will. 
 
 'After all, he deserves it,' she said, 'and 
 I'll do it!' 
 
 It is always sad to see anybody suffering 
 from a loss of self-respect, so I tried to 
 restore the Signorina's confidence in her 
 own motives by references to Jael the wife 
 of Heber the Kenite, Charlotte Corday, 
 and such other relentless heroines as 
 occurred to me. McGregor looked upon
 
 THE MINE IS LAID 107 
 
 this striving after self-justification with 
 undisguised contempt. 
 
 ' It's only making a fool of him again,' he 
 said ; ' you've done it before, you know ! ' 
 
 ' I'll do it, if you'll swear not to — to hurt 
 him,' she said. 
 
 ' I've promised already,' he replied sul- 
 lenly ; ' I won't touch him, unless he brings 
 it on himself. If he tries to kill me, I sup- 
 pose I needn't bare my breast to the blow? ' 
 ' No, no,' I interposed ; ' I have a regard 
 for his Excellency, but we must not let 
 our feelings betray us into weakness. He 
 must be taken — alive and well, if possible 
 — but in the last resort, dead or alive.' 
 
 ' Come, that's more like sense,' said the 
 Colonel, approvingly. 
 
 The Signorina sighed, but opposed us 
 no lonfjer. 
 
 Returning to ways and means, we 
 arranged for communication in case of 
 need during the next three days without 
 the necessity of meeting. My position,
 
 loS A MAN OF MARK 
 
 as the centre of financial business in 
 Whittingham, made this easy ; the pas- 
 sage of bank messengers to and fro would 
 excite little remark, and the messages 
 could easily be so expressed as to reveal 
 nothing to an uninstructed eye. It was 
 further agreed that on the smallest hint of 
 danger reaching any one of us, the word 
 should at once be passed to the others, 
 and we should rendezvous at the Colonel's 
 ranch,' which lay some seven miles from 
 the town. Thence, in this lamentable 
 case, escape would be more possible. 
 
 ' And now,' said the Colonel, ' if Martin 
 will hand over the dollars, I think that's 
 about all.' 
 
 I had brought the 10,000 dollars with 
 me. I produced them and put them on 
 the table, keeping a loving hand on them. 
 
 ' You fully understand my position, 
 Colonel } ' I said. ' This thing is no use to 
 me unless I receive at least 320,000 dollars, 
 to pay back principal, to meet interest, and
 
 THE MINE IS LAID 109 
 
 to replace another small debt to the bank. 
 If I do that, I shall be left with a net 
 profit of 5000 dollars, not an extravagant 
 reward. If I don't get that sum I shall 
 be a defaulter, revolution or no revolution.' 
 ' I can't make money if it's not there,' 
 he said, but without his usual brusqueness 
 of tone. 'But to this we agree. You are 
 to have first turn at anything we find, up 
 , to the sum you name. It's to be handed 
 over solid to you. The Signorina and I 
 take the leavings. You don't claim to 
 share them too, do you ? ' 
 
 ' No,' I said, ' I'm content to be a 
 preference shareholder. If the money's 
 found at the Golden House, it's mine. If 
 not, the new Government, whatever it 
 may do as to the rest of the debt, will 
 pay me that sum.' 
 
 With that I pushed my money over to 
 the Colonel. 
 
 * I expect the new Government to be 
 very considerate to the bondholders all
 
 no A MAN OF MARK 
 
 round,' said the Colonel, as he pocketed 
 it with a chuckle. ' Anyhow, your terms 
 are agreed, eh, Signorina?' 
 
 ' Agreed ! ' said she. ' And I'm to have 
 the country seat ? ' 
 
 'Agreed!' said I. 'And the Colonel's 
 to be President and to have the Golden 
 House and all that therein is.' 
 
 ' Agreed ! agreed ! agreed ! ' chanted the 
 Signorina ; ' and that's quite enough busi- 
 ness, and it's very late for me to be enter- 
 taining gentlemen. One toast, and then 
 good-night. Success to the Revolution ! 
 To be drunk in blood-red wine ! ' 
 
 As there was no red wine, except claret, 
 and that lies cold on the stomach at three 
 in the morning, we drank it in French 
 brandy. I had risen to go, when a sudden 
 thought struck me. 
 
 'By Jupiter! where's Johnny Carr.^ I 
 say, Colonel, how drunk was he last night ? 
 Do you think he remembers telling you 
 about it .^ '
 
 THE MINE IS LAID iii 
 
 ' Yes,' said the Colonel, ' I expect he 
 does by now. He didn't when I left him 
 this morning.' 
 
 'Will he confess to the President? If 
 he does, it might make the old man keep 
 an unpleasantly sharp eye on you. He 
 knows you don't love him.' 
 
 ' Well, Carr hasn't seen the President yet. 
 He was to stay at my house over to-day. 
 He was uncommon seedy this morning-, 
 and I persuaded the doctor to give him a 
 composing draught. Fact is, I wanted 
 him quiet till I'd had time to think ! You 
 know I don't believe he would own up — 
 the President would drop on him so ; but 
 he might, and it's better they shouldn't 
 meet.' 
 
 ' There's somebody else he oughtn't to 
 meet,' said the Signorina. 
 
 • Who's that ? ' I asked. 
 
 ' Donna Antonia,' she replied. ' He's 
 getting very fond of her, and depend upon 
 it, if he's in trouble he'll go and tell her
 
 112 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 the first thing. Mr Carr is very confi- 
 dential to his friends.' 
 
 We recognised the value of this sugges- 
 tion. If Donna Antonia knew, the Pre- 
 sident would soon know. 
 
 'Quite right,' said the Colonel. 'It 
 won't do to have him rushing about 
 letting cut that we know all about it. 
 He's all right up to now.' 
 
 ' Yes, but if he gets restive to-morrow 
 morning?' said I. 'And then you don't 
 want him at the Golden House on Friday 
 evening, and I don't want him at the 
 barracks.' 
 
 ' No, he'd show fight, Carr would,' said 
 the Colonel. ' Look here, we're in for this 
 thing, and I'm going through with it. I 
 shall keep Carr at my house till it's all over.' 
 
 ' How ?' asked the Signorlna. 
 
 ' By love, if possible ! ' said the Colonel, 
 with a grin — ' that is, by drink. Failing 
 that, by force. It's essential that the old 
 man shouldn't get wind of anything being
 
 THE MINE IS LAID 113 
 
 up ; and if Carr told him about last night 
 he'd prick up his wicked old ears. No, 
 Master Johnny is better quiet.' 
 
 ' Suppose he turns nasty,' I sug-gested 
 again. 
 
 ' He may turn as nasty as he likes,' said 
 the Colonel. ' He don't leave my house 
 unless he puts a bullet into me first. 
 That's settled. Leave it to me. If he be- 
 haves nicely, he'll be all right. If not — ' 
 
 ' What shall you do to him ? ' asked the 
 Sicrnorina. 
 
 I foresaw another outburst of conscience, 
 and though I liked Johnny, I liked myself 
 better. So I said, 
 
 * Oh, leave it to the Colonel ; he'll 
 manage all right.' 
 
 ' Now I'm off,' said the latter, 'back to 
 my friend Johnny. Good-night, Signorina. 
 Write to the President to-morrow. Good- 
 night, Martin. Make that speech of yours 
 pretty long. Aic revoir till next Friday.' 
 
 I prepared to go, for the Colonel lingered 
 
 II
 
 114 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 till I came with him. Even then we so 
 distrusted one another that neither would 
 leave the other alone with the Signorina. 
 
 We parted at the door, he going off up 
 the road to get his horse and ride to his 
 ' ranch,' I turning down towards the Piazza. 
 
 We left the Signorina at the door, look- 
 ing pale and weary, and for once bereft of 
 her high spirits. Poor girl ! She found 
 conspiracy rather trying work. 
 
 I was a little troubled myself. I began 
 to see more clearly that it doesn't do for a 
 man of scruples to dabble in politics. I 
 had a great regard for poor Johnny, and I 
 felt no confidence in the Colonel treating 
 him with any consideration. In fact, I 
 would not have insured Johnny's life for 
 the next week at any conceivable premium. 
 Again I thought it unlikely that, if we 
 succeeded, the President would survive his 
 downfall. I had to repeat to myself all the 
 story of his treachery to me, lashing myself 
 into a fury against him, before I could
 
 THE MINE IS LAID 115 
 
 bring myself to think with resignation of 
 the imminent extinction of that shinino- 
 light. What a loss he would be to the 
 world ! So many delightful stories, so 
 great a gift of manner, so immense a per- 
 sonal charm — all to disappear into the pit ! 
 And for what ? To put into his place a 
 ruffian without redeeming qualities. Was 
 it worth while to put down Lucifer only to 
 enthrone Beelzebub ? I could only check 
 this doleful strain of reflection by sternly 
 recalling myself to the real question — the 
 state of the fortunes of me, John Martin. 
 And to me the revolution was necessary. 
 I might get the money ; at least I should 
 gain time. And I might satisfy my love. 
 I was animated by the honourable motive 
 of saving my employers from loss and by 
 the overwhelming motive of my own pas- 
 sion. If the continued existence of Johnny 
 and the President was incompatible with 
 these legitimate objects, so much the worse 
 for Johnny and the President.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 JOHNNY C A R R IS WILFUL 
 
 TH E next three clays were on the 
 whole the most uncomfortable I 
 have ever spent in my life. I got little 
 sleep and no rest ; I went about with a 
 revolver handy all day, and jumped every 
 time I heard a sound. I expended much 
 change in buying every edition of all the 
 papers ; I listened with dread to the distant 
 cries of newsvendors, fearing, as the words 
 gradually became distinguishable, to hear 
 that our secret was a secret no loncjer. I 
 was bound to show myself, and yet shrank 
 from all gatherings of men. I transacted 
 my business with an absent mind and a 
 
 Tl6
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 117 
 
 face of such superhuman innocence that, 
 had anyone been watching me, he must at 
 once have suspected something wrong. I 
 was incapable of adding up a row of figures, 
 and Jones became most soHcitous about 
 the state of my brain. In a word my 
 nerves were quite shattered, and I regis- 
 tered a vow never to upset a Government 
 again as long as I lived. In future the 
 established constitution would have to be 
 good enough for me. I invoked impartial 
 curses on the President, the Colonel, the 
 Directors, and myself; and I verily believe 
 that only the thought of the Signorina 
 prevented me making a moonlight flitting 
 across the frontier with a whole skin at 
 least, if with an empty pocket, and leaving 
 the rival patriots of Aureataland to fight it 
 out among themselves. 
 
 Happily, however, nothing occurred to 
 justify my fears. The other side seemed 
 to be sunk in dull security. The Presi- 
 dent went often to the Ministry of Finance,
 
 ii8 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 and was closeted for hours with Don 
 Antonio ; I suppose they were perfecting 
 their nefarious scheme. There were no 
 signs of excitement or activity at the bar- 
 racks ; the afternoon gatherings on the 
 Piazza were occupied with nothing more 
 serious than the prospects of lawn tennis 
 and the grievous dearth of dances. The 
 official announcements relative to the debt 
 had had a quieting effect, and all classes 
 seemed inclined to wait and see what the 
 President's new plan was. 
 
 So passed Wednesday and Thursday. 
 On neither day had I heard anything from 
 my fellow-conspirators ; our arrangements 
 for writing had so far proved unnecessary 
 — or unsuccessful. The latter possibility 
 sent a shiver down my back, and my lively 
 fancy pictured his Excellency's smile as he 
 perused the treasonable documents. If I 
 heard nothing on the morning of Friday, 
 I was determined at all risks to see the 
 Colonel. With the dawn of that eventful
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 119 
 
 day, however, I was relieved of this neces- 
 sity. I was lying in bed about half-past 
 nine (for I never add to the woes of life 
 by early rising) when my servant brought 
 in three letters. 
 
 ' Sent on from the bank, sir,' he said, 
 ' with Mr Jones's compliments, and are 
 you going there this morning ? ' 
 
 ' My compliments to Mr Jones, and he 
 may expect me in five minutes,' I replied. 
 
 The letters were all marked ' Imme- 
 diate ' — one from the Signorina, one from 
 the Colonel, one from the barracks. I 
 opened the last first and read as follows : — 
 
 ' The officers of the Aureataland Army 
 have the honour to remind Mr John Mar- 
 tin that they hope to have the pleasure of 
 his company at supper this evening at 
 10 p.m. precisely. In the unavoidable 
 absence of his Excellency the President, 
 owing to pressing cares of State, and of 
 the Hon. Colonel McGregor from indis-
 
 I20 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 position, the toast of the Army of Aureata- 
 land will be proposed by Major Alphonse 
 DeChair. 
 
 'PS. — ^Cher Martin, speak long this 
 niorht. The two orreat men do not come, 
 and the evening wants to be filled out. 
 Totit a votes, ALriiONSE DeCiiair.' 
 
 *It shall be long, my dear boy, and we 
 will fill out your evening for you,' said I 
 to myself, well pleased so far. 
 
 Then I opened the Signorina's epistle. 
 
 'Dear Mr Martin,' it began,— 'Will 
 you be so kind as to send me in the course 
 of the day tiventy dollars in small change ? 
 I want to give the school-children a 
 scramble. I enclose cheque. I am so 
 sorry you could not dine with me to-night, 
 but after all I am glad, because I should 
 have had to put you off, for I am com- 
 manded rather suddenly to dine at the
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 121 
 
 Golden House. With kind regards. — Be 
 lieve me, yours sincerely, 
 
 ' Christina Nugent.' 
 
 'Very good,' said I. 'I reckon the 
 scramble will keep. And now for the 
 Colonel.' 
 
 The Colonel's letter ran thus : — 
 
 ' Dear Martin, — I enclose cheque for 
 500 dollars. My man will call for the cash 
 to-morrow morning. I give you notice 
 because I want it all in silver for wages.' 
 (Rather a poverty of invention among us, 
 I thought). * Carr and I are here together, 
 both seedy. Poor Carr is on his back, and 
 likely to remain there for a day or two — 
 bad attack of champagne. I'm better, and 
 though I've cut the affair at barracks to- 
 night, I fully expect to be up and about 
 this afternoon. — Ever yours, 
 
 'Geo. McGregor.* 
 
 ' Oh, so Carr is on his back and likelv
 
 122 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 to remain there, is he ? Very hkely, I 
 expect ; but I wonder what it means. I 
 hope the Colonel hasn't been very drastic. 
 However everything seems right; in fact, 
 better than I hoped.' 
 
 In this more cheerful frame of mind I 
 arose, breakfasted at leisure, and set out 
 for the bank about eleven. 
 
 Of course the first person I met in the 
 street was one of the last I wanted to 
 meet, namely, Donna Antonia. She was 
 on horseback, and her horse looked as if 
 he'd done some work. At the sight of 
 me she reined up, and I could not avoid 
 stopping as I lifted my hat. 
 
 ' Whence so early ? ' I asked. 
 
 ' Early ? ' she said. ' I don't call this 
 early. I've been for a long ride; in fact, 
 I've ridden over to Mr Carr's place, with 
 a message from papa ; but he's not there 
 Do you know where he is, Mr Martin .'*' 
 
 ' Haven't an idea,' said I. 
 
 ' He hasn't been home for four nights,'
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 123 
 
 she continued, ' and he hasn't been to the 
 Ministry either. It's very odd that he 
 should disappear Hke this, just when all 
 the business is going on, too.' 
 
 ' What business, Donna Antonia ? ' I 
 asked, blandly. 
 
 She coloured, recollecting, no doubt, 
 that the business was still a secret. 
 
 'Oh, well, you know they're always busy 
 at the Ministry of Finance at this time. 
 It's the time they pay everybody, isn't it? ' 
 
 ' It's the time they ought to pay every- 
 body,' I said. 
 
 ' Well,' she went on, without noticing 
 my correction, 'at any rate, papa and the 
 President are both very much vexed with 
 him ; so I offered to make my ride in his 
 direction.' 
 
 ' Where can he be ? ' I asked again. 
 
 ' Well,' she replied, ' I believe he's at 
 Colonel McGregor's, and after lunch I 
 shall go over there. I know he dined there 
 on Monday, and I daresay he stayed on.'
 
 124 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 •No,' thought I, 'you mustn't do that, 
 it mi'>ht be inconvenient.' So I said, 
 
 ' I know he's not there ; I heard from 
 McGregor this morning, and he says Carr 
 left him on Tuesday. Why, how stupid 
 I am ! The Colonel says Carr told him 
 he was going off for a couple of days' sail 
 in his yacht. I expect he's got contrary 
 winds, and can't get back again.' 
 
 ' It's very bad of him to go,' she said, 
 ' but no doubt that's it. Papa will be 
 angry, but he'll be glad to know no 
 harm has come to him.' 
 
 ' Happy to have relieved your mind,' 
 said I, and bade her farewell, thanking 
 my stars for a lucky inspiration, and 
 wonderincr whether Don Antonio would 
 find no harm had come to poor Johnny. 
 I had my doubts. I regretted having to 
 tell Donna Antonia what I did not believe 
 to be true, but these things are incidental 
 to revolutions, a point of resemblance 
 between them and commercial life.
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 125 
 
 When I arrived at the bank I des- 
 patched brief answers to my budget of 
 letters ; each of the answers was to the 
 same purport, namely, that I should be 
 at the barracks at the appointed time. 
 I need not trouble the reader with the 
 various wrappings in which this essential 
 piece of intelligence was involved. I 
 then had a desperate encounter with 
 Jones ; business was slack, and Jones 
 was fired with the unholy desire of 
 seizing the opportunity thus offered to 
 make an exhaustive inquiry into the 
 state of our reserve. He could not 
 understand my sudden punctiliousness as 
 to times and seasons, and I was afraid 
 I should have to tell him plainly that 
 only over my lifeless body should he 
 succeed in investigating the contents of 
 the safe. At last I effected a diversion 
 by persuading him to give Mrs Jones 
 a jaunt into the country, and, thus left 
 in peace, I spent my afternoon in mak-
 
 126 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ing final preparations. I burnt many 
 letters ; I wrote a touching farewell to 
 my fcither, in which, under the guise of 
 offering forgiveness, I took occasion to 
 point out to him how greatly his Im- 
 prudent conduct had contributed to in- 
 crease the difficulties of his dutiful son. 
 I was only restrained from making a 
 will by the obvious Imprudence of getting 
 It witnessed. I spent a feverish hour 
 In firing Imaginary shots from my re 
 volver, to ascertain whether the instru- 
 ment was In working order. Finally, 
 I shut up the bank at five, went to the 
 Piazza, partook of a light repast, and 
 smoked cigars with mad speed till It 
 was time to dress for the supper ; and 
 never was I more rejoiced than when 
 the moment for action at last came. As 
 I was dressing, lingering over each 
 garment with a feeling that I might 
 never put It on, or, for that matter, 
 take It off again, I received a second
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 127 
 
 note from the Colonel. It was brought 
 by a messenger, on a sweating horse, 
 who galloped up to my door. I knew 
 the messenger well by sight ; he was 
 the Colonel's valet. My heart was in 
 my mouth as I took the envelope from 
 his hands (for I ran down myself). The 
 fellow was evidently in our secret, for 
 he grinned nervously at me as he handed 
 it over, and said, 
 
 ' I was to ride fast, and destroy the 
 letter if anyone came near.' 
 
 I nodded, and opened it. It said : — 
 
 * C. escaped about six this evening. 
 Believed to have gone to his house. 
 He suspects. If you see him, shoot on 
 sight.' 
 
 I turned to the man. 
 
 'Had Mr Carr a horse .'*' I asked. 
 
 ' No, sir ; left on foot.' 
 
 ' But there are horses at hi 5 house ? '
 
 128 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' No, sir, the Colonel has borrowed 
 them all.' 
 
 'Why do you think he's gone there? 
 
 ' Couldn't come along the road to 
 Whittingham, sir, it's patrolled.' 
 
 There was still a chance. It was 
 ten miles across country from the 
 Colonel's to Johnny's, and six miles on 
 from Johnny's to Whittingham. The 
 man divined my thoughts. 
 
 ' He can't go fast, sir, he's wounded in 
 the leg. If he goes home first, as he will, 
 because he doesn't know his horses are 
 oone, he can't oret here before eleven at 
 the earliest.' 
 
 ' How was he wounded ? ' I asked. 
 ' Tell me what the Colonel did to him, 
 and be short.' 
 
 'Yes, sir. The Colonel told us Mr 
 Carr was to be kept at the ranch over- 
 night ; wasn't to leave it alive, sir, he said. 
 Well, up to yesterday it was all right and 
 pleasant. Mr Carr wasn't very well, and
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 129 
 
 the doses the Colonel gave him didn't 
 seem to make him any better — quite the 
 contrary. But yesterday afternoon he got 
 rampageous — would go, anyhow, ill or 
 well ! So he got up and dressed. We'd 
 taken all his weapons from him, sir, and 
 when he came down dressed, and asked 
 for his horse, we told him he couldn't 
 go. Well, he just said, " Get out of the 
 light, I tell you," and began walking 
 towards the hall door. I don't mind 
 saying we were rather put about, sir. 
 We didn't care to shoot him as he stood, 
 and it's my belief we'd have let him pass ; 
 but just as he was going out, in comes the 
 Colonel. "Hullo, what's this, Johnny.-*" 
 says he. "You've got some damned 
 scheme on," said Mr Carr. " I believe 
 you've been drugging me. Out of the 
 way, McGregor, or I'll brain you." 
 ' ' Where are you going ? " says the Colonel, 
 " To Whittingham, to the President's," 
 said he. " Not to-day," says the Colonel. 
 
 I
 
 130 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 " Come, be reasonable, Johnny. You'll be 
 all right to-morrow." "Colonel McGregor," 
 says he, '' I'm unarmed, and you've got a 
 revolver. You can shoot me if you like, 
 but unless you do, I'm going out. You've 
 been playing some dodge on me, and, 
 by God, you shall pay for it." With that 
 he rushed straight at the Colonel. The 
 Colonel, he stepped on one side and let 
 him pass. Then he went after him to the 
 door, waited till he was about fifteen 
 yards off, then up with his revolver, as 
 cool as you like, and shot him as clean as 
 a sixpence in the right leg. Down came 
 Mr Carr ; he lay there a minute or two 
 cursing, and then he fainted. " Pick him 
 up, dress his wound, and put him to bed," 
 says the Colonel. Well, sir, it was only a 
 flesh wound, so we soon got him comfort- 
 able, and there he lay all night' 
 ' How did he get away to-day ? ' 
 ' We were all out, sir — went over to Mr 
 Carr's place to borrow his horses. The
 
 JOHNNY CARR IS WILFUL 131 
 
 Colonel took a message, sir.' (Here the 
 fellow grinned again.) ' I don't know 
 what it was. Well, when we'd got the 
 horses, we rode round outside the town, 
 and came into the road between here and 
 the Colonel's. Ten horses we'd got, and 
 we went there to give the ten men who 
 were patrolling the road the fresh horses. 
 We heard from them that no one had 
 come along. When we got home, he'd 
 been gone two hours ! ' 
 ' How did he manage it ? ' 
 ' A woman, sir,' said my warrior, with 
 supreme disgust. ' Gave her a kiss and 
 ten dollars to undo the front door, and 
 then he was off! He daren't go to the 
 stables to get a horse, so he was forced to 
 limp away on his game leg. A plucky 
 one he is, too,' he concluded. 
 
 ' Poor old Johnny,' said I. ' You didn't 
 go after him ? ' 
 
 ' No time, sir. Couldn't tire the horses. 
 Besides, when he'd once got home, he's
 
 132 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 got a dozen men there, and they'd have 
 kept us all night. Well, sir, I must be 
 off. Any answer for the Colonel ? He'll 
 be outside the Golden House by eleven, 
 sir, and Mr Carr won't get in if he comes 
 after that.' 
 
 ' Tell him to rely on me,' I answered. 
 But for all that I didn't mean to shoot 
 Johnny on sight. 
 
 So, much perturbed in spirit, I set 
 off to the barracks, wondering when 
 Johnny would get to Whittingham, and 
 whether he would fall into the Colonel's 
 hands outside the Golden House. It 
 struck me as unpleasantly probable that 
 he might come and spoil the harmony of 
 my evening ; if he came there first, the 
 conspiracy would probably lose my aid at 
 an early moment. What would happen 
 to me I didn't know. But, as I took off 
 my coat in the lobby, I bent down as if to 
 tie a shoestring, and had one more look at 
 my revolver.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 A SUPPER PARTY 
 
 I SHALL never forget that supper as 
 long as I live. Considered merely as 
 a social gathering it would be memorable 
 enough, for I never before or since sat 
 at meat with ten such queer customers as 
 my hosts of that evening. The officers 
 of the Aureataland Army were a very 
 mixed lot — two or three Spanish Ameri- 
 cans, three or four Brazilians, and the 
 balance Americans of the type their 
 countrymen are least proud of. If there 
 was an honest man among them he sedul- 
 ously concealed his title to distinction ; I 
 know there wasn't a sober one. The 
 amount of liquor consumed was portentous, 
 
 .133
 
 134 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 and I gloated with an unholy joy as I saw 
 man after man rapidly making himself 
 what diplomatists call a quaniitd negligdable. 
 The conversation needed all the excuse 
 the occasion could afford, and the wit 
 would have appeared unduly coarse in a 
 common pot-house. All this might have 
 passed from my memory, or blended in a 
 subdued harmony with my general im- 
 pression of Aureataland ; but the peculiar 
 position in which I stood gave to my 
 mind an unusual activity of perception. 
 Among this band of careless drunken 
 revellers I sat vigilant, restless and im- 
 patient ; feigning to take a leading part in 
 their dissolute hilarity, I was sober, col- 
 lected, and alert to my very finger-tips. I 
 anxiously watched their bearing and ex- 
 pression. I led them on to speak of the 
 President, rejoicing when I elicited open 
 murmurs and covert threats at his base 
 ingratitude to the men on whose support 
 his power rested. They had not been paid
 
 A SUrPER PARTY 135 
 
 for six months, and were ripe for any 
 mischief. I was more than once tempted 
 to forestall the Colonel and begin the 
 revolution on my own account ; only my 
 inability to produce before their eyes any 
 arguments of the sort they would listen to 
 restrained me. 
 
 Eleven o'clock had come and gone. 
 The Senior Captain had proposed the 
 President's health. It was drunk in sullen 
 silence ; I was the only man who honoured 
 it by rising from his seat. 
 
 The Major had proposed the Army, and 
 they had drunk deep to their noble selves. 
 A young man of weak expression and 
 quavering legs had proposed, ' The Com- 
 merce of Aureataland, coupled with the 
 name of Mr John Martin,' in laudatory but 
 incoherent terms, and I was on my legs 
 replying. Oh, that speech of mine ! For 
 discursiveness, for repetition, for sheer in- 
 anity, I suppose it has never been equalled. 
 I droned steadily away, interrupted only
 
 136 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 by cries for fresh supplies of wine ; as I 
 went on the audience paid less and less 
 attention. It was past twelve. The well 
 of my eloquence was running- drier and 
 drier, and yet no sound outside ! I won- 
 dered how long they would stand it and 
 how long I could stand it. At 12.15 I 
 began my peroration. Hardly had I done 
 so, when one of the young men started 
 in a gentle voice an utterly indescribable 
 ditty. One by one they took it up, till 
 the rising tide of voices drowned my 
 fervent periods. Perforce I stopped. 
 They were all on their feet now. Did 
 they mean to break up? In despair at 
 the idea I lifted up my voice, loud and 
 distinct (the only distinct voice left in the 
 room), in the most shameful verse of that 
 shameful composition, and seizing my 
 neighbour's hand began to move slowly 
 round the table. The move was success- 
 ful. Each man followed suit, and the 
 whole party, kicking back their chairs,
 
 A SUPPER PARTY 137 
 
 revolved with lurching steps round the 
 ddbris of empty bottles and cigar ashes. 
 
 The room was thick with smoke, and 
 redolent of fumes of wine. Mechanically 
 I led the chorus, straining every nerve 
 to hear a sound from outside. I was 
 growing dizzy with the movement, and, 
 overwrought with the strain on my nerves, 
 I knew a few minutes more would be the 
 limit of endurance, when at last I heard 
 a loud shout and tumult of voices. 
 
 ' What's that ? ' exclaimed the Major, 
 in thick tones, pausing as he spoke. 
 
 I dropped his hand, and, seizing my 
 revolver, said, 
 
 ' Some drunken row in barracks, Major. 
 Let 'em alone.' 
 
 ' I must go,' he said. ' Character — 
 Aureataland — Army — at stake.' 
 
 ' Set a thief to catch a thief, eh, Major ? ' 
 said I. 
 
 * What do you mean, sir } ' he stuttered. 
 
 ' Let me go.'
 
 138 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' If you move, I shoot, Major,' said I, 
 bringing out my weapon. I never saw 
 greater astonishment on human counten- 
 ance. He swore loudly, and then cried, 
 
 ' Hi, stop him — he's mad — he's going to 
 shoot ! ' 
 
 A shout of laughter rose from the crew 
 around us, for they felt exquisite apprecia- 
 tion of my supposed joke. 
 
 ' Right you are, Martin,' cried one. 
 ' Keep him quiet. We won't go home 
 till morninor ! ' 
 
 The Major turned to the window. It 
 was a moonlight night, and as I looked 
 with him I saw the courtyard full of 
 soldiers. Who was in command ? The 
 answer to that meant much to me. 
 
 This sicrht somewhat sobered the 
 Major. 
 
 ' A mutiny ! ' he cried. ' The soldiers 
 have risen ! ' 
 
 ' Go to bed,' said the junior ensign. 
 
 ' Look out of window ! ' he cried.
 
 A SUPPER PARTY 139 
 
 They all staggered to the window. As 
 the soldiers saw them, they raised a shout. 
 I could not distinguish whether it was a 
 greeting or a threat. They took it as the 
 latter, and turned to the door. 
 
 ' Stop ! ' I cried ; ' I shoot the first man 
 who opens the door.' 
 
 In wonder they turned on me. I stood 
 facing them, revolver in hand. They 
 waited huddled together for an instant, 
 then made a rush at me ; I fired, but 
 missed. I had a vision of a poised de- 
 canter ; a second later, the missile caught 
 me in the chest and hurled me back 
 against the wall. As I fell I dropped my 
 weapon, and they were upon me. I 
 thought it was all over ; but as they 
 surged round, in the madness of drink and 
 anger, I, looking through their ranks, saw 
 the door open and a crowd of men rush in. 
 Who was at their head ? Thank God, it 
 was the Colonel, and his voice rose high 
 above the tumult, —
 
 I40 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Order, gentlemen, order.' Then to 
 his men he added, 
 
 ' Each mark your man, and two of you 
 bring Mr Martin here.' 
 
 I was saved. To explain how, I must 
 explain what had been happening at the 
 Golden House, and how the night attack 
 had fared.
 
 CHAPTERX 
 
 TWO SURPRISES 
 
 IT is a sad necessity that compels us to 
 pry into the weaknesses of our fellow- 
 creatures, and seek to turn them to our 
 own profit. I am not philosopher enough 
 to say whether this course of conduct 
 derives any justification from its univer- 
 sality, but in the region of practice I have 
 never hesitated to place myself on a 
 moral level with those with whom I had 
 to deal. I may occasionally even have 
 left the other party to make this needful 
 adjustment, and I have never known him 
 fail to do so. I felt, therefore, very little 
 scruple in making use of the one weak 
 spot discoverable in the defences of our 
 
 Ml 
 
 .f
 
 142 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 redoubtable opponent, his Excellency the 
 President of Aureataland. No doubt the 
 reader's eye has before now detected the 
 joint in that great man's armour at which 
 we directed our missile. As a lover, I 
 grudged the employment of the Signorina 
 in this service; as a politician, I w?s 
 proud of the device ; as a human being, 
 I recognised what we are very ready to 
 recognise, that it did not become me to 
 refuse to work with such instruments as 
 appeared to be put into my hands. 
 
 But whatever may be the verdict of 
 moralists on our device, events proved 
 its wisdom. The President had no cause 
 to suspect a trap ; therefore, like a 
 sensible man, he chose to spend the 
 evening with the Signorina rather than 
 with his gallant officers. With equally 
 good taste, he elected to spend it tele-d- 
 tete with her, when she gave him the 
 opportunity. In our subsequent con- 
 versations, the Signorina was not com-
 
 TWO SURPRISES 143 
 
 municative as to how the early hours 
 of the evening passed. She preferred 
 to begin her narrative from the point 
 when their soHtude was interrupted. As 
 I rely on her account and that of the 
 Colonel for this part of my story, I am 
 compelled to make my start from the 
 same moment. It appears that at a few 
 minutes past eleven o'clock, when the 
 President was peacefully smoking a cigar 
 and listening to the conversation of his 
 fair guest (whom he had galvanised into 
 an affected liveliness by alarming remarks 
 on her apparent pre-occupation), there 
 fell upon his ear the sound of a loud 
 knocking at the door. Dinner had been 
 served in a small room at the back of 
 the house, and the President could not 
 command a view of the knocker with- 
 out going out on to the verandah, which 
 ran all round the house, and walking 
 round to the front. When the knock 
 was heard, the Signorina started up.
 
 144 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Don't disturb yourself, pray,' said his 
 Excellency politely. ' I gave special 
 instructions that I was visible to no one 
 this evening. But I was wondering 
 whether it could be Johnny Carr. I want 
 to speak to him for a moment, and I'll 
 just go round outside and see if it is.' 
 
 As he spoke, a discreet tap was heard 
 at the door. 
 
 ' Yes ? ' said the President. 
 
 ' Mr Carr is at the door and particu- 
 larly wants to see your Excellency. An 
 urgent matter, he says.' 
 
 'Tell him I'll come round and speak 
 to him from the verandah,' replied the 
 President 
 
 He turned to the window, and threw 
 it open to step out. 
 
 Let me tell what followed in the 
 Signorina's words. 
 
 'Just then we heard a sound of a 
 number of horses galloping up. The 
 President stopped and said,
 
 TWO SURPRISES 145 
 
 '"Hullo, what's up?" 
 
 ' Then there was a shout and a volley 
 of shots, and I heard the Colonel's voice 
 cry, 
 
 ' " Down with your arms ; down, I 
 say, or you're dead men ! " 
 
 ' The President stepped quickly across 
 the room to his escritoire, took up his 
 revolver, went back to the window, 
 passed through it, and without a word 
 disappeared. I could not hear even the 
 sound of his feet on the verandah. 
 
 ' I heard one more shot — then a rush 
 of men to the door, and the Colonel 
 burst in, with sword and revolver in his 
 hands, and followed by ten or a dozen 
 men. 
 
 ' I ran to him, terrified, and cried, 
 
 '"Oh, is anyone hurt?" 
 
 ' He took no notice, but asked hastily, 
 
 '"Where is he?" 
 
 ' I pointed to the verandah, and 
 gasped, 
 
 K
 
 146 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' " He went out there." Then I turned 
 to one of the men and said again, 
 
 ' " Is anyone hurt ? " 
 
 '"Only Mr Carr," he replied. "The 
 rest of 'em were a precious sight too 
 careful of themselves." 
 
 '"And is he killed?" 
 
 ' " Don't think he's dead, miss," he said. 
 " But he's hurt badly." 
 
 ' As I turned again, I saw the President 
 standing quite calmly in the window. 
 When the Colonel saw him, he raised 
 his revolver and said, 
 
 ' " Do you yield, General Whittingham ? 
 We are twelve to one." 
 
 ' As he spoke, every man covered the 
 President with his aim. The latter stood 
 facing the twelve revolvers, his own 
 weapon hanging loosely in his left hand. 
 Then, smiling, he said a little bitterly, 
 
 '"Heroics are not in my line, McGregor. 
 I suppose this is a popular rising — that is 
 to say, you have bribed my men, murdered
 
 TWO SURPRISES 147 
 
 my best friend, and beguiled me with the 
 lures of that — " 
 
 ' I could not bear the word that hung 
 on his lips, and with a sob I fell on a sofa 
 and hid my face. 
 
 ' " Well, we mustn't use hard names," 
 he went on in a gentler tone. " We are 
 all as God made us. I give in," and, 
 throwing down his weapon, he asked, 
 " Have you quite killed Carr ? " 
 
 ' " I don't know," said the Colonel, 
 implying plainly that he did not care 
 either. 
 
 ' " I suppose it was you that shot him ? " 
 
 ' The Colonel nodded. 
 
 ' The President yawned, and looked at 
 his watch. 
 
 ' " As I have no part in to-night's per- 
 formance," said he, " I presume I am at 
 liberty to go to bed .'' " 
 
 ' The Colonel said, curtly, 
 
 ' " W^here's the bedroom ? " 
 
 * " In there," said the President, waving
 
 148 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 his hand to' a door facing that by which 
 the Colonel had entered. 
 
 ' " Permit me," said the latter. He 
 went in, no doubt to see if there were 
 any other egress. Returning shortly he 
 said, 
 
 '"My men must stay here, and you 
 must leave the door open." 
 
 ' " I have no objection," said the Pre- 
 sident. " No doubt they will respect my 
 modesty." 
 
 ' " Two of you stay in this room. Two 
 of you keep watch in the verandah, one 
 at this window, the other at the bedroom 
 window. I shall put three more sentries 
 outside. General Whittingham is not to 
 leave this room. If you hear or see any- 
 thing going on in there, go in and put 
 him under restraint. Otherwise treat him 
 with respect." 
 
 ' " I thank you for your civility," said 
 the President, "also for the compliment 
 implied in these precautions. Is it over
 
 TWO SURPRISES 149 
 
 this matter of the debt that your patriotism 
 has drawn you into revolt ? " 
 
 ' " I see no use in discussing pubhc 
 affairs at this moment," the Colonel re- 
 plied. " And my presence is required 
 elsewhere. I regret that I cannot re- 
 lieve you of the presence of these men, 
 but I do not feel I should be justified 
 in accepting your parole!' 
 
 ' The President did not seem to be 
 angered at this insult. 
 
 ' " I have not offered it," he said simply. 
 "It is better you should take your own 
 measures. Need I detain you. Colonel ? " 
 
 ' The Colonel did not answer him, but 
 turned to me and said, 
 
 ' " Signorina Nugent, we wait only for 
 you, and time is precious." 
 
 ' " I will follow you in a moment," I said, 
 with my head still among the cushions. 
 
 ' " No, come now," he commanded. 
 
 ' Looking up, I saw a smile on the Pre- 
 sident's face. As I rose reluctantly, he
 
 ISO A MAN OF MARK 
 
 also got up from the chair into which he 
 had flung himself, and stopped me with 
 a gesture. I was terribly afraid that he 
 was going to say something hard to me, 
 but his voice only expressed a sort of 
 amused pity. 
 
 '"The money, was it, Signorina .'* " he 
 said. " Young people and beautiful people 
 should not be mercenary. Poor child, 
 you had better have stood by me." 
 
 ' I answered him nothing, but went out 
 with the Colonel, leaving him seated again 
 in his chair, surveying with some apparent 
 amusement the two threatening sentries 
 who stood at the door. The Colonel hur- 
 ried me out of the house, saying, 
 
 '"We must ride to the barracks. If 
 the news gets there before us, they may 
 cut up rough. You go home. Your work 
 is done." 
 
 ' So they mounted and rode away, leav- 
 ing me in the road. There were no signs 
 of any struggle, except the door hanging
 
 TWO SURPRISES 151 
 
 loose on its hinges, and a drop or two of 
 blood on the steps where they had shot 
 poor Johnny Cam I went straight home, 
 and what happened in the next few hours 
 at the Golden House I don't know, and, 
 knowing how I left the President, I cannot 
 explain. I went home, and cried till I 
 thought my heart would break.' 
 
 Thus far the Signorina. I must beg to 
 call special attention to the closing lines 
 of her narrative. But before I relate the 
 very startling occurrence to which she 
 refers, we must return to the barracks, 
 where, it will be remembered, matters were 
 in a rather critical condition. When the 
 officers saw their mess-room suddenly filled 
 with armed men, and heard the alarming 
 order issued by the Colonel, their atten- 
 tion was effectually diverted from me. 
 They crowded together on one side of 
 the table, facing the Colonel and his men 
 on the other. Assisted by the two men 
 sent to my aid, I seized the opportunity
 
 152 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 to push my way through them and range 
 myself by the side of my leader. After a 
 moment's pause the Colonel began, 
 
 ' The last thing we should desire, gentle- 
 men,' he said, 'is to resort to force. But 
 the time for explanation is short. The 
 people of Aureataland have at last risen 
 against the tyranny they have so long en- 
 dured. General Whittingham has proved 
 a traitor to the cause of freedom ; he won 
 his position in the name of liberty ; he has 
 used it to destroy liberty. The voice of 
 the people has declared him to have for- 
 feited his high office. The people have 
 placed in my hand the sword of vengeance. 
 Armed with this mighty sanction, I have 
 appealed to the army. The army has 
 proved true to its traditions — true to its 
 character of the protector, not the op- 
 pressor, of the people. Gentlemen, will 
 you who lead the army take your proper 
 place ? ' 
 
 There was no reply to this moving
 
 TWO SURPRISES 153 
 
 appeal. He advanced closer to them, 
 and went on, 
 
 * There is no middle way. You are 
 patriots or traitors — friends of liberty or 
 friends of tyranny. I stand here to offer 
 you either a traitor's death, or, if you will, 
 life, honour and the satisfaction of all your 
 just claims. Do you mistrust the people? 
 I, as their representative, here offer you 
 every just due the people owes you — 
 debts which had long been paid but for 
 the o^reed of that great traitor.' 
 
 As he said this he took from his men 
 some bags of money, and threw them on 
 the table with a loud chink. 
 
 Major DeChair glanced at the bags, and 
 glanced at his comrades, and said, 
 
 ' In the cause of liberty God forbid we 
 should be behind ! Down with the tyrant ! ' 
 
 And all the pack yelped in chorus ! 
 
 ' Then, gentlemen, to the head of your 
 men,' said the Colonel, and going to the 
 window, he cried to the throng,
 
 154 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Men, your noble officers are with us.' 
 A cheer answered him. I wiped my 
 forehead, and said to myself, ' That's well 
 over.' 
 
 I will not weary the reader with our 
 further proceedings. Suffice it to say we 
 marshalled our host and marched down to 
 the Piazza. The news had spread by now, 
 and in the dimly-breaking morning light 
 we saw the Square full of people — men, 
 women and children. As we marched in 
 there was a cheer, not very hearty — a 
 cheer propitiatory, for they did not know 
 what we meant to do. The Colonel made 
 them a brief speech, promising peace, 
 security, liberty, plenty and all the goods 
 of heaven. In a few stern words he 
 cautioned them against 'treachery,' and 
 announced that any rebellion against the 
 Provisional Government would meet with 
 swift punishment. Then he posted his 
 army in companies, to keep watch till all 
 was quiet. And at last he said,
 
 TWO SURPRISES 155 
 
 ' Now, Martin, come back to the Golden 
 House, and let's put that fellow in a safe 
 place.' 
 
 ' Yes/ said I, ' and have a look for the 
 money.' For really in the excitement it 
 seemed as if there was a danger of the 
 most important thing of all being for- 
 gotten. 
 
 The dawn was now far advanced, and 
 as we left the Piazza, we could see the 
 Golden House at the other end of the 
 avenue. All looked quiet, and the sentries 
 were gently pacing to and fro. Drawing 
 nearer, we saw two or three of the Presi- 
 dent's servants busied about their ordinary 
 tasks. One woman was already deleting 
 Johnny Carr's life-blood with a mop and a 
 pail of water ; and a carpenter was at work 
 repairing the front-door. Standing by it 
 was the doctor's brougham. 
 
 * Come to see Carr, I suppose/ said I. 
 
 Leaving our horses to the care of the 
 men who were with us, we entered the
 
 156 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 house. Just inside we met the doctor 
 himself. He was a shrewd httle fellow, 
 named Anderson, generally popular and, 
 though a personal friend of the President's, 
 not openly identified with either political 
 party. 
 
 ' I have a request to make to you, 
 sir,' he said to McGregor, ' about Mr 
 Carr.' 
 
 ' Well, is he dead ? ' said the Colonel. 
 'If he is, he's got only himself to thank 
 for it.' 
 
 The doctor wisely declined to discuss 
 this question, and confined himself to 
 stating that Johnny was not dead. On 
 the contrary, he was going on nicely. 
 
 ' But,' he went on, ' quiet is essential, 
 and I want to take him to my house, out 
 of the racket. No doubt it is pretty quiet 
 here now, but — ' 
 
 The Colonel interrupted, — 
 
 ' Will he give \\\s parole not to escape ? ' 
 
 ' My dear sir,' said the doctor, 'the man
 
 TWO SURPRISES 157 
 
 couldn't move to save his life — and he's 
 asleep now.' 
 
 ' You must wake him up to move him, I 
 suppose/ said the Colonel. ' But you may 
 take him. Let me know when he's well 
 enough to see me. Meanwhile, I hold you 
 responsible for his good behaviour.' 
 
 ' Certainlv,' said the doctor. ' I am 
 content to be responsible for Mr Cam' 
 
 ' All right ; take him and get out. Now 
 for Whittingham ! ' 
 
 ' Hadn't we better get the money first ? ' 
 said I. 
 
 ' Damn the money ! ' he replied. * But I 
 tell you what — I must have a bit of food. 
 I've tasted nothing for twelve hours.' 
 One of the servants, hearing him, said, 
 ' Breakfast can be served in a moment, 
 sir.' And he ushered us into the large 
 dining-room, where we soon had an ex- 
 cellent meal. 
 
 When we had got through most of it, I 
 broke the silence by asking,
 
 158 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' What are you going to do with him ? ' 
 
 ' I should like to shoot him,' said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 ' On what charge ? ' 
 
 ' Treachery,' he replied. 
 
 I smiled. 
 
 ' That would hardly do, would it ? ' 
 
 'Well, then, embezzlement of public 
 funds.' 
 
 We had a little talk about the Presi- 
 dent's destiny, and I tried to persuade the 
 Colonel to milder measures. In fact, I was 
 determined to prevent such a murder if I 
 could without ruin to myself. 
 
 ' Well, we'll consider it when we've seen 
 him,' said the Colonel, rising and lighting 
 a cigarette. ' By Jove ! we've wasted an 
 hour breakfasting — it's seven o'clock.' 
 
 I followed him along the passage, and 
 we entered the little room where we had 
 left the President. The sentries were still 
 there, each seated in an arm-chair. They 
 were not asleep, but looked a little drowsy.
 
 TWO SURPRISES 159 
 
 ' All right ? ' said the Colonel. 
 
 'Yes, Excellency,' said one of them. 
 ' He is in there in bed.' 
 
 He went into the inner room and began 
 to undo the shutters, letting in the early 
 sun. 
 
 We passed through the half-opened door 
 and saw a peaceful figure lying in the bed, 
 whence proceeded a gentle snore. 
 
 ' Good nerve, hasn't he ? ' said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 'Yes; but what a queer night-cap,' I 
 said, for the President's head was swathed 
 in white linen. 
 
 The Colonel strode quickly up to the 
 bed. 
 
 'Done, by hell!' he cried, 'It's 
 Johnny Carr ! ' 
 
 It was true; there lay Johnny. His 
 Excellency was nowhere to be seen. 
 
 The Colonel shook Johnny roughly by 
 the arm. The latter opened his eyes and 
 said, sleepily,
 
 i6o A MAN OF MARK 
 
 * Steady there ! Kindly remember I'm 
 a trifle fragile.' 
 
 ' What's this infernal plot ? Where's 
 Whittingham ? ' 
 
 ' Ah, it's McGregor,' said Johnny with 
 a bland smile, 'and Martin. How are 
 you, old. fellow? Some beast's hit me 
 on the head.' 
 
 ' Where's Whittingham ? ' reiterated the 
 Colonel, savagely shaking Johnny's arm. 
 
 ' Gently ! ' said I ; * after all, he's a sick 
 man.' 
 
 The Colonel dropped the arm with a 
 muttered oath, and Johnny said sweetly, 
 
 ' Quits, isn't it. Colonel ? ' 
 
 The Colonel turned from him, and said 
 to his men sternly, 
 . ' Have you had any hand in this ? ' 
 
 They protested vehemently that they 
 were as astonished as we were ; and so 
 they were, unless they acted consum- 
 mately. They denied that anyone had 
 entered the outer room or that any sound
 
 TWO SURPRISES i6i 
 
 had proceeded from the inner. They 
 swore they had kept vigilant watch, and 
 must have seen any intruder. Both the 
 men inside were the Colonel's personal 
 servants, and he believed in their honesty ; 
 but what of their vigilance? 
 
 Carr heard him sternly questioning 
 them, and said, 
 
 ' Those chaps aren't to blame, Colonel. 
 I didn't come in that way. If you'll take 
 a look behind the bed, you'll see another 
 door. They brought me in there. I was 
 rather queer and only half knew what 
 was up.' 
 
 We looked and saw a door where he 
 said. Pushing the bed aside, we opened 
 it, and found ourselves on the back stair- 
 case of the premises. Clearly the President 
 had noiselessly opened this door and got 
 out. But how had Carr got in without 
 noise ? 
 
 The sentry came up, saying, 
 
 'Every five minutes, sir, I looked and 
 
 L
 
 1 62 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 saw him on the bed. He lay for the first 
 hour in his clothes. The next look, he 
 was undressed. It struck me he'd been 
 pretty quick and quiet about it, but I 
 thought no more.' 
 
 ' Depend upon it, the dressed man was 
 the President, the undressed man Carr ! 
 When was that ? ' 
 
 ' About half-past two, sir ; just after the 
 doctor came.' 
 
 ' The doctor ! ' we cried. 
 
 * Yes, sir; Doctor Anderson.' 
 
 * You never told me he had been here.' 
 ' He never went into the President's — 
 
 into General Whittingham's room, sir ; 
 but he came in here for five minutes, to 
 get some brandy, and stood talking with 
 us for a time. Half-an-hour after, he came 
 in for some more.' 
 
 We began to see how it was done. 
 That wretched little doctor was in the 
 plot. Somehow or other he had com- 
 municated with the President ; probably
 
 TWO SURPRISES 163 
 
 he knew of the door. Then, I fancied, 
 they must have worked something in this 
 way. The doctor comes in to distract the 
 sentries, while his Excellency moves the 
 bed. Finding that they took a look every 
 five minutes, he told the President. Then 
 he went and got Johnny Carr ready. Re- 
 turning, he takes the President's place on 
 the bed, and in that character undergoes 
 an inspection. The moment this is over 
 he leaps up and goes out. Between them 
 they bring in Carr, put him into bed, and 
 slip out through the narrow space of open 
 door behind the bedstead. When all was 
 done, the doctor had come back to see if 
 any suspicion had been aroused. 
 
 ' I have it now ! ' cried the Colonel. 
 ' That infernal doctor's done us both. 
 He couldn't get Whittingham out of the 
 house without leave, so he's taken him as 
 Carr ! Swindled me into giving my leave ! 
 Ah, look out if we meet, Mr Doctor ! ' 
 
 We rushed out of the house and found
 
 104 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 this conjecture was true. The man who 
 purported to be Carr had been carried out, 
 enveloped in blankets, just as we sat 
 down to breakfast ; the doctor had put 
 him into the carriage, followed himself, 
 and driven rapidly away. 
 
 ' Which way did they go ? ' 
 
 * Towards the harbour, sir,' the sentry 
 replied. 
 
 The harbour could be reached in twenty 
 minutes' fast driving. Without a word 
 the Colonel sprang on his horse ; I 
 imitated him, and we galloped as hard as 
 we could, everyone making way before 
 our furious charge. Alas ! we were too 
 late. As we drew rein on the quay we 
 saw, half-a-mile out to sea and sailing 
 before a stiff breeze, Johnny Carr's 
 little yacht, with the Aureataland flag 
 floating defiantly at her mast-head. 
 
 We gazed at it blankly, with never a 
 word to say, and turned our horses' heads. 
 Our attention was attracted by a small
 
 TWO SURPRISES 165 
 
 group of men standing round the storm- 
 signal post. As we rode up, they hastily 
 scattered, and we saw pinned to the post 
 a sheet of notepaper. Thereon was 
 written in a well-known hand : — 
 
 ' I, Marcus W. Whittingham, President 
 of the Republic of Aureataland, hereby 
 offer a Reward of Five Thousand Dol- 
 lars and a Free Pardon to any person 
 or persons assisting in the Capture, 
 Alive or Dead, of George McGregor 
 (late Colonel in the Aureataland Army) 
 and John Martin, Bank Manager, and 
 I do further proclaim the said George 
 McGregor and John Martin to be traitors 
 and rebels against the Republic, and do 
 pronounce their lives forfeited. Which 
 sentence let every loyal citizen observe 
 at his peril. 
 
 ' Marcus W. Whittingham, 
 ' President.' 
 
 Truly this was pleasant !
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 
 
 THE habit of reading having pene- 
 trated, as we are told, to all classes 
 of the community, I am not without hope 
 that some who peruse this chronicle will 
 be able, from personal experience, to 
 understand the feelings of a man when he 
 first finds a reward offered for his appre- 
 hension. It is true that our police are not 
 in the habit of imitating the President's 
 naked brutality by expressly adding ' Alive 
 or Dead,' but I am informed that the 
 law, in case of need, leaves the alternative 
 open to the servants of justice. I am not 
 ashamed to confess that my spirits were 
 
 1 66
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 167 
 
 rather dashed by his Excellency's Parthian 
 shot, and I could see that the Colonel 
 himself was no less perturbed. The 
 escape of Fleance seemed to Macbeth to 
 render his whole position unsafe, and no 
 one who knew General Whittingham will 
 doubt that he was a more dangerous 
 opponent than Fleance. We both felt, in 
 fact, as soon as we saw the white sail of 
 The Songstress bearing our enemy out of 
 our reach, that the revolution could not 
 yet be regarded as safely accomplished. 
 But the uncertainty of our tenure of power 
 did not paralyse our energies ; on the 
 contrary, we determined to make hay 
 while the sun shone, and, if Aureataland 
 was doomed to succumb once more to 
 tyranny, I, for one, was very clear that her 
 temporary emancipation might be turned 
 to orood account. 
 
 Accordingly, on arriving again at the 
 Golden House, we lost no time in insti- 
 tuting a thorough inquiry into the state
 
 1 68 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 of the public finances. We ransacked 
 the house from top to bottom and 
 found nothing ! Was it possible that 
 the President had carried off with him 
 all the treasure that had inspired our 
 patriotic efforts ? The thought was too 
 horrible. The drawers of his escritoire 
 and the safe that stood in his library 
 revealed nothing to our eager eyes. A 
 foraging party, despatched to the Ministry 
 of Finance (where, by the way, they did 
 not find Don Antonio or his fair 
 daughter), returned with the discourag- 
 ing news that nothing was visible but 
 ledgers and bills (not negotiable securi- 
 ties — the other sort). In deep dejec- 
 tion I threw myself into his Excellency's 
 chair and lit one of his praiseworthy 
 cigars with the doleful reflection that 
 this pleasure seemed all I was likely 
 to get out of the business. The 
 Colonel stood moodily with his back 
 to the fireplace, looking at me as if
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 169 
 
 I were responsible for the state of 
 things. 
 
 At this point in came the Signorina. 
 We greeted her gloomily, and she was 
 as startled as ourselves at the news of 
 the President's escape ; at the same time 
 I thought I detected an undercurrent 
 of relief, not unnatural if we recollect 
 her personal relations with the deposed 
 ruler. When, however, we went on to 
 break to her the nakedness of the land, 
 she stopped us at once 
 
 ' Oh, you stupid men, you haven't 
 looked in the right place. I suppose you 
 expected to find it laid out for you on 
 the dining-room table. Come with me.' 
 
 We followed her into the room where 
 Carr lay. He was awake, and the 
 Signorina went and asked him how he 
 was. Then she continued, 
 
 ' We shall have to disturb you for 
 a few minutes, Mr Carr. You don't 
 mind, do you ? '
 
 lyo A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Must I get out of bed?' asked 
 Johnny. 
 
 ' Certainly not, while I'm here,' said 
 the Signorina. ' You've only got to shut 
 your eyes and He still ; but we're going 
 to make a little noise.' 
 
 There was in the room, as perhaps 
 might be expected, a washing-stand. 
 This article was of the description one 
 often sees ; above the level of the stand 
 itself there rose a wooden screen to the 
 heieht of two feet and a half, covered 
 with pretty tiles, the presumable object 
 being to protect the wall paper. I 
 never saw a more innocent-looking bit 
 of furniture ; it might have stood in a 
 lady's dressing-room. The Signorina 
 went up to it and slid it gently on one 
 side ; it moved in a groove ! Then she 
 pressed a spot in the wall behind and a 
 small piece of it rolled aside, disclosing 
 a keyhole. 
 
 ' He's taken the key, of course,' she
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 171 
 
 said. 'We must break it open. Who's 
 got a hammer ? ' 
 
 Tools were procured, and, working 
 under the Signorina's directions, after 
 a good deal of trouble, we laid bare a 
 neat little safe embedded in the wall. 
 This safe was legibly inscribed on the 
 outside ' Burglar's Puzzle.' We, however, 
 were not afraid of making a noise, and 
 it only puzzled us for ten minutes. 
 
 When opened it revealed a Golconda ! 
 There lay in securities and cash no less 
 than 500,000 dollars ! 
 
 We smiled at one another. 
 
 'A sad revelation,' I remarked. 
 
 ' Hoary old fox ! ' said the Colonel. 
 
 No wonder the harbour works were 
 unremunerative in their early stages. 
 The President must have kept them at 
 a very early stage. 
 
 'What are you people up to?' cried Cam 
 
 'Rank burglary, my dear boy,' I re- 
 plied, and we retreated with our spoil.
 
 172 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Now,' said I to the Colonel, ' what 
 are you going to do ? ' 
 
 'Why, what do you think, Mr Martin?' 
 interposed the Signorina. ' He's going to 
 give you your money, and divide the rest 
 with his sincere friend Christina Nugent.' 
 
 'Well, I suppose so,' said the Colonel. 
 * But it strikes me you're making a good 
 thing of this, Martin.' 
 
 'My dear Colonel,' said I, 'a bargain 
 is a bargain, and where would you have 
 been without my money ? ' 
 
 The Colonel made no reply, but handed 
 me the money, which I liked much better. 
 I took the 320,000 dollars, and said, 
 
 ' Now, I can face the world, an honest 
 man.' 
 
 The Signorina laughed. 
 
 ' / am glad,' she said, ' chiefly for 
 poor old Jones's sake. It'll take a load 
 off his mind.' 
 
 The Colonel proceeded to divide the re- 
 mainder into two little heaps, one of which
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 173 
 
 he pushed one over to the Signorina. She 
 took it gaily, saying, 
 
 ' Now I shall make curl papers of half 
 my bonds, and I shall rely on the — what 
 do you call it ? — the Provisional Govern- 
 ment to pay the rest. You remember 
 about the house ? ' 
 
 ' I'll see about that soon,' said the 
 Colonel impatientl3\ ' You two seem 
 to think there's nothing to do but take 
 the money. You forget we've got to 
 make our position safe.' 
 
 ' Exactly. The Colont^l's Government 
 must be carried on,' said I. 
 
 The Signorina did not catch the 
 allusion. She yawned, and said, 
 
 ' Oh, then, I shall go. Rely on my 
 loyalty, your Excellency.' 
 
 She made him a curtsey and went to 
 the door. As I opened it for her she 
 whispered, ' Horrid old bear ! Come and 
 see me, Jack,' and so vanished, carrying 
 off her dollars.
 
 174 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 I returned and sat down opposite the 
 Colonel. 
 
 ' I wonder how she knew about the 
 washing-stand,' I remarked. 
 
 ' Because Whittingham was fool enough 
 to tell her, I suppose,' said the Colonel 
 testily, as if he disliked the subject. 
 
 Then we settled to business. This un- 
 ambitious tale does not profess to be a 
 complete history of Aureataland, and I 
 will spare my readers the recital of our 
 discussion. We decided at last that 
 matters were still so critical, owing to 
 the President's escape, that the ordinary 
 forms of law and Constitutional Govern- 
 ment must be temporarily suspended. 
 The chamber was not in Session, which 
 made this course easier. The Colonel 
 was to be proclaimed President and to 
 assume supreme power under martial 
 law for some weeks, while we looked 
 about us. It was thought better that my 
 name should not appear officially, but I
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 175 
 
 agreed to take in hand, under his super- 
 vision, all matters relating to finance. 
 
 ' We can't pay the interest on the real 
 debt,' he said. 
 
 * No,' I replied ; ' you must issue a 
 notice, setting forth that, owing to General 
 Whittingham's malversations, payments 
 must be temporarily suspended. Promise 
 it will be all right later on.' 
 
 ' Very good,' said he ; ' and now I shall 
 go and look up those officers. I must 
 keep them in good temper, and the men 
 too. I shall give 'em another ten thousand.' 
 
 'Generous hero!' said I, 'and I shall go 
 and restore this cash to my employers.' 
 
 It was twelve o'clock when I left the 
 Golden House and strolled quietly down 
 to Liberty Street. The larger part of 
 the soldiers had been drawn off, but a 
 couple of companies still kept guard in the 
 Piazza. The usual occupations of life were 
 going on amid a confused stir of excite- 
 ment, and I saw by the interest my appear-
 
 176 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ance aroused that some part at least of my 
 share in the nlcrht's doino: had leaked out. 
 The Gazette had published a special edi- 
 tion, in which it hailed the advent of free- 
 dom, and, while lauding McGregor to the 
 skies, bestowed a warm commendation on 
 the ' noble Englishman who, with a native 
 love of liberty, had taken on himself the 
 burden of Aureataland in her hour of 
 travail.' The metaphor struck me as in- 
 appropriate, but the sentiment was most 
 healthy ; and when I finally beheld two 
 officers of police sitting on the head of a 
 drunken man for toasting the falling regime, 
 I could say to myself, as I turned into the 
 bank, ' Order reigns in Warsaw.' 
 
 General assent had proclaimed a sus- 
 pension of commerce on this auspicious 
 day, and I found Jones sitting idle and ill 
 at ease. I explained to him the state ol 
 affairs, showing how the President's dis- 
 honourable scheme had compelled me, in 
 the interests of the bank, to take a more
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 177 
 
 or less active part in the revolution. It 
 was pathetic to hear him bewail the villainy 
 of the man he had trusted, and when I 
 produced the money, he blessed me fer- 
 vently, and at once proposed writing to 
 the Directors a full account of the 
 matter. 
 
 ' They are bound to vote you an 
 honorarium, sir,' he said. 
 
 ' I don't know, Jones,' I replied. ' I am 
 afraid there is a certain prejudice against 
 me at headquarters. But in any case I 
 have resolved to forego the personal ad- 
 vantage that might accrue to me from my 
 conduct. President McGregor has made 
 a strong representation to me that the 
 schemes of General Whittingham, if pub- 
 licly known, would, however unjustly, 
 prejudice the credit of Aureataland, and 
 he appealed to me not to give particulars 
 to the world. In matters such as these, 
 Jones, we cannot be guided solely by 
 selfish considerations.' 
 
 M
 
 1 78 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 * God forbid, sir!' said Jones, much 
 moved. 
 
 ' I have, therefore, consented to restrict 
 myself to a confidential communication to 
 the Directors ; they must judge how far 
 they will pass it on to the shareholders. 
 To the world at large I shall say nothing 
 of the second loan ; and I know you will 
 oblige me by treating this money as the 
 product of realisations in the ordinary 
 course of business. The recent disturb- 
 ances will quite account for so large a sum 
 being called in.' 
 
 ' I don't quite see how I can arrange 
 that' 
 
 ' Ah, you are overdone,' said I. ' Leave 
 it all to me, Jones.' 
 
 And this I persuaded him to do. In 
 fact, he was so relieved at seeing the 
 money back that he was easy to deal with ; 
 and if he suspected anything, he was over- 
 awed by my present exalted position. He 
 appeared to forget what I could not, that
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 179 
 
 the President, no doubt, still possessed 
 that fatal cable ! 
 
 After lunch I remembered my engage- 
 ment with the Signorina, and, putting on 
 my hat, was bidding farewell to business, 
 when Jones said, 
 
 ' There's a note just come for you, sir, 
 A little boy brought it while you were out 
 at lunch.' 
 
 He gave it me — a little dirty envelope, 
 with an illiterate scrawl. I opened it care- 
 lessly, but as my eye fell on the President's 
 hand, I started in amazement. The note 
 was dated ' Saturday — From on board 
 The Songstress,' and ran as follows : — 
 
 ' Dear Mr Martin, — I must confess 
 to having underrated your courage and 
 abilities. If you care to put them at my 
 disposal now, I will accept them. In the 
 other event, I must refer you to my public 
 announcement. In any case it may be 
 useful to you to know that McGregor
 
 i8o A MAN OF MARK 
 
 designs to marry Signorina Nugent. I 
 fear that on my return it will be hardly 
 consistent with my public duties to spare 
 your life (unless you accept my present 
 offer), but I shall always look back to 
 your acquaintance with pleasure. I have, 
 if you will allow me to say so, seldom 
 met a young man with such natural gifts 
 for finance and politics. I shall anchor 
 five miles out from Whittingham to-night 
 (for I know you have no ships), and if you 
 join me, well and good. If not, I shall 
 consider your decision irrevocable. — Be- 
 lieve me, dear Mr Martin, faithfully yours, 
 ' Marcus W. Whittingham, 
 ' President of the Republic 
 
 ' of Aureataland.' 
 
 It is a pleasant thing, as has been re- 
 marked, laudari a Imtdato viro, and the 
 President's praise was grateful to me. But 
 I did not see my way to fall in with his 
 views. He said nothing about the money,
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS i8i 
 
 but I knew well that its return would be 
 a condition of any alliance between us. 
 Again, I was sure that he also ' designed 
 to marry the Signorina,' and, if I must 
 have a rival on the spot, I preferred 
 McGregor in that capacity. Lastly, I 
 thought that after all there is a decency in 
 things, and I had better stick to my party. 
 I did not, however, tell McGregor about the 
 letter, merely sending him a line to say I 
 had heard that The Songstress was hover- 
 ing a few miles off, and he had better look 
 out. 
 
 This done, I resumed my interrupted 
 progress to the Signorina's. When I was 
 shown in, she greeted me kindly. 
 
 ' I have had a letter from the President,' 
 I said. 
 
 'Yes,' said she, 'he told me he had 
 written to you.' 
 
 'Why, have you heard from him? 
 
 ' Yes, just a little note. He is rather 
 cross with me.'
 
 1 82 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' I can quite understand that. Would 
 you like to see my letter ? ' 
 
 *0h, yes,' she replied carelessly. 
 She read it through and asked, 
 ' Well, are you going over to him — 
 going to forsake me ? ' 
 
 ' How can you ask me ? Won't you 
 show me your letter, Christina ? ' 
 
 * No, John,' she answered, mimicking my 
 impassioned tones. ' I may steal the Presi- 
 dent's savings, but I respect his confidence.' 
 ' You see what he says to me about 
 McGregor ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' said the Signorina. 'It is not, 
 you know, news to me. But, curious to 
 relate, the Colonel has just been here him- 
 self and told me the same thing. The 
 Colonel has not a nice way of making love. 
 Jack — not so nice as yours nearly.' 
 
 Thus encouraged I went and sat down 
 by her. I believe I took her hand. 
 ' You don't love him ? ' 
 ' Not at all,' she replied.
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 183 
 
 I must beg to be excused recording the 
 exact terms in which I placed my hand 
 and heart at the Signorina's disposal. I 
 was extremely vehement and highly absurd, 
 but she did not appear to be displeased. 
 
 ' I like you very much, Jack,' she said, 
 ' and it's very sweet of you to have made a 
 revolution for me. It was for me, Jack ? ' 
 
 ' Of course it was, my darling,' I 
 prompt])' replied. 
 
 ' But you know, Jack, I don't see how 
 we're much better off. Indeed, in a way 
 it's worse. The President wouldn't let 
 anybody else marry me, but he wasn't so 
 peremptory as the Colonel. The Colonel 
 declares he will marry me this day week ! ' 
 
 ' We'll see about that,' said I savagely. 
 
 ' Another revolution, Jack ? ' asked the 
 Signorina. 
 
 ' You needn't laugh at me,' I said sulkily. 
 
 ' Poor boy ! What are we idyllic lovers 
 to do ? ' 
 
 * I don't believe you're a bit in earnest.'
 
 1 84 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 'Yes, I am. Jack — now.' Then she 
 went on, with a sort of playful pity, ' Look 
 at my savage, jealous, broken-hearted Jack.' 
 
 I caught her in my arms and kissed her, 
 whispering hotly, 
 
 ' You will be true to me, sweet ? ' 
 
 ' Let me go,' she said. Then, leaning 
 over me as I flung myself back in a chair, 
 ' It's pleasant while it lasts ; try not to be 
 broken-hearted if it doesn't last.' 
 
 * If you love me, why don't you come 
 with me out of this sink of iniquity ^ ' 
 
 ' Run away with you ? ' she asked with 
 open amazement. ' Do you think that 
 we're the sort of people for a romantic 
 elopement? I am very earthy. And so are 
 you. Jack dear, nice earth, but earth, Jack.' 
 
 There was a good deal of truth in this 
 remark. We were not an ideal pair for 
 love in a cottage. 
 
 ' Yes,' I said. ' I've got no money.' 
 
 ' I've got a little money, but not much. 
 I've been paying debts,' she added proudly.
 
 DIVIDING THE SPOILS 185 
 
 ' I haven't been even doing that. And 
 I'm not quite equal to purloining that 
 300,000 dollars.' 
 
 'We must wait, Jack. But this I will 
 promise. I'll never marry the Colonel. 
 If it comes to that or running away, we'll 
 run away.' 
 
 ' And Whittingham ? ' 
 
 The Signorina for once looked grave. 
 
 ' You know him,' she said. ' Think 
 what he made you do ! and you're not a 
 weak man, or I shouldn't be fond of you. 
 Jack, you must keep him away from me.' 
 
 She was quite agitated ; and it was one 
 more tribute to the President's powers that 
 he should exert so strange an influence 
 over such a nature, I was burning to ask 
 her more about herself and the President, 
 but I could not while she was distressed. 
 And when I had comforted her, she reso- 
 lutely declined to return to the subject. 
 
 'No, go away now,' she said. 'Think 
 how we are to checkmate our two P.resi-
 
 1 86 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 dents. And, Jack, wliatever happens, I 
 got you back the money. I've done you 
 some good. So be kind to me. I'm not 
 very much afraid of your heart breaking. 
 In fact. Jack, we are neither of us good 
 young people. No, no, be quiet and go 
 away. You have plenty of useful things 
 to occupy your time.' 
 
 At last I accepted my dismissal, and 
 walked off, my happiness considerably 
 damped by the awkward predicament in 
 which we stood. Clearly McGregor meant 
 business ; and at this moment McGregor 
 was all powerful. If he kept the reins, I 
 should lose my love. If the President 
 came back, a worse fate still threatened. 
 Supposing it were possible to carry off the 
 Signorina, which I doubted very much, 
 where were we to go to ? And would 
 she come ? 
 
 On the whole, I did not think she 
 would come.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 
 
 IN Spite of my many anxieties, after 
 this eventful day I enjoyed the first 
 decent night's rest I had had for a week. 
 The Colonel refused, with an unnecessary 
 ostentation of scorn, my patriotic offer to 
 keep watch and ward over the city, and I 
 turned in, tired out, at eleven o'clock, after 
 a light dinner and a meditative pipe. I 
 felt I had some reasons for self-congratula- 
 tion ; for considerable as my present 
 difficulties were, yet I undoubtedly stood 
 in a more hopciful position than I had 
 before the revolution. I was now resolved 
 
 to get my money safe out of the country, 
 
 187
 
 i8S A MAN OF MARK 
 
 and I had hopes of being too much for 
 McGreofor in the other matter which 
 shared my thoughts. 
 
 The return of day, however, brought 
 new troubles. I was roused at an early 
 hour by a visit from the Colonel himself. 
 He brought very disquieting tidings. In 
 the course of the night every one of our 
 proclamations had been torn down or de- 
 faced with ribald scribblings ; posted over 
 or alongside them, there now hung multi- 
 tudinous enlarged copies of the President's 
 offensive notice. How or by whom these 
 seditious measures had been effected we 
 were at a loss to tell, for the officers and 
 troops were loud in declaring their vigil- 
 ance. In the very centre of the Piazza, 
 on the base of the President's statue, was 
 posted an enormous bill, ' Rememuer 
 1871 ! Death to Traitors !' 
 
 ' How could they do that unless the 
 soldiers were in it ? ' asked the Colonel 
 gloomily. ' I have sent those two com-
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 189 
 
 panics back to barracks and had another 
 lot out. But how do I know they'll be 
 any better ? I met DeChair just now and 
 asked him what the temper of the troops 
 was. The little brute grinned, and said, 
 " Ah, mon President, it would be better 
 if the good soldiers had a leetle more 
 money." ' 
 
 ' That's about it,' said I ; ' but then you 
 haven't got much more money.' 
 
 ' What I've got I mean to stick to,' said 
 the Colonel. ' If this thing is going to 
 burst up, I'm not going to be kicked out 
 to starve. I tell you what it is, Martin, 
 you must let me have some of that cash 
 back again.' 
 
 The effrontery of this request amazed 
 me. I was just drawing on the second 
 leg of my trousers (for it was impossible 
 to be comfortable in bed with that great 
 creature fuming about), and I stopped 
 with one leg in mid-air and gazed at him. 
 
 'Well, what's the matter? Why are
 
 190 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 you to dance out with all the plunder? ' he 
 asked. 
 
 The man's want of ordinary morality 
 was too revolting-. Didn't he know verv 
 well that the money wasn't mine ? Didn't 
 he himself obtain my help on the express 
 terms that I should have this monev to 
 repay the bank with ? I finished putting 
 on my garments, and then I replied, 
 
 ' Not a farthing, Colonel ; not a damned 
 farthing ! By our agreement that cash was 
 to be mine ; but for that I wouldn't have 
 touched your revolution with a pair of tongs. ' 
 
 He looked very savage, and muttered 
 something under his breath. 
 
 * You're carrying things with a high 
 hand,' he said. 
 
 ' I'm not going to steal to please you,' 
 said I. 
 
 ' You weren't always so scrupulous,' he 
 sneered. 
 
 I took no notice of this insult, but re- 
 peated my determination.
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 191 
 
 ' Look here, Martin,' he said, ' I'll give 
 you twenty-four hours to think it over ; 
 and let me advise you to change your 
 mind by then. I don't want to quarrel, 
 but I'm going to have some of that 
 money.' 
 
 Clearly he had learnt statecraft in his 
 predecessor's school ! ' Twenty-four hours 
 is something,' thought I, and determined 
 to try the cunning of the serpent. 
 
 * All right, Colonel; I said, * I'll think it 
 over. I don't pretend to like it ; but, after 
 all, I'm in with you and we must pull 
 together. We'll see how things look to- 
 morrow morning.' 
 
 * There's another matter I wanted to 
 speak to you about,' he went on. 
 
 I was now dressed, so I invited him 
 into the breakfast-room, gave him a cup 
 of coffee (which, to my credit, I didn't 
 poison), and began on my own eggs and 
 toast. 
 
 ' Fire away,' said I briefly.
 
 192 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' I suppose you know I'm going to be 
 married ? ' he remarked. 
 
 ' No, I hadn't heard,' I replied, feigning 
 to be entirely occupied with a very nimble 
 egg. ' Rather a busy time for marrying, 
 isn't it? Who is she?' 
 
 He gave a heavy laugh. 
 
 ' You needn't pretend to be so very 
 innocent ; I expect you could give a 
 pretty good guess.' 
 
 ' Madame Devarges ? ' I asked blandly. 
 ' Suitable match ; about your age — ' 
 
 ' I wish the devil you wouldn't try to be 
 funny ! ' he exclaimed. ' You know as 
 well as I do it's the Signorina.' 
 
 'Really?' I replied. 'Well, well, I 
 fancied you were a little touched in that 
 quarter. And she has consented to make 
 you happy ? ' 
 
 I was curious to see what he would say. 
 I knew he was a bad liar, and, as a fact, 
 I believe he told the truth on this occa- 
 sion, for he answered,
 
 BETWEEN T^^•0 FIRES 193 
 
 ' Says she never cared a straw for any 
 one else.' 
 
 Oh, Sfgnorlna ! 
 
 ' Not even Whittingham ? ' I asked maH- 
 ciousl)'. 
 
 ' Hates the old ruffian ! ' said the Colonel. 
 ' I once thought she had a liking for you, 
 Martin, but she laughed at the idea. I'm 
 glad of it, for we should have fallen out.' 
 
 I smiled in a somewhat sickly way, and 
 took refuge in my cup. When I emerged, 
 I asked, 
 
 ' And when is it to be ? ' 
 
 * Next Saturday.' 
 
 * So soon ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' he said. 'Fact is, between you 
 and me, Martin, she's ready enough.' 
 
 This was too disgusting. But whether 
 the Colonel was deceiving me, or the Sig- 
 norina had deceived him, I didn't know — 
 a little bit of both probably. I saw, how- 
 ever, what the Colonel's game was plainly 
 enough ; he was, in his clumsy way, warn- 
 
 N
 
 194 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ing me off his preserves, for, of course, he 
 knew my pretensions, and probably that 
 they had met with some success, and I 
 don't think I imposed on him very much. 
 But I was anxious to avoid a rupture and 
 gain time. 
 
 ' I must call and congratulate the lady,' 
 I said. 
 
 The Colonel couldn't very well object to 
 that, but he didn't like it. 
 
 ' Well, Christina told me she was very 
 busy, but I daresay she'll see you for a 
 few minutes.' 
 
 ' I daresay she will,' I said dryly. 
 
 ' I must be off now, I shall have to 
 be about all day trying to catch those 
 infernal fellows who destroyed the 
 bills.' 
 
 ' You won't be doing any business to- 
 day, then ? ' 
 
 ' What, about settling the Government ? ' 
 he asked, grinning. ' Not just yet. Wait 
 till I've got the Signorina and the money,
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 195 
 
 and then we'll see about that. You think 
 about the money, my boy ! ' 
 
 Much to my relief he then departed, 
 and as he went out I swore that neither 
 Signorina nor money should he ever 
 have. In the course of the next twenty- 
 four hours I must find a way to prevent 
 him. 
 
 ' Rather early for a call,' said I, * but I 
 must see the Signorina.' 
 
 On my way up I met several people, and 
 heard some interesting facts. In the first 
 place, no trace had appeared of Don 
 Antonio and his daughter ; rumour de- 
 clared that they had embarked on The 
 Songstress with the President and his faith- 
 ful doctor. Secondly, Johnny Carr was 
 still in bed at the Golden House (this from 
 Madame Devarges, who had been to see 
 him) ; but his men had disappeared, after 
 solemnly taking the oath to the new 
 Government. Item three. The Colonel 
 had been received with silence and black
 
 195 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 looks by the troops, and two officers had 
 vanished into space, both Americans, and 
 the only men of any good in a fight. 
 Things were looking rather blue, and I 
 began to think that I also should like to 
 disappear, provided I could carry off my 
 money and my mistress with me. My 
 scruples about loyalty had been removed 
 by the Colonel's overbearing conduct, and 
 I was ready for any step that promised me 
 the fulfilment of my own designs. It was 
 pretty evident that there would be no 
 living with McGregor in his present frame 
 of mind, and I was convinced that my best 
 course would be to cut the whole thing, or, 
 if that proved impossible, to see what 
 bargain I could make with the Presi- 
 dent. Of course all would go smoothly 
 with him if I gave up the dollars and 
 the lady ; a like sacrifice would conciliate 
 McGregor. But then I didn't mean to 
 make it. 
 
 ' One or other I will have,' said I, as I
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 197 
 
 knocked at the door of * Mon Repos,' ' and 
 both if possible.' 
 
 The Signorina was looking worried ; 
 indeed, I thought she had been crying. 
 
 ' Did you meet my aunt on your way 
 up ? ' she asked, the moment I was 
 announced. 
 
 * No,' said I. 
 
 'I've sent her away,' she continued. 
 ' All this fuss frightens her, so I got the 
 Colonel's leave (for you know we mustn't 
 move without permission now liberty has 
 triumphed) for her to seek change of air.' 
 
 ' Where's she going to ? ' I said. 
 
 ' Home,' said the Signorina. 
 
 I didn't know where ' home ' was, but I 
 never ask what I am not meant to know. 
 
 'Are you left alone?' 
 
 * Yes. I know it's not correct. But 
 you see. Jack, I had to choose between 
 care for my money and care for my reputa- 
 tion. The latter is always safe in my own 
 keeping; the former I wasn't so sure about.'
 
 198 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 Oh, so you've given it to Mrs Car- 
 rington ? 
 
 ' Yes, all but five thousand dollars.' 
 
 'Does the Colonel know that?' 
 
 ' Dear me, of course not, or he'd never 
 have let her go.' 
 
 ' You're very wise,' said I. 'I only 
 wish I could have sent my money with 
 her.' 
 
 ' I'm afraid that would have made dear 
 aunt rather bulky,' said the Signorina, 
 tittering. 
 
 ' Yes, such a lot of mine's in cash,' I 
 said regretfully. ' But won't they find it 
 on her ? ' 
 
 ' Not if they're gentlemen,' replied the 
 Signorina, darkly. 
 
 Evidently I" could not ask for further 
 details ; so, without more ado, I disclosed 
 my own perilous condition and the 
 Colonel's boasts about herself. 
 
 ' What a villain that man is ! ' she ex- 
 claimed. ' Of course I was civil to him,
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 199 
 
 but I didn't say half that. You didn't 
 beHeve I did, Jack ? ' 
 
 There's never any use in being un- 
 pleasant, so I said I had rejected the idea 
 with scorn. 
 
 ' But what's to be done ? If I'm here 
 to-morrow, he'll take the money, and, as 
 likely as not, cut my throat if I try to stop 
 him.' 
 
 ' Yes, and he'll marry me,' chimed in 
 the Signorina. ' Jack, we must have 
 a counter-revolution.' 
 
 ' I don't see what good that'll do,' I 
 answered dolefully. ' The President will 
 take the money just the same, and I expect 
 he'll marry you just the same.' 
 
 ' Of the two, I would rather have 
 him. Now don't rage,. Jack ! I only 
 said, " of the two." But you're quite 
 right ; it couldn't help us much to bring 
 General Whittingham back.' 
 
 ' To say nothing of the strong pro- 
 bability of my perishing in the attempt.'
 
 2 00 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 * Let me think,' said the Signorina, 
 knitting her brows. 
 
 ' May I light a cigarette and help 
 you ? ' 
 
 She nodded permission, and I awaited 
 the result of her meditation. 
 
 She sat there, looking very thoughtful 
 and troubled, but it seemed to me as if 
 she were rather undergoing a conflict 
 of feeling than thinking out a course 
 of action. Once she glanced at me, 
 then turned away with a restless move- 
 ment and a si^h. 
 
 I finished mv ciofarette, and flinorinor it 
 away, strolled up to the window to look 
 out. I had stood there a little while, 
 when I heard her call softly, 
 
 'Jack!' 
 
 I turned and came to her, kneeling 
 down by her side and taking her hands. 
 
 She gazed rather intently into my 
 face with unusual gravity. Then she 
 saidj
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 20 r 
 
 ' If you have to choose between me and 
 the money, which will it be?' 
 
 I kissed her hand for answer. 
 
 ' If the money Is lost, won't it all 
 come out ? And then won't they call 
 you dishonest ? ' 
 
 ' I suppose so,' said I. 
 
 ' You don't mind that ? ' 
 
 * Yes, I do. Nobody likes being called 
 a thief — especially when there's a kind 
 of truth about it. But I should mind 
 losing" you more.' 
 
 ' Are you really very fond of me, Jack ? 
 No, you needn't say so. I think you 
 are. Now I'll tell you a secret. If you 
 hadn't come here, I should have married 
 General Whittingham long ago, I stayed 
 here intending to do it (oh, yes, I'm not 
 a nice girl. Jack), and he asked me very 
 soon after you first arrived. I gave him 
 my money, you know, then.' 
 
 I was listening intently. It seemed as 
 if some things were going to be cleared up.
 
 202 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Well,' she continued, ' you know what 
 happened. You fell in love with me, I 
 tried to make you, and then I suppose 
 I fell a little in love with you. At any- 
 rate I told the President I wouldn't marry 
 him just then. Some time after, I wanted 
 some money, and I asked him to give 
 me back mine. He utterly refused ; 
 you know his quiet way. He said he 
 would keep it for " Mrs Whittingham." 
 Oh, I could have killed him ! But I 
 didn't dare to break with him openly ; 
 besides, he's very hard to fight against. 
 We had constant disputes ; he would 
 never give back the money, and I 
 declared I wouldn't marry him unless I 
 had it first, and not then unless I chose. 
 He was very angry and swore I should 
 marry him without a penny of it ; and 
 so it went on. But he never suspected 
 you, Jack, not till quite the end Then 
 we found out about the debt, you know ; 
 and about the same time I saw he at
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 203 
 
 last suspected something between you and 
 me. And the very day before we came to 
 the bank he drove me to desperation. He 
 stood beside me in this room, and said, 
 " Christina, I am growing old. I shall wait 
 no longer. I believe you're in love with 
 that young Martin." Then he apologised 
 for his plain speaking, for he's always 
 gentle in manner. And I defied him. 
 And then, Jack, what do you think he did.-^' 
 
 I sprang up in a fury. 
 
 ' What ? ' I cried. 
 
 ' He laughed!' said the Signorina, with 
 tragic intensity. ' I couldn't stand that. 
 So I joined the Colonel in upsetting him. 
 Ah, he shouldn't have laughed at me ! ' 
 
 And indeed she looked at this moment 
 a dangerous subject for such treatment. 
 
 ' I knew what no one else knew, and I 
 could influence him as no one else could, 
 and I had my revenge. But now,' she 
 said, ' it all ends in nothing.' 
 
 And she broke down, sobbino-.
 
 204 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 Then, recovering herself, and motioning 
 me to be still, she went on, 
 
 ' You may think, after holding him at 
 bay so long, I have little to fear from the 
 Colonel. But it's different. The Presi- 
 dent has no scruples ; but he is a gentle- 
 man — as far as women are concerned. I 
 mean — he wouldn't — ' 
 
 She stopped. 
 
 ' But McGregor ? ' I asked, in a hoarse 
 whisper. 
 
 She drooped her head on my shoulder. 
 
 ' I daren't stay here, Jack, with him,' 
 she whispered. * If you can't take me 
 away, I must go to the President. I shall 
 be at least safe with him ! ' 
 
 ' Damn the ruffian ! ' I growled — not 
 meaning the President, but his successor. 
 'I'll shoot him!' 
 
 'No, no. Jack!' she cried. 'You must 
 be quiet and cautious. But I must go to- 
 night — to-night, Jack, either with you or 
 to the President.'
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 205 
 
 'My darling, you shall come with me,' 
 said I. 
 
 'Wh.^re?' 
 
 ' Oh, out of this somewhere.' 
 
 ' How are we to escape ? ' 
 
 ' Now, you sit down, dear, and try to 
 stop crying — you break my heart — and I'll 
 think. It's my turn now.' 
 
 I carried her to the sofa, and she lay 
 still, but with her eyes fixed on me. I was 
 full of rage against McGregor, but I 
 couldn't afford the luxury of indulging it, 
 so I gave my whole mind to finding a way 
 out for us. At last I seemed to hit upon 
 a plan. 
 
 The Signorina saw the inspiration in my 
 eye. She jumped up and came to me. 
 
 ' Have you got it, Jack ? ' she said. 
 
 ' I think so — if you will trust yourself 
 to me, and don't mind an uncomfortable 
 night.' 
 
 ' Go on.' 
 
 'You know my little steam launch? It
 
 2o6 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 will be dark to-night. If we can get on 
 board with a couple of hours' start we can 
 show anybody a clean pair of heels. She 
 travels a good pace, and it's only fifty miles 
 to safety and foreign soil. I shall land 
 there a beggar ! ' 
 
 ' I don't mind that, Jack,' she said. ' I 
 have my five thousand, and aunt will join 
 us with the rest. But how are we to get 
 on board ? Besides, oh, Jack ! the Presi- 
 dent watches the coast every night with 
 T/ze Songsh^ess — and you know she's got 
 steam — Mr Carr just had auxiliary steam 
 put in.' 
 
 ' No,' I said, ' I didn't know about that. 
 Look here, Christina, excuse the question, 
 but can you communicate with the Presi- 
 dent } ' 
 
 'Yes,' she said, after a second's hesitation. 
 
 This was what I suspected. 
 
 ' And will he believe what you tell him ? ' 
 
 ' I don't know. He might and he might 
 not. He'll probably act as if he didn't.'
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 207 
 
 I appreciated the justice of this forecast 
 of General Whittino:ham's measures. 
 
 ' Well, we must chance it,' I said. ' At 
 any rate, better be caught by him than stay 
 here. We were, perhaps, a little hasty 
 with that revolution of ours.' 
 
 ' I never thought the Colonel was so 
 wicked,' said the Signorina. 
 
 We had no time to waste in abusing our 
 enemy ; the question was how to outwit 
 him. I unfolded my plan to the Signorina, 
 not at all disguising from her the diffi- 
 culties, and even dangers, attendant upon 
 it. Whatever may have been her mind 
 before and after, she was at this moment 
 either so overcome with her fear of the 
 Colonel, or so carried away by her feeling 
 for me, that she made nothing of difficulties 
 and laughed at dangers, pointing out that 
 though failure would be ignominious, It 
 could not substantially aggravate our pre- 
 sent position. Whereas if we succeeded — ! 
 
 The thought of success raised a pro-
 
 2oS A MAX OF MARK 
 
 spect of bliss in which we revcl'ed for a 
 few minutes ; then, warned by the stroke 
 of twelve, we returned to business. 
 
 ' Are you going to take any of the 
 money aiway with you ? ' she asked. 
 
 ' No,' said I, ' I don't think so. It 
 would considerably increase the risk if I 
 were seen hanging about the bank ; you 
 know he's got spies all over the place. 
 Besides, what good would it do ? I 
 couldn't stick to it, and I'm not inclined 
 to run any more risks merely to save the 
 bank's pocket. The bank hasn't treated 
 me so well as all that. I propose to rely 
 on your bounty till I've time to turn 
 round.' 
 
 ' Now, shall I come for you ? ' I asked 
 her when we had arranged the other 
 details. 
 
 ' I think not,' she said. ' I believe the 
 Colonel has one of my servants in his 
 pay. I can slip out by myself, but I 
 couldn't manage so well if you were with
 
 BETWEEN TWO FIRES 209 
 
 me. The sight of you would excite curi- 
 osity. I will meet you at the bottom of 
 Liberty Street.' 
 
 ' At two o'clock in the morning exactly, 
 please. Don't come through the Piazza 
 and Liberty Street. Come round by the 
 drive.' (This was a sort of boulevard 
 encircling the town, where the aristocracy 
 was wont to ride and drive.) ' Things 
 ought to be pretty busy about the bank 
 by then, and no one will notice you. You 
 have a revolver ? ' 
 
 ' Yes.' 
 
 'All right. Don't hurt anyone if you 
 can help it ; but if you do, don't leave 
 him to linger in agony. Now I'm off,' I 
 continued. ' I suppose I'd better not come 
 and see you again ? ' 
 
 ' I'm afraid you mustn't, Jack. You've 
 been here two hours already.' 
 
 ' I shall be in my rooms in the after- 
 noon. If anything goes wrong, send your 
 carriage down the street and have it
 
 2 10 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 stopped at the grocer's. I shall take that 
 for a sign.' 
 
 The Signorina agreed, and we parted 
 tenderly. My last words were, 
 
 ' You'll send that message to Whit- 
 tingham at once ? ' 
 
 'This moment,' she said, as she waved 
 me a kiss from the door of the room.
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 
 
 I WAS evidently in for another day as 
 unpleasantly exciting as the one I 
 had spent before the revolution, and I 
 reflected sadly that if a man once goes in 
 for things of that kind, it's none so easy 
 to pull up. Luckily, however, I had 
 several things to occupy me, and was not 
 left to fret the day away in idleness. First 
 I turned my steps to the harbour. As I 
 went I examined my pockets and found 
 a sum total of nine hundred and fifty 
 dollars. This was my all, for of late I had 
 deemed it wise to carry my fortune on my 
 person Well, this was enough for the 
 
 211
 
 212 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 present ; the future must take care of it- 
 self. So I thought to myself as I went 
 along with a light heart, my triumph in 
 love easily outweighing all the troubles 
 and dangers that beset me. Only land me 
 safe out of Aureataland with the Signorina 
 by my side, and I asked nothing more of 
 fortune ! Let the dead bury their dead, 
 and the bank lock after its dollars ! 
 
 Thus musing, I came to the boat-house 
 where my launch lay. She was a tidy 
 little boat, and had the advantage of being 
 workable by one man without any diffi- 
 culty. All I had to arrange was how to 
 embark on her unperceived. I summoned 
 the boatman in charge, and questioned 
 him closely about the probable state of 
 the weather. He confidently assured me 
 it would be fine but dark. 
 
 * Very well,' said I, 'I shall go fishing ; 
 start overnight, and have a shy at them at 
 sunrise.' 
 
 The man was rather astonished at my
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 213 
 
 unwonted energy, but of course made no 
 objection. 
 
 'What time shall you start, sir?' he 
 asked. 
 
 ' I want her ready by two,' said I. 
 
 ' Do you want me to go with you, sir ? ' 
 
 I pretended to consider, and then told 
 him, to his obvious relief, that I could 
 dispense with his services. 
 
 ' Leave her at the end of your jetty,' I 
 said, ' ready for me. She'll be all safe 
 there, won't she ? ' 
 
 'Oh, yes, sir. Nobody '11 be about, except 
 the sentries, and they won't touch her.' 
 
 I privately hoped that not even the 
 sentries would be about, but I didn't 
 say so. 
 
 ' Of course, sir, I shall lock the gate. 
 You've got your key ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, all right, and here you are — and 
 much obliged for your trouble.' 
 
 Highly astonished and grateful at re- 
 ceiving a large tip for no obvious reason
 
 2 14 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 (rather a mistake on my part), the man 
 was profuse in promising' to make every 
 arrangement for my comfort. Even when 
 I asked for a (ew cushions, he dissembled 
 his scorn and agreed to put them in. 
 
 'And mind you don't sit up,' I said as 
 I left him. 
 
 ' I'm not likely to sit up if I'm not 
 obliged,' he answered. ' Hope you'll 
 have good sport, sir.' 
 
 From the harbour I made my way 
 straight to the Golden House. The 
 Colonel was rather surprised to see me 
 again so soon, but when I told him I 
 came on business, he put his occupations 
 on one side and listened to me. 
 
 I began with some anxiety, for if he 
 suspected my good faith all would be 
 lost. However, I was always a good 
 hand at a lie, and the Colonel was not 
 the President. 
 
 ' I've come about that money question,' 
 I said.
 
 WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 215 
 
 ' Well, have you come to your senses ? ' 
 he asked, with his habitual rudeness. 
 
 ' I can't give you the money,' I went 
 on. 
 
 ' The devil you can't ! ' he broke in. 
 ' You sit there and tell me that ? Do you 
 know that if the soldiers don't have money 
 in a few hours, they'll upset me ? They're 
 ready to do it any minute. By Jove ! 
 I don't know now when I give an order 
 whether I shall be obeyed or get a bullet 
 through my head.' 
 
 ' Pray be calm,' said I. ' You didn't let 
 me finish ! ' 
 
 ' Let you finish ! ' he cried. ' You 
 seem to thuik jabber does everything. 
 The end of it all is, that either you give 
 me the money, or I take it — and if you 
 interfere, look out ! ' 
 
 ' That was just what I was going to 
 propose, if you hadn't interrupted me,' 
 I said quietly, but with inward exultation, 
 for I saw he was just in the state of mind
 
 2i6 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 to walk eagerly into the trap I was pre- 
 paring for him. 
 
 ' What do you mean ? ' he asked. 
 
 I explained to him that it was impos- 
 sible for me to give up the money. My 
 reputation was at stake ; it was my duty 
 to die in defence of that money — a duty 
 which, I hastened to add, I entertained 
 no intention of performing. 
 
 ' But,' I went on, 'although I am bound 
 not to surrender the money, I am not 
 bound to anticipate a forcible seizure of 
 it. In times of disturbance parties of 
 ruffians often turn to plunder. Not even 
 the most rigorous precautions can guard 
 against it. Now it would be very possible 
 that even to-night a band of such marauders 
 might make an attack on the bank, and 
 carry off all the money in the safe.' 
 
 ' Oh ! ' said the Colonel, ' that's the 
 game, is it ? ' 
 
 'That,' I replied, 'is the game; and a very 
 neat game too, if you'll play it properly.'
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 217 
 
 'And what will they say In Europe, 
 when they hear the Provisional Govern- 
 ment is looting private property ? ' 
 
 ' My dear Colonel, you force me to 
 much explanation. You will, of course, 
 not appear in the matter.' 
 
 ' I should like to be there,' he remarked. 
 ' If I weren't, the men mightn't catch the 
 exact drift of the thing.' 
 
 ' You will be there, of course, but incog- 
 nito. Look here. Colonel, it's as plain as 
 two peas. Give out that you're going to 
 reconnoitre the coast and keep an eye on 
 The Songstress. Draw off your companies 
 from the Piazza on that pretence. Then 
 take fifteen or twenty men you can trust — 
 not more, for it's no use taking more than 
 you can help, and resistance is out of the 
 question. About two, when everything 
 is quiet, surround the bank. Jones will 
 open when you knock. Don't hurt him, 
 but take him outside and keep him quiet. 
 Go in and take the money. Here's the
 
 2i8 A iMAN OF MARK 
 
 key of the safe. Then, if 30U Hke, set 
 fire to the place.' 
 
 ' Bravo, my boy ! ' said the Colonel. 
 ' There's stuff in you after all. Upon my 
 word, I was afraid you were going to 
 turn virtuous.' 
 
 I laughed as wickedly as I could. 
 
 * And what are you going to get out of 
 it ? ' he said. ' I suppose that's coming 
 next ? ' 
 
 As the reader knows, I wasn't going to 
 get anything out of it, except myself and 
 the Signorina. But it wouldn't do to tell 
 the Colonel that ; he would not believe in 
 disinterested conduct. So I bargained 
 with him for a do7tceur of thirty thousand 
 dollars, which he promised so readily that 
 I strongly doubted whether he ever meant 
 to pay it. 
 
 ' Do you think there's any danger of 
 Whittingham making an attack while 
 we're engaged on the job ? ' 
 
 The Colonel was, in common parlance
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 219 
 
 getting rather ivanner than I Hked. It 
 was necessary to mislead him. 
 
 ' I don't think so,' I replied. ' He can't 
 possibly have organised much of a party 
 here yet. There's some discontent, no 
 doubt, but not enough for him to rely on.' 
 
 'There's plenty of discontent,' said the 
 Colonel. 
 
 ' There won't be in a couple of hours.' 
 
 ' Why not .? ' 
 
 ' Why, because you're going down to 
 the barracks to announce a fresh instal- 
 ment of pay to the troops to-morrow 
 morning — a handsom^^ instalment.' 
 
 'Yes,' said he thoughtfully, 'that ought 
 to keep them quiet for one night. Fact is, 
 they don't care twopence either for me or 
 Whittingham ; and if they think they'll 
 get more out of me they'll stick to me.' 
 
 Of course I assented. Indeed, it was 
 true enouorh as lonof as the President was 
 not on the spot ; but I thought privately, 
 that the Colonel did not allow enoufrh for
 
 2 20 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 his rival's personal influence ^xiA prestige^ 
 if he once got face to face with the troops. 
 
 ' Yes,' the Colonel went on, ' I'll do 
 that, and what's more, I'll put the people 
 in good humour by sending down orders 
 for free drink in the Piazza to-night.' 
 
 ' Delightfully old-fashioned and baronial,' 
 I remarked. * I think it's a good idea. 
 Have a bonfire and make it complete. I 
 don't suppose Whittingham dreams of 
 any attempt, but it will make the riot 
 even more plausible.' 
 
 ' At any rate, they'll all be too drunk to 
 make trouble,' said he. 
 
 'Well, that's about all, isn't it.^*' said I. 
 ' I shall be off I've got to write to my 
 Directors and ask instructions for the in- 
 vestment of the money.* 
 
 ' You'll live to be hanged, Martin,' said 
 the Colonel, with evident admiration. 
 
 ' Not by you, eh, Colonel ? Whatever 
 might have happened If I'd been obstinate ! 
 Hope I shall survive to dance at your
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 221 
 
 wedding, anyhow. Less than a week 
 now ! ' 
 
 ' Yes,' said he, * it's Sunday (though, by 
 Jove, I'd forgotten it), and next Saturday's 
 the day ! ' 
 
 He really looked quite the happy bride- 
 groom as he said this, and I left him to 
 contemplate his bliss. 
 
 ' I would bet ten to one that day never 
 comes,' I thought, as I walked away. 
 'Even if I don't win I'll back the Presi- 
 dent to be back before that.' 
 
 The Colonel's greed had triumphed over 
 his wits, and he had fallen into my snare 
 with greater readiness than I could have 
 hoped. The question remained. What 
 would the President do when he got the 
 Signorina's letter? It may conduce to a 
 better understanding of the position if I 
 tell what that letter was. She gave it 
 me to read over, after we had compiled 
 it together, and I still have my copy. It 
 ran as follows : —
 
 2 22 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' I can hardly hope you will trust me 
 again, but if I betrayed you, you drove me 
 to it. I have given them your money ; it 
 is in the bank now. M, refuses to oive it 
 
 o 
 
 up, and the C. means to take it to-night. 
 He will have only a few men, the rest not 
 near. He will be at the bank at two, 
 with about twenty men. Take your own 
 measures. All here favour you. He 
 threatens me with violence unless I marry 
 him at once. He watches The Songstress^ 
 but if you can leave her at anchor and land 
 in a boat there will be no suspicion. I 
 swear this is true ; do not punish me more 
 by disbelieving me. I make no protest. 
 But if you come back to me I will give you, 
 in return for pardon, anything you ask I 
 
 ' Christina. 
 
 ' P.S. — M. and the C. are on bad terms, 
 and M. will not be active against you.' 
 
 Upon the whole I thought this would 
 brinof him. I doubted whether he would
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 223 
 
 believe very much in it, but it looked pro- 
 bable (indeed, it was word for word true, 
 as far as it went), and held out a bait that 
 he would find it hard to resist. Again, he 
 was so fond of a bold stroke, and so devoid 
 of fear, that it was very likely he would 
 come and see if it were true. If, as we 
 suspected, he already had a considerable 
 body of adherents on shore, he could land 
 and reconnoitre without very great dangrr 
 of falling into the Colonel's hands. Finally, 
 even if he didn't come, we hoped the letter 
 would be enough to divert his attention 
 from any thought of fugitive boats and 
 runaway lovers. I could have made the 
 terms of it even more alluring, but the 
 Signorina, with that extraordinarily dis- 
 torted morality distinctive of her sex, re- 
 fused to swear to anything literally untrue 
 in a letter which was itself from beginning 
 to end a monumental falsehood ; though 
 r>nt a student of ethics, she was keenly 
 alive to tne distinction between the ex-
 
 2 24 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 pressio fa/si diwd xh^ stippressio vcri. The 
 only passage she doubted about was the 
 last, ' If you come back to me.' ' But 
 then he won't come back to vie if I'm 
 not there!' she exclaimed, triumphantly. 
 What happened to him after he landed — 
 whether he cooked the Colonel's goose or 
 the Colonel cooked his — I really could 
 not afford to consider. As a matter of 
 personal preference, I should have liked 
 the former, but I did not allow any such 
 considerations to influence my conduct. 
 My only hope v;as that the killing would 
 take long" enough to leave time for our 
 unobtrusive exit. At the same time, as a 
 matter of betting, I would have laid long 
 odds against McGregor. 
 
 To my mind it is nearly as difficult to 
 be consistently selfish as to be absolutely 
 unselfish. I had, at this crisis, every in- 
 ducement to concentrate all my efforts on 
 myself, but I could not get Jones out of 
 my head. It was certainly improbable that
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 225 
 
 Jones would try to resist the marauding 
 party ; but neither the Colonel nor his 
 chosen band was likely to be scrupulous, 
 and it was impossible not to see that Jones 
 might get a bullet through his head ; 
 indeed, I fancied such a step would rather 
 commend itself to the Colonel, as giving a 
 bona fide look to the affair. Jones had 
 often been a cause of great inconvenience 
 to me, but I didn't wish to have his death 
 on my conscience, so I was very glad when 
 I happened to meet him on my way back 
 from the Golden House, and seized the 
 opportunity of giving him a friendly hint. 
 
 I took him and sat him down beside me 
 on a bench in the Piazza. I was in no 
 way disturbed by the curious glances of 
 three soldiers who were evidently charged 
 to keep an eye on the bank and my 
 dealings with it. 
 
 I began by pledging Jones to absolute 
 secrecy, and then I intimated to him, in a 
 roundabout way, that the Colonel and I 
 
 p
 
 226 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 were both very apprehensive of cUi attack 
 on the bank. 
 
 ' The town,' I said, ' is in a most un- 
 settled condition, and many dangerous 
 characters are about. Under these cir- 
 cumstances I have felt compelled to leave 
 the defence of our property in the hands 
 of the Government. I have formally in- 
 timated to the authorities that we shall 
 hold them responsible for any loss occa- 
 sioned to us by public disorder. The 
 Colonel, in the name of the Government, 
 has accepted that responsibility. I there- 
 fore desire to tell you, Mr Jones, that in 
 the lamentable event of any attack on the 
 bank it will not be expected of you to 
 expose your life by resistance. Such a 
 sacrifice would be both uncalled for and 
 useless ; and I must instruct you that the 
 Government insists that their measures 
 shall not be put in danger of frustration 
 by any rash conduct on our part. I am 
 unable to be at the bank this evening ;
 
 I WORK UPON HUMAN NATURE 227 
 
 but in the event of any trouble you will 
 oblige me by not attempting to meet force 
 by force. You will yield, and we shall 
 rely on our remedy against the Govern- 
 ment in case of loss.' 
 
 These instructions so fully agreed with 
 the natural bent of Jones's mind that he 
 readily acquiesced in them and expressed 
 high appreciation of my foresight. 
 
 'Take care of yourself and Mrs Jones, 
 my dear fellow,' I concluded ; ' that is all 
 you have to do, and I shall be satisfied.' 
 
 I parted from him affectionately, wonder- 
 ing if my path in life would ever cross 
 the honest stupid old fellow's again, and 
 heartily hoping that his fortune woukl 
 soon take him out of the rogues' nest in 
 which he had been dwelling.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 
 
 THE night came on, fair and stilly 
 clear and star-lit ; but there was no 
 moon and, outside the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood of the main streets, the darkness 
 was enough to favour our hope of escaping 
 notice without being so intense as to em- 
 barrass our footsteps. Everything, in fact, 
 seemed to be on our side, and I was full of 
 buoyant confidence as I drank a last soli- 
 tary glass to the success of our enterprise, 
 put my revolver in my pocket, and, on the 
 stroke of midnight, stole from my lodgings. 
 I looked up towards the bank and dimly 
 
 descried three or four motionless figures, 
 
 228
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 229 
 
 whom I took to be sentries guarding the 
 treasure. The street itself was almost 
 deserted, but from where I stood I could 
 see the Piazza crowded with a throng of 
 people whose shouts and songs told me 
 that the Colonel's hospitality was being 
 fully appreciated. There was dancing 
 going on to the strains of the military 
 band, and every sign showed that our good 
 citizens intended, in familiar phrase, to 
 make a night of it. 
 
 I walked swiftly and silently down to 
 the jetty. Yes, the boat was all right ! 
 I looked to her fires, and left her moored 
 by one rope ready to be launched into the 
 calm black sea in an instant. Then I 
 strolled along by the harbour side. Here 
 I met a couple of sentries. Innocently I 
 entered into conversation with them, con- 
 doling on their hard fate in being kept on 
 duty while pleasure was at the helm in the 
 Piazza. Gently deprecating such excess 
 of caution, I pointed out to them the
 
 230 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 stationary lights of The Songstress four 
 or five miles out to sea, and with a re- 
 spectful smile at the Colonel's uneasiness, 
 left the seed I had sown to grow in pre- 
 pared soil. I dared do no more, and had 
 to trust for the rest to their natural inclina- 
 tion to the neglect of duty. 
 
 When I orot back to the bottom of 
 Liberty Street, I ensconced myself in the 
 shelter of a little group of trees which 
 stood at one side of the roadway. Just 
 across the road, which ran at right angles 
 to the street, the wood began, and a 
 quarter of an hour's walk tlirough its 
 shades would bring us to the jetty where 
 the boat lay. My trees made a perfect 
 screen, and here I stood awaiting events. 
 For some time nothing was audible but an 
 ever-increasing tumult of joviality from the 
 Piazza. But after about twenty minutes 
 I awoke to the fact that a constant dribble 
 of men, singly or in pairs, had begun to 
 flovv^ past me from the Piazza, down
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 231 
 
 Liberty Street, across the road behind 
 me, and into the wood. Some were in 
 uniform, others dressed in common clothes ; 
 one cr two I recoo^nised as members of 
 Johnny Carr's missing band. The strong 
 contrast between the prevaiHng revelry 
 and the stealthy cautious air of these 
 passers-by would alone have suggested 
 that they were bent on business ; putting 
 two and two together I had not the least 
 doubt that they were the President's ad- 
 herents making their way down to the 
 water's edo-e to receive their chief. So he 
 was coming ; the letter had done its work ! 
 Some fifty or more must have come and 
 gone before the stream ceased, and I 
 reflected, with great satisfaction, that the 
 Colonel was likely to have his hands very 
 full in the next hour or two. 
 
 Half-an-hour or so passed uneventfully ; 
 the bonfire still blazed ; the songs and 
 dancinfj were still in full swino;-. It was 
 close upon the fateful hour of two, when,
 
 232 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 looking from my hiding-place, I saw a 
 slight figure in black coming quickly and 
 fearfully along the road. 
 
 I recognised the Signorlna at once, as 
 I should recognise her any day among a 
 thousand, and, as she paused nearly oppo- 
 site where I was, I gently called her name 
 and showed myself for a moment. She 
 ran to me at once. 
 
 ' Is it all right ? ' she asked, breathlessly. 
 
 * We shall see in a moment,' said I. 
 'The attack is coming off; it will begin 
 directly.' 
 
 But the attack was not the next thing 
 we saw. We had both retreated again 
 to the friendly shadow whence we could 
 see without being seen. Hardly had we 
 settled ourselves than the Signorina whis- 
 pered to me, pointing across the road to 
 the wood, 
 
 'What's that. Jack?' 
 
 I followed the line of her fino-er and 
 made out a row of figures standing motion-
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 233 
 
 less and still on the very edge of the wood. 
 It was too dark to distinguish individuals ; 
 but even as we looked the silent air wafted 
 to our eager ears a low-voiced word of 
 command, 
 
 ' Mind, not a sound till I give the word.' 
 
 ' The President ! ' exclaimed the Sig- 
 norina, in a loud whisper. 
 
 ' Hush, or he'll hear,' said I, 'and we're 
 done.' 
 
 Clearly nothing would happen from that 
 quarter till it was called forth by events in 
 the opposite direction. The Signorina 
 was strongly agitated ; she clung to me 
 closely, and I saw with alarm that the 
 very proximity of the man she stood in 
 such awe of was too much for her com- 
 posure. When I had soothed, and I fear 
 half-frightened, her into stillness, I again 
 turned my eyes towards the Piazza. The 
 fire had at last flickered out and the revels 
 seemed on the wane. Suddenly a body 
 of men appeared in close order, marching
 
 234 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 down^ the street towards the bank. We 
 stood perhaps a hundred yards from that 
 building, which was, in its turn, about 
 two hundred from the Piazza. Steadily 
 they came along ; no sound reached us 
 from the wood, 
 
 ' This is getting interesting,' I said. 
 'There'll be trouble soon.' 
 
 As near as I could see, the Colonel's 
 band, for such it was no doubt, did not 
 number more than five-and-twenty at the 
 outside. Now they were at the bank. 
 I could hardly see what happened, but 
 there seemed to be a moment's pause ; 
 probably someone had knocked and they 
 were waiting. A second later a loud shout 
 rang through the street and I saw a group 
 of fiorures crowdino- round the door and 
 pushing a way into my poor bank. 
 
 ' The gods preserve Jones ! ' I whispered. 
 ' I hope the old fool won't try to stop them.' 
 
 As I spoke, I heard a short, sharp order 
 from behind, * Now ! Charge ! '
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND -^ 
 
 OJ 
 
 As the word was given another body of 
 fifty or more rushed by us full tilt, and at 
 their head we saw the President, sword 
 in hand, running like a young man and 
 beckoning his men on. Up the street 
 they swept. Involuntarily we waited a 
 moment to watch them. Just as they 
 came near the bank they sent up a 
 shout, 
 
 ' The President ! the President ! Death 
 to traitors ! ' 
 
 Then there was a volley, and they closed 
 round the building. 
 
 ' Now for our turn, Christina,' said I. 
 
 She grasped my arm tightly, and we 
 sped across the road and into the wood. 
 It seemed darker than when I came 
 through before, or perhaps my eyes were 
 dazzled by the glare of the street lamps. 
 But still we got along pretty well, I help- 
 ing my companion with all my power. 
 
 ' Can we do it ? ' she gasped. 
 
 'Please God,' said I ; 'a clear quarter
 
 236 A MAX OF MARK 
 
 of an hour will do it, and they ought to 
 take that to finish off the Colonel.' For 
 I had littler doubt of ihe issue of that 
 melee. 
 
 On we sped, and already we could see 
 the twinkle of the waves through the thin- 
 ning trees. Five hundred yards more, 
 and there lay life and liberty and love ! 
 
 Well, of course, I might have known. 
 Everything had gone so smoothly up to 
 now, that any student of the laws of chance 
 could have foretold that fortune was only 
 delaying the inevitable slap in the face. 
 A plan that seemed wild and risky had 
 proved in the result as effectual as the 
 wisest scheme. By a natural principle 
 of compensation, the simplest obstacle was 
 to bring us to grief. ' There's many a 
 slip,' says the proverb. V'ery likely! 
 One was enough for our business. For 
 just as we neared the edge of the wood, just 
 as our eyes were gladdened by the full 
 sight of the sea across the intervening
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 237 
 
 patch of bare land, the Signorina gave a 
 cry of pain and, in spite of my arm, fell 
 heavily to the ground. In a moment I 
 was on my knees by her side. An old 
 root growing out of the ground ! That 
 was all ! And there lay my dear girl 
 white and still. 
 
 ' What is it, sweet ? ' I whispered. 
 
 ' My ankle ! ' she murmured ; ' oh. Jack, 
 it hurts so ! ' and with that she fainted. 
 
 Half-an-hour — thirty mortal (but seem- 
 ingly immortal) minutes I knelt b}^ her 
 side ministering to her. I bound up the 
 poor foot, gave her brandy from my flask, 
 and I fanned her face with my handker- 
 chief. In a few minutes she came to, but 
 only, poor child, to sob with her bitter 
 pain. Move she could not, and would not. 
 Again and again she entreated me to go 
 and leave her. At last I persuaded her to 
 try and bear the agony of being carried in 
 my arms the rest of the way. I raised 
 her as gently as I could, wrung to the
 
 2js a man of mark 
 
 ■o 
 
 heart by her gallantly-stitled groan, and 
 slowly and painfully I made my way, thus 
 burthened, to the edge of the wood. 
 There were no sentries in sight, and with 
 a new spasm of hope I crossed the open 
 land and neared the little wicket gate that 
 led to the jetty. A sharp turn came just 
 before we reached it, and, as I rounded 
 this with the Signorina lying yet in my 
 arms, I saw a horse and a man standing 
 by the gate. The horse was flecked with 
 foam and had been ridden furiously. The 
 man was calm and cool. Of course he 
 was ! It was the President ! 
 
 My hands were full witli my burden, 
 and before I could do anything, I saw the 
 muzzle of his revolver pointed full — At 
 me ? Oh, no ! At the Signorina ! 
 
 ' If you move a step I shoot her 
 through the heart, Martin,' he said, in 
 the quietest voice imaginable. 
 
 The Signorina looked up as she heard 
 his voice.
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 239 
 
 ' Put me down, Jack! It's no use,' she 
 said ; ' I knew how it would be.' 
 
 I did not put her down, but 1 stood 
 there helpless, rooted to the ground, 
 
 ' What's the matter with her ? ' he 
 said. 
 
 ' Fell and sprained her ankle,' I 
 replied. 
 
 'Come, Martin,' said he, 'it's no go, 
 and you know it. A near thing ; but 
 you've just lost.' 
 
 ' Are you going to stop us ? ' I said. 
 
 'Of course I am,' said he. 
 
 ' Let me put her down, and we'll have 
 a fair fight' 
 
 He shook his head. 
 
 ' All very well for young men,' he said. 
 ' At my age if a man holds trumps he 
 keeps them.' 
 
 ' How long have you been here ? ' 
 
 * About two minutes. When I didn't 
 see you at the bank I thought something 
 was up, so I galloped on to her house.
 
 240 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 No one there ! So I came on here. A 
 good shot, eh ? ' 
 
 The fall had done it. But for that we 
 should have been safe. 
 
 ' Well ? ' he said. 
 
 In the bitterness of my heart I could 
 hardly speak. But I was not going to 
 play either the cur or the fool, so I 
 said, 
 
 ' Your trick, sir, and therefore your 
 lead! I must do what you tell me.' 
 
 ' Honour bright, Martin ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' said I, 'I give you my word. 
 Take the revolver if you like,' and I 
 nodded my head to the pocket where 
 it lay. 
 
 'No,' he said, ' I trust you.' 
 
 ' I bar a rescue,' said I. 
 
 ' There will be no rescue,' said he 
 grimly. 
 
 ' If the Colonel comes — ' 
 
 ' The Colonel won't come,' he said. 
 ' Whose house is that ? '
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 241 
 
 It was my boatman's. 
 
 ' Bring her there. Poor child, she 
 suffers ! ' 
 
 We knocked up the boatman, who thus 
 did not get his night's rest after all His 
 astonishment may be imagined. 
 
 ' Have you a bed ? ' said the President. 
 
 ' Yes,' he stammered, recognising his 
 interlocutor. 
 
 ' Then carry her up, Martin ; and you, 
 send your wife to her.' 
 
 I took her up, and laid her gently on 
 the bed. The President followed me. 
 Then w^e went downstairs again into the 
 little parlour. 
 
 ' Let us have a talk ; ' he said ; and he 
 added to the man, ' Give us some brandy, 
 quick! And then go.' 
 
 He was obeyed, and we were left alone, 
 with the dim light of a single candle. 
 
 The President sat down and beo^an to 
 smoke. He offered me a cigar and I 
 took it, but he said nothing, I was 
 
 Q
 
 242 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 surprised at his leisurely abstracted air. 
 Apparently he had nothing in the world 
 to do but sit and keep me company. 
 
 ' If your Excellency,' said I, instinctively 
 giving him his old title, ' has bubiness 
 elsewhere you can leave me safely. I 
 shall not break my word.' 
 
 ' I know that, I know that,' he 
 answered. 'But I'd rather stay here; 
 I want to have a talk.' 
 
 ' But aren't there some things to settle 
 up in the town ? ' 
 
 ' The doctor's doing all that,' he said. 
 ' You see, there's no danger now. 
 There's no one left to lead them 
 against me.' 
 
 ' Then the Colonel is — ? ' 
 
 'Yes,' he said gravely, 'he is dead. I 
 shot him.' 
 
 ' In the attack.?' 
 
 ' Not exactly ; the fighting was over. 
 A very short affair, Martin. They 
 never had a chance ; and as soon as
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 243 
 
 two or three had fallen and the rest 
 saw me, they threw up the sponge.' 
 
 ' And the Colonel ? ' 
 
 ' He fought well. He killed two of 
 my fellows ; then a let of them flung 
 themselves on him and disarmed him.' 
 
 ' And you killed him in cold blood ? ' 
 
 The President smiled slightly. 
 
 ' Six men fell in that affair — five besides 
 the Colonel. Does it strike you that you, 
 in fact, killed the five to enable you to run 
 away with the girl you loved ? ' 
 
 It hadn't struck me in that light, but it 
 was quite irrelevant. 
 
 ' But for your scheme I should have 
 come back without a blow,' he con- 
 tinued ; ' but then I should have shot 
 McGregor just the same.' 
 
 ' Because he led the revolt ? ' 
 
 ' Because,' said the President, ' he has 
 been a traitor from the beginning even 
 to the end — because he tried to rob me 
 of all I held dear in the world. If you
 
 244 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 like,' he added, with a shrug, 'because 
 he stood between me and my will. So 
 I went up to him and told him his hour 
 was come, and I shot him through the 
 head. He died like a man, Martin ; I 
 will say that.' 
 
 I could not pretend to regret the dead 
 man. Indeed, I had been near doing 
 the same deed myself. But I shrank 
 before this calm ruthlessness. 
 
 Another long pause followed. Then 
 the President said, 
 
 ' I'm sorry for all this, Martin — sorry 
 you and I came to blows.' 
 
 ' You played me false about the money,' 
 I said bitterly. 
 
 'Yes, yes,' he answered gently ; ' I don't 
 blame you. You were bound to me by 
 no ties. Of course you saw my plan .'* ' 
 
 ' I supposed your Excellency meant to 
 keep the money and throw me over.' 
 
 ' Not altogether,' he said. ' Of course 
 I was bound to have the money. But it
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 245 
 
 was the other thing, you know. As far as 
 the money went, I would have taken care 
 you came to no harm.' 
 
 ■ What was it, then ? ' 
 
 ' I thought you understood all along,' 
 he said with some surprise. ' I saw you 
 were my rival with Christina, and my 
 game was to drive you out of the country 
 by making the place too hot for you.' 
 
 ' She told me you didn't suspect about 
 me and her till quite the end.' 
 
 ' Did she ? ' he answered with a smile ; 
 ' I must be getting clever to deceive two 
 such wide-awake young people. Of course 
 I saw it all along. But you had more grit 
 than I thought. I've never been so nearly 
 done by any man as by you.' 
 
 'But for luck you would have been, 
 said I. 
 
 ' Yes, but I count luck as one of my 
 resources,' he replied. 
 
 ' Well, what are you going to do now ? ' 
 f: He took no notice, but went on,
 
 246 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' You played too high. It was all or 
 nothing with you, just as it is with me. 
 But for that we could have stood to- 
 gether. I'm sorry, Martin ; I like you, 
 you know.' 
 
 For the life of me I had never been able 
 to help liking him. 
 
 ' But likings mustn't interfere with duty,' 
 he went on, smiling. ' What claim have 
 you at my hands ? ' 
 
 ' Decent burial, I suppose,' I answered. 
 
 He got up and paced the room for a 
 moment or two. I waited with some 
 anxiety, for life is worth something to 
 a young man, even when things look 
 blackest, and I never was a hero. 
 
 ' I make you this offer,' he said at last. 
 ' Your boat lies there ready. Get into her 
 and go ; otherwise — ' 
 
 ' I see,' said I. ' And you will marry 
 her?' 
 
 ' Yes,' he said. 
 
 ' Against her will ? '
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 247 
 
 He looked at me with something Hke 
 pity. 
 
 ' Who can tell what a woman's will will 
 be in a week? In less than that she will 
 marry me cheerfully. I hope you may 
 grieve as short a time as she will.' 
 
 In my inmost heart I knew it was true. 
 I had staked everything, not for a woman's 
 love, but for the whim of a girl ! For a 
 moment it was too hard for me, and I 
 bowed my head on the table by me and 
 hid my face. 
 
 Then he came and put his hand on 
 mine, and said, 
 
 ' Yes, Martin ; young and old, we are 
 all alike. They're not worth quarrelling 
 for. But Nature's too strono;.' 
 
 ' May I see her before I go .-^ ' I asked. 
 
 ' Yes,' he said. 
 
 ' Alone ? ' 
 
 ' Yes,' he said once more. ' Go now — 
 if she can see you.' 
 
 I went up and cautiously opened the
 
 248 A MAX 01'" MARK 
 
 door. The Sitrnorina was Iviii"- on the 
 bed, with a shawl over her. She seemed 
 to be asleep. I bent over her and kissed 
 her. She opened her eyes, and said, in 
 a weary voice, 
 
 ' Is it you. Jack ? ' 
 
 ' Yes, my darHng, said I. ' I am going. 
 I must go or die ; and whether I go or 
 die, I must be alone.' 
 
 She was strangely quiet, even apathetic. 
 As I knelt down by her she raised her- 
 self, and took my face between her hands 
 and kissed me, not passionately, but 
 tenderly. 
 
 ' My poor Jack ! ' she said ; ' it was no 
 use, dear. It is no use to fight against 
 him.' 
 
 Here was her strange subjection to that 
 influence again. 
 
 ' You love me ? ' I cried in my pain. 
 
 ' Yes,' she said, ' but I am very tired ; 
 and he will be good to me.' 
 
 Without another word I went from licr,
 
 FAREWELL TO AUREATALAND 249 
 
 with the bitter knowledge that my great 
 grief found but a pale rejection in her 
 heart. 
 
 ' I am ready to go,' I said to the 
 President. 
 
 'Come, then,' he replied. 'Here, take 
 these, you may want them,' and he thrust 
 a bundle of notes into my hand (some of 
 my own from the bank I afterwards dis- 
 covered). 
 
 Arrived at the boat, I got in mechanic- 
 ally and made all preparations for the 
 start. 
 
 Then the President took my hand. 
 
 ' Good-bye, Jack Martin, and good 
 luck. Some day we may meet again. 
 Just now there's no room for us both 
 here. You bear no malice ? ' 
 
 'No, sir,' said I. 'A fair fight, and 
 you've won.' 
 
 As I was pushing off, he added, 
 
 ' When you arrive, send me word.' 
 
 I nodded silently.
 
 250 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 'Good-bye, and good luck,' he said 
 again. 
 
 I turned the boat's head out to sea, 
 and went forth on my lonely way into 
 the night.
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT 
 
 AS far as I am concerned, this story 
 has now reached an end. W^ith 
 my departure from Aureataland I re- 
 entered the world of humdrum Hfe, and 
 since that memorable night in 1884, 
 nothing has befallen me worthy of a 
 polite reader's attention. I have en- 
 dured the drudgery incident to earning 
 a living ; I have enjoyed the relaxations 
 every wise man makes for himself. But 
 I should be guilty of unpardonable 
 egotism if I supposed that I myself 
 was the only, or the most, interesting 
 
 subject presented in the foregoing pages, 
 
 251
 
 252 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 and I leel I shall merely be doing my 
 duty in briefly recording the facts in my 
 possession concerning the other persons 
 who have figured in this record and the 
 country where its scene was laid, 
 
 I did not, of course, return to Eneland 
 on leaving Aureataland. I had no desire 
 to explain in person to the Directors all 
 the facts with which they will now be in 
 a position to acquaint themselves. I was 
 conscious that, at the last at all events, 
 I had rather subordinated their interests 
 to my own necessities, and I knew well 
 that my conduct would not meet with 
 the indulgent judgment that it perhaps 
 requires. After all, men who have lost 
 three hundred thousand dollars can hardly 
 be expected to be impartial, and I saw 
 no reason for submitting myself to a 
 biassed tribunal. I preferred to seek my 
 fortune in a fresh country (and, I may 
 add, under a fresh name), and I am happy 
 to say that my prosperity in the land of
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT 253 
 
 my adoption has gone far to justify the 
 President's favourable estimate of my 
 financial abilities. My sudden disappear- 
 ance excited some remark, and people 
 were even found to insinuate that the 
 dollars went the same way as I did. I 
 have never troubled myself to contradict 
 these scandalous rumours, being content 
 to rely on the handsome vindication from 
 this charge which the President published. 
 In addressing the House of Assembly 
 shortly after his resumption of power, he 
 referred at length to the circumstances 
 attendant on the late revolution, and 
 remarked that although he was unable 
 to acquit Mr Martin of most unjustifiable 
 intrigues with the rebels, yet he was in 
 a position to assure them, as he had 
 already assured those to whom Mr 
 Martin was primarily responsible, that 
 that gentleman's hasty flight was dictated 
 solely by a consciousness of political 
 guilt, and that, in money matters, Mr
 
 254 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 Martin's hands were as clean as his 
 own. The reproach that had fallen on 
 the fair fame of Aiireataland in this 
 matter was due not to that able but mis- 
 guided young man. but to those un- 
 principled persons who, in the pursuit 
 of their designs, had not hesitated to 
 plunder and despoil friendly traders, 
 established in the country under the 
 sanction of public faith. 
 
 The reproach to which his Excellency 
 eloquently referred consisted in the fact 
 that not a cent of those three hundred 
 thousand dollars which lay in the bank 
 that night was ever seen again ! The 
 theory was that the Colonel had made 
 away with them, and the President took 
 great pains to prove that under the law 
 of nations the restored Governmicnt could 
 not be held responsible for this occurrence. 
 I know as little about the law of nations 
 as the President himself, but I felt quite 
 sure that whatever that exalted code might
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT 255 
 
 say (and It generally seems to justify the 
 conduct of all parties alike), none of that 
 money would ever find its way back to 
 the Directors' pockets. In this matter I 
 must say his Excellency bt^haved to me 
 with scrupulous consideration ; not a word 
 passed his lips about the second loan, 
 about that unlucky cable, or any other 
 dealings with the money. For all he said, 
 my account of the matter, posted to the 
 Directors immediately after my departure, 
 stood unimpeached. The Directors, how- 
 ever, took a view opposed to his Excel- 
 lency's, and relations became so strained 
 that they were contemplating the with- 
 drawal of their business from Whittingham 
 altogether, when events occurred which 
 modified their action. Before I lay down 
 my pen I must give some account of these 
 matters, and I cannot do so better than by 
 insertinor a letter which I had the honour 
 to receive from his Excellency, some two 
 years after I last saw him. 1 had obeyed
 
 256 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 his wish in communicating my address to 
 him, but up to this time had received only 
 a short but friendly note, acquainting me 
 with the fact of his marripge to the Sig- 
 norina, and expressing good wishes for my 
 welfare in my new sphere of action. The 
 matters to which the President refers be- 
 came to some extent public property soon 
 afterwards, but certain other terms of the 
 arrangement are now given to the world 
 for the first time. 
 
 The letter ran as follows : — 
 
 ' My Dear Martin, — As an old in- 
 habitant of Aureataland, you will be inter- 
 ested in the news I have to tell you. I 
 also take pleasure in hoping that, in spite 
 of bygone differences, your friendly feel- 
 ings towards myself will make you glad 
 to hear news of my fortunes. 
 
 ' You are no doubt acquainted generally 
 with the course of events here since you 
 left us. As regards private friends, I have
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEiMENT 257 
 
 not indeed much to tell you. You will 
 not be surprised to learn that Johnny Carr 
 (who always speaks of you with the utmost 
 regard) has done the most sensible thing 
 he ever did in his life in making Donna 
 Antonia his wife. She is a thoroughly 
 good girl, although she seems to have 
 a very foolish prejudice against Christina. 
 I was able to assist the young people's 
 plans by the gift of the late Colonel 
 McGregor's estates, which under our law 
 passed to the Head of the State on that 
 gentleman's execution for high treason. 
 You will be amused to hear of another 
 marriage in our circle. The doctor and 
 Madame Devarges have made a match 
 of it, and society rejoices to think it has 
 now heard the last of the late monsieur 
 and his patriotic sufferings. Jones, I sup- 
 pose you know, left us about a year ago. 
 The poor old fellow never recovered from 
 his fright on that night, to say nothing of 
 the cold he caught in your draughty coal-
 
 258 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 cellar, where he took refuge. The bank 
 relieved him in response to his urgent 
 petitions, and they've sent us out a young 
 Puritan, to whom it would be quite in 
 vain to apply for a timely little loan. 
 
 ' I wish I could give you as satisfactory 
 an account of public affairs. You were 
 more or less behind the scenes over here, 
 so you know that to keep the machine 
 going is by no means an easy task. I 
 have kept it going, single-handed, for 
 fifteen years, and though it's the custom 
 to call me a mere adventurer (and I don't 
 say that's wrong), upon my word I think 
 I've given them a pretty decent Govern- 
 ment. But I've had enough of it by now. 
 The fact is, my dear Martin, I'm not so 
 young as I was. In years I'm not much 
 past middle age, but I've had the devil 
 of a life of it, and I shouldn't be surprised 
 if old Marcus Whittingham's lease was 
 pretty nearly up. At any rate, my only 
 chance, so Anderson tells me, is to get a
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT 259 
 
 rest, and I'm going" to give myself that 
 chance. I had thought at first of trying 
 to find a successor (as I have been denied 
 an heir of my body), and I thought of 
 you. But, while I was considering this, 
 I received a confidential proposal from the 
 
 Government of ' (here the President 
 
 named the state of which Aureataland had 
 formed part). ' They were very anxious 
 to get back their province ; at the same 
 time, they were not at all anxious to try 
 conclusions with me again. In short, they 
 offered, if Aureataland would came back, 
 a guarantee of local autonomy and full 
 freedom ; they would take on themselves 
 the burden of the debt, and last, but not 
 least, they would offer the present Presi- 
 dent of the Republic a compensation of 
 500,000 dollars. 
 
 ' I have not yet finally accepted the 
 offer, but I am going to do so — obtaining, 
 as a matter of form, the sanction of the 
 Assembly. I have made them double
 
 2 6o A MAN OF MARK 
 
 their offer to me, but in the pubhc docu- 
 ments the money is to stand at the original 
 figure. This recognition of my services, 
 together with my little savings (restored, 
 my dear Martin, to the wash-stand), will 
 make me pretty comfortable in my old 
 age, and leave a competence for my widow. 
 Aureataland has had a run alone ; if there 
 had been any grit in the people they 
 would have made a nation of themselves. 
 There isn't any, and I'm not going to 
 Slave myself for them any longer. No 
 doubt they'll be very well treated, and to 
 tell the truth, I don't much care if they 
 aren't. After all, they're a mongrel lot. 
 
 ' I know you'll be pleased to hear of 
 this arrangement, as it gives your old 
 masters a better chance of getting their 
 money, for, between ourselves, they'd never 
 have got it out of me. At the risk of 
 shocking your feelings, I must confess that 
 your revolution only postponed the day of 
 repudiation.
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT 261 
 
 ' I hoped to have asked you some day 
 to rejoin us here. As matters stand, I am 
 more Hkely to come and find you ; for, 
 when released, Christina and I are going 
 to bend our steps to the States. And we 
 hope to come soon. There's a Httle diffi- 
 culty outstanding about the terms on which 
 the Golden House and my other property 
 are to pass to the new Government ; this I 
 hope to compromise by abating half my 
 claim in private, and giving it all up in 
 public. Also I have had to bargain for 
 the recognition of Johnny Carr's rights to 
 the Colonel's goods. When all this is 
 settled there will be nothing to keep me, 
 and I shall leave here without much re- 
 luctance. The first man I shall come and 
 see is you, and we'll have some frolics to- 
 gether, if my old carcass holds out. But 
 the truth is, my boy, I'm not the man I 
 was. I've put too much steam on all my 
 life, and I must pull up now, or the boiler 
 will burst.
 
 262 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 ' Christina sends her love. She is as 
 anxious to see you as I am. But yon must 
 wait till I am dead to make love to her. — ■ 
 Ever your sincere friend, 
 
 ' Marcus W. Wiiittingham.' 
 
 As I write, I hear that the arrange- 
 ment is to be carried out. So ends 
 Aureataland's brief history as a nation ; 
 so ends the story of her national debt, 
 more happily than I ever thought it would. 
 I confess to a tender recollection of the 
 sunny, cheerful, lazy, dishonest little place, 
 where I spent four such eventful years. 
 Perhaps I love it because my romance 
 was played there, as I should love any 
 place where I had seen the Signorina. 
 For I am not cured, I don't go about 
 moaning — I enjoy life. But, in spite of 
 my affection for the President, hardly a 
 day passes that I don't curse that accursed 
 tree-root. 
 
 And she ? what does she feel ?
 
 A DIPLOMATIC ARRANGEMENT 263 
 
 I don't know, 1 don't think I ever did 
 know. But I have had a note from her, 
 and this is what she says : — 
 
 ' Fancy seeing old Jack again — poor 
 forsaken Jack ! Marcus is very kind (but 
 very ill, poor fellow) ; but I shall like to 
 see you, Jack. Do you remember what 
 I was like.'* I'm still rather pretty. This 
 is in confidence, Jack. Marcus thinks 
 you'll run away from us, now we are 
 coming to — town ' (that's where I live). 
 ' But I don't think you will. 
 
 ' Please meet me at the depot, Jack, 
 12.15 train. Marcus is coming by a later 
 one, so I shall be desolate if you don't 
 come. And bring that white rose with 
 you. Unless you produce it. I won't speak 
 to you. Christina,' 
 
 Well, with another man's wife, this is 
 rather embarrassing. But a business man 
 can't leave the place where his business is
 
 264 A MAN OF MARK 
 
 because a foolish girl insists on coming 
 tliere. 
 
 And as I am here, I may as well be 
 civil and go to meet her. And, oh, well ! 
 as I happen to have the thing, I may as 
 well take it with me. It can't do any 
 harm. 
 
 THE END 
 
 COLSTON AND COMPANY', PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.
 
 A LIST OF NEW BOOKS 
 
 AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OF 
 
 METHUEN AND COMPANY 
 
 PUBLISHERS : LONDON 
 
 36 ESSEX STREET 
 
 W.C. 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 JFORTHCOMING BOOKS, . 
 
 . 3 
 
 rOETRT, .... 
 
 . 10 
 
 HISTORY, ..... 
 
 13 
 
 BIOGRAPHY, .... 
 
 13 
 
 CBNERAL UTERATURB, 
 
 15 
 
 THEOLOGY, .... 
 
 '7 
 
 LEADERS OF RELIGION, 
 
 i8 
 
 WORKS BY S. BARING GOULD, . 
 
 ig 
 
 FICTION, . . . . . 
 
 21 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, > 
 
 28 
 
 THE PEACOCK LIBRARY, 
 
 29 
 
 UNIVERSITY EXTENSION SERIES, 
 
 29 
 
 SOCIAL QUESTIONS OF TO-DAY, . 
 
 30 
 
 CLASSICAL TRANSLATIONS, . . 
 
 31 
 
 COUMZP.CIAL SERIES, s . • • 
 
 33 
 
 JANUARY 1895
 
 January 1895. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen's 
 
 ANNOUNCEMENTS 
 
 Poetry 
 
 Rudyard Kipling. BALLADS. By Rudyard Kipling. 
 
 Crown Zvo. Buckram. 6s. 
 The announcement of a new volume of poetry from Mr. Kipling will excite wide 
 interest. The exceptional success of ' Barr*ck-Room Ballads,' with which this 
 volume will be uniform, justifies the hope that the new book too will obtain a 
 wide popularity. 
 
 W. E. Henley. ENGLISH LYRICS. Selected and Edited by 
 W. E. Henley. Crown 8vo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 Also 30 copies on hand-made paper Demy %vo. £1, is. 
 Also 15 copies on Japanese paper. Demy Svo. £2, 2s. 
 Few announcements will be more welcome to lovers of English verse than the one 
 that Mr. Henley is bringing together into one book the finest lyrics in our 
 language. Robust and original the book will certainly be, and it will be pro- 
 duced with the same care that made ' Lyra Heroica ' delightful to the hand and 
 eye. 
 
 "Q" THE GOLDEN POMP : A Procession of English Lyrics 
 from Surrey to Shirley, arranged by A. T. QuiLLER CODCH. Crown 
 %vo. Buckram. 6s, 
 
 Also 30 copies on hand-made paper. Demy Svo. £1, is. 
 Also 15 copies on Japanese paper. Demy Svo. £2, 2s. 
 Mr. Quiller Couch's taste and sympathy mark him out as a bom anthologist, and 
 out of the wealth of Elizabethan poetry be has made a book of great attraction. 
 
 n. 0. Beeching. LYRA SACRA : An Anthology of Sacred Verse. 
 Edited by H. C. Beeching, M.A. Crown Svo. Buckram. 6s. 
 This book will appeal to a wide public. Few languages are richer in serious verse 
 than the English, and the Editor has had some ditSculty in confining his material 
 within his limits. 
 
 W B. Yeats. A BOOK OF IRISH VERSE. Edited by W. B. 
 Yeats. Crown Svo. 3^. 6d. 
 
 An anthology of Irish poetry selected by an editor whose own verse has won a coti- 
 siderable reputation.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 Fiction 
 
 Messrs. Mkthuen call attention to the fact that the following novels 
 are issued for the first time in one volume instead of in the old two and 
 three volume form. 
 
 Gilbert Parker. THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. By 
 Gilbert Parker, Author of ' Pierre and his People,' etc. Crown 
 %vo, 6s, 
 
 A historical romance dealing with the stirring period in the history of Canada in 
 which France and England were contending for its possession. 
 
 Anthony Eope. A MAN OF MARK. By Anthony Hope, 
 Author of 'The Prisoner of Zenda,' 'The God in the Car,' etc. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 This is a re-issue of Anthony Hope's first novel. It has been out of print for some 
 years, and in view of the great popularity of the author, it has been reprinted. It 
 is a itory of political. adventure in South America, and is rather in the style of 
 ' The Prisoner of Zenda.' 
 
 Mrs. CUfford. A FLASH OF SUMMER. By Mrs. W. K. 
 Clifford, Author of ' Aunt Anne,' etc. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 This is the first long story which Mrs. Clifford has written since the remarlcably 
 successful ' Aunt Anne.' 
 
 M. M. Dowie. GALLIA. By Mene Muriel Dowie. Author 
 of ' A Girl in the Carpathians.' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 This is a story of modern society by the author of ' A Girl in the Carpathians,' which 
 was probably one of the most popular books of travel ever published. 
 
 Mrs. Oliphant. SIR ROBERT'S FORTUNE. By Mrs. 
 Oliphant, Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 Mrs. Pinsent. CHILDREN OF THIS WORLD. By Ellen 
 F. Pinsent, Author of 'Jenny's Case.' Crown Svo. 6s. 
 A story of modern life and thought, being a study of two opposite types — the 
 Christian and the Agnostic. Mrs. Pinsent's first book was very successful, and 
 the leading critics spoke of it as a remarkable and powerful story, and as one which 
 made them look forward with keen interest to the author's next book. 
 
 W. B. Norris. THE DESPOTIC LADY AND OTHERS. 
 By W. E. Norris, Author of ' The Rogue,' etc. Crovm Svo. 6s. 
 
 E. F. Benson. LADY MASSINGTON'S RESURRECTION, 
 AND OTHER STORIES. By E. F. Benson, Author of ' Dodo.' 
 Crown Svo, 6^.
 
 4 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 Julian Corbett. A BUSINESS IN GREAT WATERS. By 
 Julian Corbett, Author of 'For God and Gold,' 'Cophetua 
 Xlllth.,' etc. Crown Zvo. 6s. 
 
 This is a historical romance of the time of the French Revolution by a writer whos« 
 previous stories have been much praised for their ' romantic beauty and profound 
 interest and nervous strength of style.' Many critics noticed their 'wholesome 
 freshness ' and ' vivid reproduction of the past. 
 
 Gilbert Parker. AN ADVENTURER OF THE NORTH. 
 By Gilbert Parker, Author of * Pierre and his People,' • The 
 Translation of a Savage,' etc. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 This book consists of more tales of the Far North, and contain! the last adventures 
 of ' Pretty Pierre.' Mr. Parker's first volume of Canadian stories was published 
 about two years ago, and was received with unanimous praise. 
 
 Philipps-Woolley. THE QUEENSBERRY CUP. A Tale of 
 Adventure. By Clive Philipps Woolley, Author of * Snap,' Part 
 Author of ' Big Game Shooting.' Illustrated. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 This is a story of amateur pugilism and chivalrous adventure, written by an author 
 whose books on sport are well known. 
 
 Miss Benson. SUBJECT TO VANITY. By Margaret 
 Benson. With numerous Illustrations. Crown 8vo. 3j. 6d. 
 A Yolume of humorous and sympathetic sketches of animal life and home pets. 
 
 NEW EDiriONS 
 
 Anthony Hope. THE GOD IN THE CAR. By Anthony 
 Hope, Author of 'A Change of Air,' etc SixiA Edition. Crown 
 %vo. 6s. 
 
 'This is, indeed, a very remarkable book, deserving of critical analysis impossible 
 within our limits ; brilliant, but not superficial ; well considered, but not elabor- 
 ated ; constructed with the proverbial art that conceals, but yet allows itself to be 
 enjoyed by readers to whom fine literary method is a keen pleasure ; true without 
 cynicism, subtle without affectation, humorous without strain, witty without 
 offence, inevitably sad, with an unmorose simplicity.' — World. 
 
 ' Immeasurably better than anything Mr. Hope has done before. A novel eminently 
 worth reading, full of brilliance, fire, and daring.' — Mancluster Guardian. 
 
 ' Ruston is drawn with extraordinary skill, and Maggie Dennison with many subtle 
 strokes. The minor characters are clear cut. In short the book is a brilliant one. 
 "The God in the Car" is one of the most remarkable works in a year that has 
 given us the handiwork of nearly all our best living novelists.' — Standard. 
 
 Baring Gould. KITTY ALONE. By S. Baring Gould, 
 Author of ' Mehalah,' ' Cheap Jack Zita,' etc. Second Edition. 
 Crown Svo. 6s. 
 ' If any one wants — and in days when so much fiction is morbid and depressing it is 
 to the credit of human nature to believe that many persons must want — a book 
 brisk, clever, keen, healthy, humorous, and interesting, be can scarcel]' do better 
 than order " Kitty Alone. " ' — National Observer.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 5 
 
 Korris. MATTHEW AUSTIN. By W. E. NORRis, Author of 
 
 ' Mdle. de Mersac,' etc. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 6s, 
 
 ' It would be a strangely aasympathetic and cynical person who could read the life- 
 scory of Priatthew Austin, the singularly unselfish and gentle-natured country 
 doctor, without aifectionate sympathy . . . "Matthew Austin" may safely be 
 pronounced one of the most intellectually satisfactory and morally bracing novels 
 of the current year. ' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 Mrs. Watson. THIS MAN'S DOMINION. By the Author 
 of 'A High Little. World.' Second Edition. Crown Zvo. "^s. 6d. 
 
 ' It is not a book to be read and forgotten on a railway journey, but it is rather a 
 study of the perplexing problems of life, to which the reflecting mind will 
 frequently return, even though the reader docs not accept the solutions which the 
 author suggests. In these days, when the output of merely amusing novels is so 
 overpowering, this is no slight praise. There is an underlying depth in the story 
 which reminds one, in a lesser degree, of the profundity of George Eliot, and 
 ' ' This M an's Dominion " is by no means a novel to be thrust aside as exhausted at 
 one perusal.' — Dundee Advertiser. 
 
 Richard Pryce. WINIFRED MOUNT. By Richard Pryce. 
 
 Second Edition, Crown 8»o. 35. 6d, 
 
 The [Sussex Daily News' called this book 'a delightful story,' and said th.tt the 
 ^■ik'mg -was 'uni/itrmlyiright and grace/ul.' The ' Daily Telegraph ' said that the 
 author was a ' de/i and elegant story-teller,' and that the book was ' an extremely 
 clever story, utterly untainted by pessimism or vulgarity.' 
 
 History 
 
 Gihhon. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN 
 EMPIRE. By Edward Gibbon. A New Edition, edited with 
 Notes and Appendices and Maps by J. B, Bury, M.A., Fellow of 
 Trinity College, Dublin. In Seven Volumes. Crozvtt Svo. 
 The time seems to have arrived for a new edition of Gibbon's great work — furnished 
 with such notes and appendices as may bring it up to the standard of recent his- 
 torical research. Edited by a scholar who has made this period his special study, 
 and issued in a convenient form and at a moderate price, this edition should fill 
 an obvious void. 
 
 Eorsburgh. THE CAMPAIGN OF WATERLOO. By E. L. 
 
 S. HoRSBURGH, M.A. V/ith Plans. Crown Svo. 5^. 
 This is a full account of the final struggle of Napoleon, and contains a careful study 
 from a strategical point of view of the movements of the French and allied armies. 
 
 George. BATTLES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. By H. B. 
 
 George, M.A., Fellow of New College, Oxford. IVitA numerous 
 
 Plans. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 This book, by a well-known authority on military history, will be an important 
 contribution to the literature of the subject. All the great battles of English 
 history are fully described, and connecting chapters carefully treat of the changes 
 wrought by new discoveries and developments.
 
 6 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 Oscar Browning. THE AGE OF THE CONDOTTIERI : A 
 
 Short History of Italy Irom 1409 to 1530. By OsCAR BROWNING, 
 
 M.A., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. Crown '&vo, ^s. 
 
 This book is a continuation of Mr. Browning's ' Guelphs and Ghibellines,' and the 
 two worki form a complete account of Italian history from 1250 to 1530. 
 
 Biography 
 
 Southey. ENGLISH SEAMEN (Howard, Clifford, Hawkins, 
 Drake, Cavendish). By Robert Southey. Edited, with an 
 Introduction, by David Hannay. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 This is a reprint of some excellent biographies of Elizabethan seamen, written by 
 Southey and never republished. They are practically unknown, and they de- 
 serve, and will probably obtain, a wide popularity. 
 
 Cutts. AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY. By E. L. 
 
 CoTTS, D.D. Crown Svo. ^s. 6d. [Leaders of Religion. 
 
 A biography of the first Archbishop of Canterbury, containing a fairly fall account 
 of the conversion of England. 
 
 Hutton. WILLIAM LAUD, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTER- 
 BURY : A Biography. By W. H. HoTTON, M.A., Fellow and 
 and Tutor of St. John's College, Oxford. Crown Svo. 3^. 6ci. 
 
 [Leaders of Religion. 
 
 Mr. Hutton has made a special study of the life and times of Laud, and as the 
 guardian of the Laudian relics and hss. at Oxford, has been ablt to throw new 
 light on various episodes in his career, 
 
 Mrs. Oliphant. THOMAS CHALMERS. By Mrs. Oliphant. 
 With a Portrait, Second Edition, Crown Svo, 3x. 6d. 
 
 [Leaders of Religion. 
 
 Lock. JOHN KEBLE. By Walter Lock, Sub- Warden of 
 Keble College. IVith a Portrait. .Seventh Edition. Crown Svo. 
 p. 6d. ' [Leaders of Religion, 
 
 General Literature 
 
 Flinders Petrie. EGYPTIAN DECORATIVE ART. By 
 
 W. M. Flinders PetriEjD.CL. With 120 Illustrations. Crown 
 Svo. ^s. 6d. 
 
 A book which deals with a subject which has never yet been seriouslv treat«4.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 7 
 
 Flinders Petrie. EGYPTIAN TALES. Edited by W. M. 
 Flinders Pbtrie, Illustrated by Tristram Ellis. Crown 8vo. 
 
 A selection of the ancient tales of Egypt, edited from original sources, and of great 
 importance as illustrating the life and society of ancient Egypt. 
 
 Ouida. ESSAYS by Ouida. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 This volume contains the following articles : — 
 
 Vulgarity. 
 
 O Beati Insipientesl 
 
 Cities of Italy. 
 
 The Failure of Christianity. 
 
 The Sins of Society. 
 
 The Passing of Philomel. 
 
 The Italy of To-day. 
 
 The Blind Guides of lUly. 
 
 L'Uomo Fatale. 
 
 The New Woman. 
 
 Death and Pity. 
 
 Conscription. 
 
 Shelley. 
 
 Some Fallacies of Science. 
 
 Female Suffrage. 
 
 Gardens. 
 
 The State as an Immoral Factor. 
 
 The Penalties of a Well-Known Name. 
 
 Oliphant. THE FRENCH RIVIERA. By Mrs. Oliphant 
 and F. R. Oliphant. With Illustrations and Maps. Crown Svo. 
 6s. 
 A volume dealing with the French Riviera from Toulon to Mentone. Without fall- 
 ing within the guide-hook category, the book will supply some useful practical 
 Information, while occupying itself chiefly with descriptive and historical matter. 
 A special feature will be the attention directed to those portions of the Riviera, 
 which, though full of interest and easily accessible from many well-frequented 
 spots, are generally kft unvisited by English travellers, such as the Maures 
 Mountains and the St. Tropez district, the country lying between Cannes, Grasse 
 and the Var, and the magnificent valleys behind Nice. There will be several 
 original illustrations. 
 
 Shedlock. THE PIANOFORTE SONATA: Its Origin and 
 Development. By J. S. Shedlock. Crown 8vo. $5. 
 
 This is a practical and not unduly technical account of the Sonata treated histori- 
 cally. It contains several novel features, and an account of various works little 
 known to the English public. 
 
 Dixon. A PRIMER OF TENNYSON. By W. M. Dixon, 
 M.A., Professor of English Li'^erature at Mason College. Fcap. Svo. 
 IS. 6d. 
 This book consists of (i) • succinct but complete biography of Lord Tennyson; 
 (2) an account of the volumes published by him in chronological order, dealing with 
 the more important poems separately ; (3) a concise criticism of Tennyson in his 
 various aspects as lyrist, dramatist, and representative poet of his day; (4) » 
 bibliography. Snch a complete book on such a subject, and at such a moderate 
 price, should find a host of readers.
 
 8 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. By John Keble. With an Intro- 
 
 • duction and Notes by W Lock, M. A., Sub- Warden of Keble College, 
 
 Author of 'The Life of John Keble.' Illustrated by R. Anning 
 
 Bell. Fcap. Svo. 35. 6d. 
 
 A charming edition of a famous book, finely illustrated and printed in black and red, 
 
 uniform with the ' Imitation of Christ.' 
 
 Theobald. INSECT LIFE. By F. W. Theobald, M.A. 
 Illuitrated. Crown Svo. 2s, 6d. [Univ. Extension Series, 
 
 English Classics 
 
 Edited by W. E. Henley. 
 
 Messrs. Methuen propose to publish, tinder this title, a series of the masterpieces of 
 the English tongue, which, while well within the reach of the average buyer, shall 
 be at once an ornament to the shelf of him that owns, and a delight to the eye of 
 him that reads. 
 
 The series, of which Mr. William Ernest Henley is the general editor, will confine 
 itself to no single period or department of literature. Poetry, fiction, drama, 
 biography, autobiography, letters, essays — in all these fields is the Riaterial of 
 many goodly volumes. 
 
 The books, which are designed and printed by Messrs. Constable, will be issued in 
 two editions — (i) A small edition, on the finest Japanese vellum, demy Svo, ais. a 
 volume nett ; (2) The popular edition on laid paper, crown 8vo, buckram, 3*. dd, 3 
 volume. 
 
 The following are some notices which have appeared on ' TRISTRAM 
 SHANDY,' the first volume of the series : — 
 
 'Very dainty volumes are these; the paper, type, and light green binding are all 
 very agreeable to the eye. "Simplex munditiis" is the phrase that might be 
 applied to them. So far as we know, Sterne's famoQS work has never appeared i.T 
 a guise more attractive to the connoisseur than this.' — Globe. 
 
 ' The book is excellently printed by Messrs. Constable on good paper, and being 
 divided into two volumes, is light and handy without lacking the dignity of a 
 classic' — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 ' This new edition of a great classic might make an honourable appearance in any 
 library in the world. Printed by Constable on laid paper, bound in most artistic 
 and restful-looking fig-green buckram, with a frontispiece portrait and an introduc- 
 tion by Mr. Charles Whibley, the book might well be issued at three times its 
 present price.' — Irish Independent, 
 
 'Cheap and comely ; a very agreeable tiMon,'— Saturday Rei'ievf. 
 
 'A real acquisition to the library,' — Birfniftghstn Post.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 9 
 
 THE COMEDIES OF WILLIAM CONGREVE. With an 
 Introduction by G. S. Street, and a Portrait. 2 vols. 
 25 copies on Japanese paper. 
 
 THE LIVES OF DONNE, WOTTON, HOOKER, HERBERT, 
 AND SANDERSON, By Izaak Walton, With an Introduction 
 by Vernon Blackburn, and a Portrait. 
 25 copies on Japanese paper. 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF HADJI BABA OF ISPAHAN. 
 By JAMES Morier. With an Introduction by E. S. Browne, M.A. 
 25 copies on Japanese paper. 
 
 THE POEMS OF ROBERT BURNS. With an Introduction 
 by W. E. Henley, and a Portrait. 2 vols. 
 30 copies on Japanese paper. 
 
 THE LIVES OF THE ENGLISH POETS. By Samuel 
 Johnson, LL.D. With an Introduction by John Hepburn 
 Millar, and a Portrait. 3 vols. 
 30 copies on Japanese paper. 
 
 Classical Translations 
 
 NEW VOLUMES 
 Crown Zvo. Finely printed and bound in blue buckram. 
 
 SOPHOCLES— Electra and Ajax. Translated by E. D. A. 
 MORSHEAD, M.A., late Scholar of New College, Oxford; Assistant 
 Master at Winchester. 2s. 6d. 
 
 TACITUS— Agricola and Germania. Translated by R. B. 
 TOWNSHEND, late Scholar of Trinity College, Cambridge. 2s. 6d. 
 
 A 2
 
 lo Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 i^eto anlj Eecent ISooksJ 
 Poetry 
 
 Eudyard Kipling. BARRACK-ROOM BALLADS; And 
 
 Other Verses. By Rddyard Kipling. Seventh Edition. Crown 
 
 %vo, 6s. 
 
 A Special Presentation Edition, bound in white buckram, with 
 
 extra gilt ornament. 7*' 6^« 
 
 ' Mr. Kipling's verse is strong, vivid, full of character. . . . Unmistakable genius 
 rings in every line.' — Times. 
 
 ' The disreputable lingo of Cockayne is henceforth justified before the world ; for a 
 man of genius has taken it in hand, and has shown, beyond all cavilling, that in 
 its way it also is a medium for literature. You are grateful, and you say to 
 yourself, half in envy and half in admiration : " Here is a iook ; here, or one is a 
 Dutchm.-in, is one of the books of the year." ' — N^ational Observer. 
 
 '"Barrack- Room Ballads" contains some of the best work that Mr. Kipling has 
 ever done, which is saying a good deal. " Fuzzy-Wuzzy," " Gunga Din," and 
 "Tommy," are, in our opinion, altogether superior to anything of the kind that 
 English literature has hitherto produced.' — Athenaum. 
 
 ' These ballads are as wonderful in their descriptive power as they are vigorous in 
 their dramatic force. There are few ballads in the English language more 
 stirring than "The Ballad of East and West, " worthy to stand by the Border 
 ballads of Scott.' — Spectator, 
 
 ' The ballads teem with imagination, they palpitate with emotion. We read them 
 with laughter and tears ; the metres throb in our pulses, the cunningly ordered 
 words tingle with life; and if this be not poetry, what is?' — Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Henley. LYRA HEROICA : An Anthology selected from the 
 best English Verse of the i6th, 17th, i8th, and 19th Centuries. By 
 William Ernest Henley, Author of 'A Book of Verse,' 'Views 
 and Reviews,* etc. Crown %vo. Stamped gilt buckram, gilt top, 
 edges uncut. 6f. 
 
 ' Mr. Henley has brought to the task of selection an instinct alike for poetry and for 
 chivalry which seems to us quite wonderfully, and even unerringly, right.' — 
 Guardian. 
 
 Jane Barlow. THE BATTLE OF THE FROGS AND MICE, 
 
 translated by Jane Barlow, Author of • Irish Idylls,' and pictured 
 by F. D. Bedford. Small a^to. 6j. net. 
 
 This is a new version of a famous old fable. Miss Barlow, whose brilliant volume 
 of ' Irish Idylls ' has gained her a wide reputation, has told the story in spirited 
 flowing verse, and Mr. Bedford's numerous illustrations and ornaments are a« 
 spirited as the verse they pictur?.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List ii 
 
 Tomson. A SUMMER NIGHT, AND OTHER POEMS. By 
 
 Graham R. Tomson. With Frontispiece by A. Tomson. Fcap. 
 
 8vo. 3^. 6J. 
 
 An edition on hand-made paper, limited to 50 copies, los. 6d. net. 
 
 ' Mrs. Tomson holds perhaps the rery highest rank among poetesses of English birth. 
 This selection will help her reputation.' — Black and IVhitt. 
 
 Ibsen. BRAND. A Drama by Henrik Ibsen. Translated by 
 William Wilson. Crown Svo. Second Edition. 3^. 6^. 
 
 'The greatest world-poem of the nineteenth century next to "Faust." "Brand" 
 will have an astonishing interest for Englishmen. It is in the same set with 
 "Agamemnon," with " Lear," v/ith the literature that we now instinctively regard 
 as high and holy.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 
 " Q." GREEN BAYS : Verses and Parodies. By « Q.," Author 
 
 of ' Dead Man's Rock,' etc. Second Edition. Fcap, Svo. y. 6d. 
 
 ' The verses display a rare and versatile gift of parody, great command of metre, and 
 a very pretty turn of humour.' — Times. 
 
 "A. G." VERSES TO ORDER. By"A.G." Cr. Svo. 2s.6d. 
 net. 
 
 A small volume of verse by a writer whose initials are well known to Oxford men. 
 ' A capital specimen of light academic poetry. These verses are very bright and 
 engaging, easy and sufficiently witty.' — St. Jatnes's Gazette. 
 
 Hosken. VERSES BY THE WAY. By J. D. Hosken. 
 
 Crown Svo. $s, 
 
 A small edition en hand-made paper. Price I2s. 6d. net, 
 
 A Volume of Lyrics and Sonnets by J. D. Hosken, the Postman Poet. Q, the 
 Author of ' The Splendid Spur,' writes a critical and biographical intro- 
 duction. 
 
 Gale. CRICKET SONGS. By Norman Gale. Crown Svo. 
 Linen, 2s, 6d, 
 
 Also a limited edition on hand-made paper. Demy Svo. \os. 6d. 
 net, 
 
 ' They are wrung out of the excitement of the moment, and palpitate with the spirit 
 
 of the game.' — Star. 
 ' As healthy as they are spirited, and ought to have a great success.' — Timet. 
 ' Simple, manly, and humorous. Every cricketer should buy the book.' — Westminster 
 
 Gazette. ' Cricket has never known such a singer.' — Cricket, 
 
 Langbridge. BALLADS OF THE BRAVE : Poems of Chivalry,, 
 
 Enterprise, Courage, and Constancy, from the Earliest Times to the 
 
 Present Day. Edited, with Notes, by Rev, F. Langbridge. 
 
 Crown Svo. Buckram y. 6d, School Edition, 2s. 6d. 
 
 ' A very happy conception happily carried out. These " Ballads of the Brave" are 
 intended lo suit the real tastes of boys, and will suit the taste of the great majority.' 
 —S/'ectatar. ' The book is full of splendid things.'— IVcr Id.
 
 12 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 English Classics 
 
 Edited by W. E. Henley. 
 
 Messrs. Methaeo are publishing, under this title, a series of the masterpieces of the 
 English tongue, which, while well within the reach of the average buyer, shall be 
 at once an ornament to the shelf of him that owns, and a delight to the eye of 
 him that reads. 
 
 The series, of which Mr. William Ernest Henley is the general editor, will confine 
 itself to no single period or department of literature. Poetry, fiction, drama, 
 biography, autobiography, letters, essays — in all these fields is the material of 
 many goodly volumes. 
 
 The bocks, which are designed and printed by Messrs. Constable, are Issued in two 
 editions — (i) A small edition, on the finest Japanese vellum, demy 8vo, su. a 
 volume nett ; (2) the popular edition on laid paper, crown 8vo, 3s. td. a volume. 
 
 THE LIFE AND OPINIONS OF TRISTRAM SHANDY. 
 By Lawrence Sterne. With an Introduction by Charles 
 Whibley, and a Portrait. 2 vols. "Js. 
 60 copies on Japanese paper. 421. 
 
 ' Very dainty volumes are these ; the paper, tyi>e and light green binding are all 
 very agreeable to the eye. "Simplex munditiis" is the phrase that might be 
 applied to them. So far as we know, Sterne's famous work has never appeared in 
 a guise more attractive to the connoisseur than this.' — Globe. 
 
 'The book is excellently printed by Messrs. Constable on good paper, and being 
 divided into two volumes, is light and handy without lacking the dignity of a 
 classic' — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 ' This new edition of a great classic might make an honourable appearance in any 
 library in the world. Printed by Constable on laid paper, bound in most artistic 
 and restful-looking fig -green buckram, witha frontispiece portrait and an introduc- 
 tion by Mr. Charles Whibley, the book might well be issued at three times its 
 present price.' — Irish Independent. 
 
 'Cheap and comely; a very agreeable edition.' — Saturday Revitw. 
 
 'A real acquisitioD to the library,' — Birmingham Post. 
 
 H 
 
 istory 
 
 Flinders Petrie. A HISTORY OF EGYPT, from the 
 Earliest Times to the Hyksos. By W. M. Flinders Petrie, 
 D.C.L., Professor of Egyptology at University College. Fully Illus- 
 trated, Crown ^vo. 6s. 
 
 'An important contribution to scientific study.'—Scolsman, 
 
 ' A history written in the spirit of scientific precision so worthily represented by Dr. 
 Petrie and his school cannot but promote sound and accurate study, and supply a 
 vacant place in the English literature of Egyptology.' — Times. 
 
 Flinders Petrie. TELL EL AMARNA. By W. M. Flinders 
 Petrie, D.C.L. With chapters by Professor A. H. Savcb., D.D.j 
 r. Ll. Griffith, F.S.A.; and F. C. J. Spurrell, J'.G.S. With 
 DQtnerous coloured Olustrations. Hoyal ^0. 20s. net.
 
 Messrs, Methuen's List 13 
 
 Clark. THE COLLEGES OF OXFORD : Their History and 
 
 their Traditions. By MemViers of the University. Eiiited by A. 
 
 Ct-ark, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Lincoln College, S710. T2s. 6d, 
 
 • Whether »he reader approaches the book as a patriotic member of a college, as an 
 
 antiquary, or as a ttujcnt of i.hi; organic growth of college fouDdation, it will amply 
 
 reward his attention.' — Ti^ts. 
 ' A delightful book, learned and lively.' — Acadimy. 
 ' A work which will certainly be appealed to for many years as the standard book on 
 
 the Colleges of Oxford.' — Athtnaum. 
 
 Perrecs. THE HISTORY OF FLORENCE FROM THE 
 TIME OF THE MEDICIS TO THE FALL OF THE 
 REPUBLIC. By F. T. Perrens. Translated by HANNAH 
 Lynch. In Thrf.e Volumes. Vol. I. %vo. 12s. M. 
 This is a translation from the French of the best history of Florence m existence. 
 This volume covers a period of profound interest — political and literary — and 
 is written with greit vivacity. 
 
 • This is a standard book by an honest and intelligent historian, who has deserved 
 
 well of "is countrymen, and of all who are interested id Italian history.' — Man- 
 chtstf^ Ouardian. 
 
 Browning. GUELPHSAND GHIBELLINES: A Short History 
 of Mediseval Italy, A.D. 1250- 1409 By Oscar Browning, Fellow 
 and Tutor of King's College, Cambridge. Second Edition. Crown 
 8vo. 5x, 
 
 'A very able book.' — IVesintinsier Gazette. 
 
 'A vivid picture of medizval Italy.' — Standard 
 
 O'Grady. THE STORY OF IRELAND. By Standish 
 
 O'Grady, Author of * Finn and hiR Companions.' Cr. ?ive. 2s. 6d. 
 
 ' Novel and ver>- fascinating history. Wonderfully alluring.'— Ci»-/t Examiner. 
 'Most delightful, most stimulating. Its racy humour, its original imaginings, its 
 
 perfectly unique history, make it one of the freshesti breeziest volumes.'— 
 
 Mtthodist Titftis. 
 •A survey at once graphic, acute, and quaintly written.' — Titfttt, 
 
 lilaJden. ENGLISH RECORDS. A Companion to the 
 
 History of England. By H. E. Maldkn, M.A, Crown ivo. y. 6d. 
 
 A book which aims at concentrating information upon dates, genealogy, officials, 
 
 constitutional documents, etc., which is usually found scattered in different 
 
 volumes. 
 
 Biography 
 
 Collingwood. JOHN RUSKIN : His Life and Work. By 
 
 W. G. Collingwood, M.A., Editor of Mr. Ruskhi's Poems. 
 
 3 vols. Sv». 331. Second Edition. 
 
 This iinpor:.tut work is written by Mr. Collingwood; vho has been for some years 
 2£t. iiiuki^'s ;>rlvate secreuury, and who has had unique advantai^es in obtaining
 
 14 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 materials for this book from Mr. Ruskin himself and from his friends. It contain* 
 a large amount of new matter, and of letters which have never been published, 
 and IS, in fact a full and authoritative biography of Mr. Ruskin. The book 
 contains numerous portraits of Mr. Ruskin including a coloured one from a 
 water-colour portrait by himself, and also 13 sketches, never before published, by 
 Mr. Ruskin and Mr. Arthur Severn. A bibliography is added. 
 
 ' No more magnificent volumes have been published for a long time, . . .' — Titnes. 
 
 'This most lovingly written and most profoundly interesting book.' — Daily News. 
 
 ' It is long since we have had a biography with such varied delights of substance 
 and of form. Such a book is a pleasure for the day, and a joy for ever.' — Daily 
 Chroniclt. 
 
 ' Mr. Ruskin could not well have been more fortunate in his biographer.' — Globe. 
 
 'A noble monument of a noble subject. One of the most beautiful books about one 
 of the noblest lives of our century.' — Glasgow Herald, 
 
 Waldstein. JOHN RUSKIN : a Study. By Charles Wald- 
 STEiN, M.A., Fellow of King's College, Cambridge. With a Photo- 
 gravure Portrait after Professor Herkomer. Post Svo. 5^' 
 Also 25 copies on Japanese paper. De7ny Svo. 21s. 
 
 ' Ruskinites will no doubt arise and join battle with Mr. Waldstein, who, all the 
 same has produced a remarkably fine piece of criticism, which is well worth read- 
 ing for its own sake.' — Glasgmv Herald. 
 
 'A thoughtful, impartial, well-written criticism of Ruskin's teaching, intended to 
 separate what the author regards as valuable and permanent from what is transient 
 and erroneous in the great master's writing.' — Daily'Ckroniclt. 
 
 Bobbins. THE EARLY LIFE OF WILLIAM EWART 
 GLADSTONE. By A. F. Robbins. With Portraits. Crown 
 Zvo. 65. 
 
 'The earlier years of Mr. Gladstone's political life stand out all the more finely, and 
 leave a more enduring impression, because of the absolute truthfulness and con- 
 scientiousness with which the record has been penned.' — Glasgow Herald, 
 
 ' Considerable labour and much skill of presentation have not been unworthily 
 expended on this interesting work.' — Titnes. 
 
 ' By immense labour, guided by a competent knowledge of affairs, he has given us _a 
 book which will be of permanent value to the student of political history. It is 
 exhaustively indexed, and accompanied by three portraits.' — Yorkshire Post. 
 ' Not only one of the most meritorious, but one of the most interesting, biographical 
 works that have appeared on the subject of the ex-Premier. ... It furnishes a 
 picture from many points original and striking ; it makes additions of value to the 
 evidence on which we are entitled to estimate a great public character ; and it 
 gives the reader's judgment exactly that degree of guidance which is the function 
 of a calm, restrained, and judicious historian.' — Birmingliant Daily Post. 
 
 'A carefully-planned narrative, into which is woven a great deal of information. . . . 
 h is pretty safe to predict that this volume will not only be read but retained on 
 library bookshelves as a useful book of reference.' — Daily News, 
 
 Clark RusseU. THE LIFE OF ADMIRAL LORD COL- 
 LINGWOOD. By W. Clark Russell, Author of ' The Wreck 
 of the Grosvenor.' With Illustrations by F. Brangwyn. Second 
 Edition. Crown %vo. 6s, 
 
 ' A really good book.' — Saturday Review. 
 
 ' A most excellent and wholesome book, which we should like to sec in the Tu.ndt of 
 every boy in the country.' — Si. /atnes't Gaaefft.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 15 
 
 General Literature 
 
 Oladstono. THE SPEECHES AND PUBLIC ADDRESSES 
 OF THE RT. HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, M.P. With Notes 
 and Introductions. Edited by A. W. Hotton, M.A. (Librarian of 
 the Gladstone Library), and H. J. Cohen, M.A. With Portraits. 
 Svo. Vols. IX. and X. I2s. 6d. tach. 
 
 Henley and Whibley. A BOOK OF ENGLISH PROSE. 
 Collected by W. E. Henley and Charles Whibley. Cr, Svo. 6s. 
 Also 40 copies on Dutch paper. 21s. net. 
 Also 15 copies on Japanese paper. 42 j, nef. 
 
 'A unique volume of extracts — an art gallery of early prose.' — Birmin^kam Post. 
 ' The book is delightfully got up, being printed by Messrs. Constable, who have 
 
 evidently bestowed most loving care upon it." — Publishers' Circular. 
 ' The anthology Is one every lover of good writing and quaint English will enjoy.'— 
 
 Literary IVorld. 
 ' An admirable companion to Mr. Henley's " Lyra Heroica.'' —Saturday Review. 
 'Quite delightful. The choice made has been excellent, and the volume has been 
 
 most admirably printed by Alessrs. Constable. A greater treat for those not well 
 
 acquainted with pre-R-storation prose could not be imagined.' — Athenceutn. 
 
 Wells. OXFORD AND OXFORD LIFE. By Members of 
 the University. Edited by J. Wells, M.A., Fellow and Tutor of 
 Wadham College. Crown Svo. ^s. 6d. 
 
 This work contains an account of life at Oxford— intellectual, social, and religious — 
 a careful estimate of necessary expenses, a review of recent changes, a statement 
 of the present position of the University, and chapters on Women's Education, 
 aids to study, and University Extension. 
 
 'We congratulate Mr. Wells on the production of a readable and intelligent account 
 of Oxford as it is at the present time, written by persons who are, with hardly an 
 exception, possessed of a close acquaintance with the system and life of the 
 University. — Atketueum. 
 
 Clialmers Mitchell OUTLINES OF BIOLOGY. By P. 
 
 Chalmers Mitchell, M.A., F.Z.S. Fully Illustrated. Crown 
 
 8z>0. 6s. 
 A text-book designed to cover the new Schedule Issued by the Royal College of 
 Physicians and Surgeons. 
 
 Dixon. ENGLISH POETRY FROM BLAKE TO BROWN- 
 ING. By W. M. Dixon, M.A. Crown Svo. 3s. 6d. 
 
 A Popular Account of the poetry of the Century. 
 
 'Scholarly in conception, and full of sound and suggestive criticism.'— 7"?WM. 
 •The book is remarkable for freshness of thought expressed in graceful language.' — 
 Manchester Examiner. 
 
 Bowden. THE EXAMPLE OF BUDDHA: Being Quota- 
 tions from Buddhist Literature for each Day in the Year. Compiled 
 by E. M. Bowden. With Preface by Sir Edwin Arnold, l^hird 
 Edition. 167/10, 2s, 6d.
 
 i6 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 Massee. A MONOGRAPH OF THE MYXOGASTRES, By 
 
 Georgr Masseb. With 12 Coloured Plates. Royalhvo, l%s.net. 
 'A work much in advance of any book in the language treating of this group oi 
 organisms. It is indispensable to every student of the Myxogastres. The 
 coloured plates deserve high praise for their accuracy and execution.' — Naiurt. 
 
 Busllill. PROFIT SHARING AND THE LABOUR QUES- 
 TION. By T. W. BusHiLL, a Profit Sharing Employer. With an 
 Introduction by Sedley Taylor, Author of ' Profit Sharing between 
 Capital and Labour.' Crown Zvo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 Jenks. ENGLISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT. By E Jenks, 
 M.A., Professor of Law at University College, Liverpool. Crown 
 Svo. 2s. 6d. 
 
 'The work is admirably done. Everything the average man will wish to know 
 respecting the history and bearing of the subject he is likely to learn from Professor 
 Jenks. He is told something of the origin of every form of the government under 
 which he lives and is rated, and may learn sufficient of the duties and powers of 
 local bodies to enable him to take an intelligent interest in their work.' — IVesitrn 
 Morning News. 
 
 '' Timely and admirable.' — Scotsman. 
 
 'Mr. Jenks undertakes to give in a brief compass an accurate description of the 
 public bodies and authorities by which we are surrounded, while just glancing 
 here and there at their origin and historical continuity through the ages. A 
 subject of much complexity is here judiciously summarised.' — Daily News. 
 
 ' We can cordially recommend the book as giving an excellent outline in genera! 
 terms of English local government,' — School Guardian. 
 
 Maiden. THE ENGLISH CITIZEN: His Rights and 
 Duties, By H. E. Malden, M.A. Crown Svo. is. 6d. 
 A simple account of the privileges and duties of the English citizen. 
 
 John Beever. PRACTICAL FLY-FISHING, Founded on 
 Nature, by John Bkkver, late of the Thwaite House, Coniston. A 
 New Edition, with a Memoir of the Author by W. G. COLLINGWOOD, 
 M.A. Also additional Notes and a. chapter on Char-Fishing, by A. 
 and A. R. Severn. With a specially designed title-page. Crown 
 Svo. 3^. 6d. 
 A little book on Fly-Ftshing by an old friend of Mr. Ruskin. It has been out ot 
 print for some time, and bein^ still much in request, is now issued with a Memoil 
 of the Author by W. G. CoUingwood. 
 
 Hutton. THE VACCINATION QUESTION. A Letter to 
 the Right Hon. H. H. AsQUITH, M.P. By A. W, HdttON, 
 M,A, Crown Svo, is. 6d.
 
 Messrs. Metkuen's List 17 
 
 Theology 
 
 Driver. SERMONS ON SUBJECTS CONNECTED WITH 
 
 THE OLD TESTAMENT. By S. R. Driver, D.D., Canon oi 
 
 Christ Church, Regius Professor of Hebrew in the Universiiy of 
 
 Oxford. Crown Svo. 6s, 
 
 'A welcome companion to the author's famous ' Introduction.' No man can read these 
 
 discourses without feeling that Dr. Driver is fully alive to the deeper teaching of 
 
 the Old Testament.' — Guardian. 
 
 Cheyne. FOUNDERS OF OLD TESTAMENT CRITICISM: 
 Biographical, Descriptive, and Critical Studies. By T. K. Cheyne, 
 D.D.5 Oriel Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture at 
 Oxford. Large crowr. Svo. Js. 6d. 
 
 This important book is a historical sketch of O.T. Criticism in the form of biographi- 
 cal studies from the days of Eichhorn to those of Driver and Robertson Smith. 
 It is the only book of its kind in Entjlish. 
 ' The volume is one of great interest and value. It displays all the author's vsrell- 
 knowu ability and learning, and its opportune publication has laid all students of 
 theology, and specially of Bible criticism, under weighty obligation.' — Scotsman. 
 ' A very learned and instructive work.' — Tintti. 
 
 Prior. CAMBRIDGE SERMONS. Edited by C. H. Prior, 
 M.A., Fellow and Tutor of Pembroke College. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 A volume of sermons preached before the University of Cambridge by various 
 preachers, including the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop Westcott. 
 
 'A representative collection. Bishop Westcott s is a noble sermon.' — Guarditut, 
 
 • Full of thoughtfulness and dignity.' — Record. 
 
 BeecMng. SERMONS TO SCHOOLBOYS. By H. C. 
 
 Bkeching, M.A., Rector of Yattendon, Berks. With a Preface by 
 Canon Scott Holland. Crown Svo. zs. 6d. 
 
 Seven sermons preached before the boys of Bradfield College. 
 
 Layard. RELIGION IN BOYHOOD. Notes on the Reli- 
 gious Training of Boys. With a Preface by J. R. Illingworth. 
 By E. B. Layard, M.A. i8mo. is. 
 
 James. CURIOSITIES OF CHRISTIAN HISTORY PRIOR 
 TO THE REFORMATION. By Croakb James, Author of 
 • Curiosities of Law and Lawyers.' Crown Svo. 'js. 6d. 
 'This volume contains a great deal of quaint and curious matter, affording some 
 " particulars of the interesting persons, episodes, and events from the Christian's 
 point of view during the first fourteen centuries." Wherever we dip into his pages 
 we find something worth dipping into.' — JoIm Bull. 
 
 Kaufmann. CHARLES KINGSLEY. By M. Kaufmann, 
 
 M.A. Crown Sw, Buckram, ^s. 
 
 A biography of Kingsley, especially dealing with his achievements In social reform. 
 ' The author has certainly gone about bis work with conscieotionsaess and industry.'— 
 
 Skiif.tU L'aiiy Ttlisra^k.
 
 i8 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 SDetotfonal BooM* 
 
 With Full-i^agt niustraHtHS. 
 
 THE IMITATION OF CHRIST. By THOMAS k Kempis. 
 With an Introduction by Archdbacon Farrar. Illustrated by 
 C. M. Gere, and printed In black and red. Fcap. Zvo. %s. 6d. 
 
 ' A new and beautiful edition of a book that will abide during the ages. The paging 
 and type-work aie perfect, and the effect is heightened by the large, fine-cut meta] 
 letter in vermilioa wbicb marks the beginning of each verse or paragraph of the 
 volume.' — Frttman's Journal. 
 
 •We must draw attention to the antique style, quaintness, and typographical excel- 
 lence of the work, its red-letter 'initials' and black letter type, and old-fashioned 
 paragraphic arrangement of pagei. The antique paper, uncut edges, and illustra- 
 tions are in accord with the other features of this unique little work.' — Newsaj^ent. 
 
 'Amongst all the innumerable English editions of the 'Imitation,' there can have 
 been few which were prettier than this one, printed in itrong and handsome type 
 by Messrs. Constable, with all the glory of red initials, and the comfort of buckram 
 binding.' — Glatgow Herald. 
 
 THE CHRISTIAN YEAR. By John Keble. With an Intro- 
 duction and Notes by W. Lock, M.A., Sub- Warden of Keble 
 College, Author of 'The Life of John Keble.' Illustrated by R. 
 Anning Bell. Fcap. Svo. 5/. [Easier. 
 
 Leaders of Religion 
 
 Edited by H. C. BEECHING, M. A. JVitA For(rai(s, croioH Svo. 
 
 A series of short biographies of the most pro- 1 ^ . ^ 
 
 minent leaders of religious life and thought of O /rS Cy /^ li\ 
 all ages and countries. ^1 ^^ ^^ ^j ^-^ 
 
 The following arc ready — 23. 6d. 
 
 CARDINAL NEWMAN. By R. H. HUTTON. Second Edition. 
 
 ' Few who read this book will fail to be struck by the wonderful insight it displays 
 into the nature of the Cardinal's genius and the spirit of hit life.' — WiLrxio 
 AVard, in th* Tahiti. 
 
 ' Full of knowledge, excellent in method, and intelligent va criticisia. We regard it 
 as wholly admirable.' — Academy, 
 
 JOHN WESLEY. By J. H. Overton, M.A. 
 
 ' It is well done : the story is clearly told, proportion is duly observed, and there U 
 no lack either of discrimination or of sympathy.' — Manchcsttr Gumrdian. 
 
 BISHOP WILBERFORCE, By G. W. Daniel, M.A. 
 CARDINAL MANNING. By A. W. HuTTON, M.A, 
 CHARLES SIMEON. By H. C. G. Moule, M.A.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's Lisy 19 
 
 3s. 6d. 
 
 JOHN KEBLE. By Walter Lock, M.A. Seventh Editien. 
 
 THOMAS CHALMERS. By Mrs. Oliphant. Second Edition. 
 
 LANCELOT ANDREWES, Bishop of Winchester. By R. L. 
 Ottley, M.A. 
 
 ' A very interesting and skilful monograph.' — Times. 
 
 ' Mr. Ottley has told the story of a great career with judgment and knowledge, and 
 he has not forgotten to indicate either the forces which shaped it, or the force 
 which it has in turn contrihuted to the shaping of the religious life of to-day. — 
 Leeds Mercury. 
 
 AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY, By E. L. CUTTS, D.D. 
 WILLIAM LAUD. By W. H. Hutton, M.A. 
 
 Other volumes will be announced in due course. 
 
 Works by S. Baring Gould 
 
 OLD COUNTRY LIFE. With Sixty-seven illustrations by 
 W. Parkinson, F. D. Bedford, and F. Masey. Large Crown 
 Svo, cloth super extra, top tdgc gilt, \qs, 6d. Fifth and Cheaper 
 Edition. 6s. 
 
 ' " Old Country Life," as healthy wholesome reading, full of breezy life and move- 
 ment, full of quaint stories vigorously told, will not be excelled by any book to be 
 published throughout the year. Sound, hearty, aad English to the core.' — iVorld, 
 
 HISTORIC ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. Third 
 
 Edition. Crown ovo. 6s. 
 
 ' A. collection of exciting and entertaining chapter!. The whole volume is delightftil 
 reading. ' — Times. 
 
 FREAKS OF FANATICISM. Third Edition. CrowftZvo. 6s. 
 
 ' Mr. Baring Gould has a keen eye for colour and effect, and the subjects he has 
 chosen give ample scope to his descriptive and analytic faculties. A perfectly 
 fascinating book.' — Scottish Leader. 
 
 A GARLAND OF COUNTRY SONG : English Folk Songs 
 with their traditional melodies. Collected and arranged by S. 
 Baring Gould and H. Fleetwood Shkppard. Demy i^to. 6s. 
 
 SONGS OF THE WEST: Traditional Ballads and Songs of 
 
 the West of England, with their Traditional Melodies. Collected 
 
 by S. Baring Gould, M.A., and H. Fleetwood Sheppard, 
 
 M.A. Arranged for Voice and Piano. In 4 Parts (containing 25 
 
 Songs each), Farts /., //., ///., 3X. each. Part IV. , ^s. In one 
 
 V«l., French morocco, 15^. 
 
 ' A rich and varied collection of humcar, pathos, grace, and poetic fancy. — Saturday 
 Revirw.
 
 20 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 A BOOK OF FAIRY TALES retold by S. Baring Goui.r, 
 With numerous illustrations and initial letters by Arthdk. J. Gaskin. 
 Croivr. %vo. Buckram. 6j. 
 
 'Tue stories are old friends — Cinderella, Bluebeard, the Three Bears, and so on — la 
 a new dress of simple language which their skilled reviser has given them. They 
 make adeligiitful collection, and Mr. Gaskin's illustrations have a beauty all their 
 own, a beauty which some will judge to be beyond the appreciation of children, 
 but a child is sure to be interested by these pictures, and the impression they 
 give cannot but have the best effect in the formation of a good taste.' — Scotsmar.. 
 
 ' Mr. Baring Gould has done a good deed, and is deserving of gratitude, in re-writ- 
 ing in honest, simple style the old stories that delighted the childhood of "our 
 fathers and grandfathers." We do not think he has omitted any of our favourite 
 Stories, the stories that are commonly regarded as merely "old-fashioned." A.S 
 to the form of the book, and the printing, which is by Messrs. Constable, it were 
 difficult to commend overmuch.'— 6'«/»r</<iy Review. 
 
 YORKSHIRE ODDITIES AND STRANGE EVENTS. 
 Fourth Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 STRANGE SURVIVALS AND SUPERSTITIONS. With 
 Illustrations. By S. Baring Gould. Crown Svo. Second Edition. 
 6s. 
 
 A book en such subjects as Foundations, Gables, Holes, Gallows, Raising the Hat, Old 
 Ballads, etc. etc. It traces in a most interesting manner their origin and history. 
 
 'We have read Mr. Baring Gould's book from beginning to end. It is full of qvuiint 
 and various information, and there is not a dull page in it ' — Notes and Queries. 
 
 THE TRAGEDY OF THE CAESARS: The 
 
 Emperors of the Julian and Claudian Lines. With numerous Illus- 
 trations from Busts, Gems, Cameos, etc. By S. Baring Goold, 
 Author of ' Mehalah,' etc. Third Edition. Royal Svo. i^s. 
 ' A most splendid and fascinating book on a subject of undying interest. The great 
 feature of the book is the use the author has made of the existing portraits of the 
 Caesars, and the admirable critical subtlety he has exhibited in dealing with this 
 line of research. It is brilliantly written, and the illustrations are supplied on a 
 scale of profuse magnificence.' — Daily Chronicle. 
 ' The volumes will in no sense disappoint the general reader. Indeed, in their way, 
 there is nothing in any sense so good in English. . . . Mr. Baring Gould has 
 presented his narrative in such away as not to make one dull page.' — Atketututn. 
 
 THE DESERTS OF SOUTHERN FRANCE. By S. Baring 
 Godld. With numerous Illustrations by F. D. Bedford, S. 
 HuTTON, etc. 2 vols. Demy Svo. 325. 
 
 This book is the first serious attempt to describe the great barren tableland that 
 extends to the south of Limousin in the Department of AveyroU; Lot, etc., a 
 country of dolomite cliffs, and canons, and subterranean rivers. The region is 
 full of prehistoric and historic interest, relics of cave-dwellers, of media:val 
 robbers, and of the English domination and the Hundred Years' War. 
 
 'His two richly-illustrated volumes are full of matter of interest to the geologist, 
 the archjeologist, and the student of history and manners.' — Scotsman. 
 
 ' It deals with its subject in a manner which rarely fails to arrest and enchdn atten- 
 tion.' — Times. 
 
 ' We leave the author with a clear and delightful knowledge of the district and with 
 a fresh attraction towards himself.' — Leeds Mercury. 
 
 'A wholly crigitu;! &£>d i.2'i$uiatiy aiU;iictiv« work,' — Daily News.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 21 
 
 infi. Baring gould's novels 
 
 'To say that a book is by the author of " Mehalah "_ is to imply that it contains a 
 story cast on strong lines, containing dramatic possibilitieF, vivid and sympathetic 
 descriptions of Nature, and a wealth of ingenious imagery.' — Speaker. 
 
 ' That whatever Mr. Baring Gould writes is well worth reading, is a conclusion that 
 may be very generally accepted. His views of life are fresh and vigorous, his 
 language pointed and characteristic, the incidents of which he makes use are 
 striking and original, his characters are lifelike, and though somewhat excep- 
 tional people, are drawn and coloured with artistic force. Add to this that his 
 descriptions of scenes and scenery are painted with the loving eyes and skilled 
 bands of a master of his art, that he is always fresh and never dull, and under 
 such conditions it is no wonder that readers have gained confidence both in his 
 power of amusing and satisfying them, and that year by year his popularity 
 widens.' — Court Circular. 
 
 SIX SHiLLINGS EACH 
 
 IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA : A Tale of the Cornish Coast. 
 MRS. CURGENVEN OF CURGENVEN. 
 CHEAP JACK ZITA, 
 THE QUEEN OF LOVE. 
 KITTY ALONE. 
 
 THREE SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE EACH 
 
 ARMINELL : A Social Romance. 
 
 URITH : A Story of Dartmoor. 
 
 MARGERY OF QUETHER, and other Stories. 
 
 JACQUETTA, and other Stories. 
 
 Fiction 
 
 SIX SHILLING NOVELS 
 
 Marie Corelli. BARABBAS : A DREAM OF THE WORLD'S 
 TRAGEDY. By Marie Corelli, Author of 'A Romance of Two 
 Worlds,' ' Vendetta,' etc. Fourteenth Edition. Crown 8vo. 6s. 
 
 'The tender reverence of the treatment and the imaginative beauty of the writing 
 have reconciled us to the daring of the conception, and the conviction is forced on 
 us that even so exalted a subject cannot be made too familiar to us, provided it be 
 presented in the true spirit of Christian faith. The amplifications of the Scripture 
 narrative are often conceived with high poetic insight, and this " Dream of the 
 World's Tragedy " is, despite some trifling incongruities, a lofty and not inade- 
 quate paraphrase of the supreme climax of the inspired narrative.' — Dublin 
 Review. 
 
 Anthony Hope. THE GOD IN THE CAR. By Anthony 
 
 Hope, Author of ' A Change of Air,' etc. Sixth Edition. Ci-own 
 
 Zvo. 6s. 
 
 ' " The God in the Car " is so good, so Immeasurably better than anything 
 
 Mr. Hope has done before in the way of a novel of contemporary manners, that
 
 22 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 there seems no reason why he should not eventually reach that place in the front 
 rank, which he has evidently set before himself as his goal. "The God In the 
 Car " is a novel eminently worth readinp, full of brilliance, fire, and daring, and 
 above all full of promise of somethiog still better in the future, something which 
 will render criticism snperfluons.' — Manchesttr Guardian, 
 
 ' Ruston is drawn with extraordinary slcill, and Maggie Dennison with many subtle 
 strokes. The minor characters are clear cut. In short the book is a brilliant one. 
 " The God in the Car" is one of the most remarkable works in a year that has 
 given us the handiwork of nearly all our best living novelists.' — Standard, 
 
 ' A very remarkable book, deserving of critical analysis impossible within our limit ; 
 brilliant, but not superficial ; well considered, but not elaborated ; constructed 
 with the proverbial art that conceals, but yet allows itself to be enjoyed by 
 readers to whom fine literary method is a keen pleasure ; true without cynicism, 
 subtle without affectation, humorous without strain, witty without oSence, inevit- 
 ably sad, with an unmorose simplicity.' — The World. 
 
 Anthony Hope, A CHANGE OF AIR. By Anthony Hope, 
 
 Author of ' The Prisoner of Zenda,' etc. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 'A graceful, vivacious comedy, true to human nature. The characters are traced 
 with a masterly hand.' — Titnes, 
 
 Anthony Hope. A MAN OF MARK. By Anthony Hope. 
 
 Author of 'The Prisoner of Zenda,' 'The God in the Car,' etc. 
 
 Second Edition. Crown Svo. 6t. 
 
 This is a re-issue of Anthony Hope's first novel. It has been out of print for some 
 years, and in view of the great popularity of the author, it has been reprinted. It 
 is a story of political adventure in South America, and is rather in the style of 
 ' The Prisoner of Zenda.' 
 
 Conan Doyle. ROUND THE RED LAMP. By A. Conan 
 Doyle, Author of • The White Company,' * The Adventures of Sher- 
 lock Holmes,' etc. Tkird Edition. Crown %vo, ds. 
 
 ' The reader will find in it some perfectly constructed stories, the memory of which 
 will haunt bim long after he has laid it down. The author again reveals himself 
 as a keenly sympathetic observer of life and a master of vigorous impressive narra- 
 tive.' — Yorkshire Post. 
 
 ' The book is, indeed, composed of leaves from life, and Is far and away the best 
 view that has been vouchsafed ns behind the scenes of the consulting-room. It U 
 very superior to " The Diary of a late Physician." ' — Illustrated London Netvs. 
 
 'Dr. Doyle wields a cunning pen, as all the world now knows. His deft touch is 
 seen to perfection in these short sketches — these ' ' facts and fancies of medical 
 lifa," as he calls them. Every page reveals the literary artist, the keen observer, 
 the trained delineator of human nature, its weal and its woe.' — Freeman's Journal. 
 
 ' These tales are skilful, attractive, and eminently suited to gire relief to the mind 
 of a reader in quest of distraction.' — Atkenaum, 
 
 ' The book is one to buy as well as to borrow, and that it will repay both buyer and 
 borrower with interest.' — Sunday Titfzes. 
 
 ' It is quite safe to assert that no one who begins to read ' Ronnd the Red Lamp' 
 will voluntarily lay the book aside nntil every one of its fascinating pages has 
 been perused." — Lady. 
 
 ' No mere interestini;; and occasionally sensational stories have appeared than these.' 
 — Punch.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 23 
 
 Stanley Weyman. UNDER THE RED ROBE. By Stanley 
 Weyman, Author of ' A Gentleman of France.' With Twelve Illus- 
 trations by R, Caton Woodville. Sixth Edition. Crown %vo. 6s, 
 
 A cheaper edition of a book which won instant popularity. No unfavourable review 
 occurred, and most critics spoke in terms of enthusiastic admiration. The ' West- 
 tainster Gazette ' called it ' a book of which uie have read every word/or the sheer 
 pleasure o/ reading, and -which -we /ntt down with a pang that we cannot forget 
 it all and start again.' The ' Daily Chronicle ' said that 'every one who reads 
 books at all must read this thrilling romance, from, the first page of which to the 
 last the breathless reader is haled along.' It also called the book ' an inspiration 
 of manliness and courage.' The ' Globe ' called it ' a delightful tale of chivalr-y 
 and adventure, vivid and dramatic, with a wholesome modesty and reverence 
 for thu highest} 
 
 E. F. Benson, DODO : A DETAIL OF THE DAY. By E. F. 
 
 Benson. Crown "Sivo. Fourteenth Edition. 6s. 
 A story of society which attracted by its brilliance universal attention. The best 
 critics were cordial in their praise. The ' Guardian ' spoke of 'Dodo'as'«»- 
 usually clever and interesting ; the ' Spectator ' callad it ' a delightfully witty 
 sketch of society ; ' the ' Speaker ' said the dialogue was ' a perpetual feast of 
 epigram and paradox ' ; the ' Athenzura ' spoke of the author as ' a writer 
 of quite exceptional ability ' ; the ' Academy ' praised his ' amazing cleverness ; ' 
 the 'World' said the book was 'brilliantly written'; and half-a-dozen papers 
 declared there was ' net a dull page in the book.' 
 
 E. F. Benson. THE RUBICON. By E. F. Benson, Author of 
 'Dodo.' Fourth Edition, Crown %vo. 6s. 
 Of Mr. Benson's second novel the ' Birmingham Post ' says it is ' well writtui, 
 stimulating, unconventional, and, in a word, characteristic ' : the ' National 
 Observer ' congratulates Mr. Benson upon ^ an exceptional achievement^ and 
 calls the book ' a ratable advance on his previous work.' 
 
 Baring Gould. IN THE ROAR OF THE SEA: A Tale of 
 the Cornish Coast. By S. Baring Gould. Fifth Edition. 6s. 
 
 Baring Gould. MRS. CURGENVEN OF CURGENVEN. 
 By S. Baring Godld. Third Edition. 6s. 
 
 A story of Devon life. The ' Graphic ' speaks of it as ' a novel of vigorous humour and 
 sustained power ' ; the ' Sussex Daily News ' says that ' the swing of the narrative 
 is splendid' ; and the ' Speaker' mentions its ' bright imaginative power.' 
 
 Baring Gould. CHEAP JACK ZITA. By S. Baring Gould. 
 
 Third Edition. Crown $vo. 6s. 
 
 A Romance of the Ely Fen District in i8is, which the 'Westminster Gazette' calls 
 ' a powerful drama of human passion' ; and the ' National Observer ' 'a story 
 
 worthy the author.' 
 
 Baring Gould. THE QUEEN OF LOVE. By S. Baring 
 Godld. Second Edition. Crown ive. 6s. 
 The ' Glasgow Herald ' says that ' tlu scenery is admirable, and the dramatic inci- 
 dents are most striking.' The 'Westminster Gazette' calls the book 'strong, 
 interesting, and clever.' 'Punch' says that 'you cannot put it down until you 
 have finished it.' ' The Sussex Daily News ' says that it ' can be heartily recom 
 ffttnded to all who cart for cleanly, energetic, and interesting fiction,'
 
 24 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 Baring Gould. KITTY ALONE. By S. Baring Gould, 
 
 Author of 'Mehalah,' 'Cheap Jack Zita,' etc. Second Edition. 
 
 Crown Zvo. 6x. 
 ' A strong and original story, teeming with graphic description, stirring incident, 
 
 and, above all, with vivid and enthralling human interest.' — Daily Telegraph, 
 'Brisk, clever, keen, healthy, humorous, and \n\.fitii.Mng.'— National Observer. 
 ' Full of quaint and delightful studies of ch^tSLCtti.'— Bristol Mercury. 
 
 W.E.Norris. MATTHEW AUSTIN. By VV. E. NORRIS, Author 
 of • Mdlle. de Mersac,' etc. Second Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' "Matthew Austin" may safely he pronounced one of the most intellectually satis- 
 factory and morally bracing novels of the current year.' — Daily Telegraph. 
 
 ' The characters are carefully and cleverly drawn, and the story Ls Ingenious and 
 interesting.' — Guardian. 
 
 'Mr. W. E. Norris is always happy in his delineation of everyday experiences, but 
 rarely has he been brighter or breezier than in " Matthev/ Austin." The picture! 
 »re in Mr. Norris'* pleasantest vein, while running through the entire story is a 
 felicity of style and wholesomeness of tone which one is accustomed to find in the 
 novels of this favourite author.' — Scots-man. 
 
 • Mr. Norris writes as an educated and shrewd ob-jcrver, and as a gentleman.'— 
 Pall Mall Budget, 
 
 W. E. Norris. HIS GRACE. By W. E. Norris, Author of 
 
 •Mademoiselle de Mersac' Third Edition, Crown 2>vo. 6s. 
 
 'The characters are delineated by the author with his characteristic skill and 
 vivacity, and the story is told with that ease of manners and Thackerayean in- 
 sight which give strength of flavour to Mr. N orris's novels No one can depict 
 the Englishwoman of the better classes with more subtlety.'— G/aj^(W«i Herald. 
 
 ' Mr. Norris has drawn a really fine character in the Duke of Hurstbourne, at once 
 unconventional and very true to the conventionalities of life, weak a id strong in 
 a breath, capable of inane follies and heroic decisions, yet not so definitely por- 
 trayed as to relieve a reader of the necessity of study on his own behalf.'— 
 A ihencetttn, 
 
 Gilbert; Parker. MRS. FALCHION. By Gilbert Parker, 
 
 Author of 'Pierre and His People.' New Edition. 6s. 
 Mr. Parker's second book has received a warm welcome. The ' Athenaeum ' called 
 it ' a splendid study of character ' ; the ' Pall Mall Gazette 'spoke of the writing as 
 • iut little behind anything that has been done by any writer of our time ' ; the 
 ' St. James's ' called it 'a very striking and admirable novel' \ and the ' West- 
 minster Gazette ' applied to it the epithet of ' distinguished.' 
 
 Gilbert Parker. PIERRE AND HIS PEOPLE. By Gilbert 
 Parker. Crown 8»o. Buckram. 6s. 
 ' Stories happily conceived and finely executed. There is strength and genius in Mr. 
 Parker's style.'— Daily Telegraph. 
 
 Gilbert Parker. THE TRANSLATION OF A SAVAGE. By 
 Gilbert Parker, Author of 'Pierre and His People,' 'Mrs. 
 Falchion,' etc. Crown %vo. 6s. 
 
 'The plot is original and one difficult to work out; but Mr. Parkerhas done It with 
 great skill and delicacy. The reader who is not interested in this original, fresh, 
 and v.ell-told tale must be a dull person indeed.' — Daily Chronicle.^ 
 
 'A strong and successful piece of workmanship. The portrait of Lali, Strong, digni- 
 fied, aud pure, is exccptiunally well drawn.' — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 •A very pretty and interesting story, and Mr. Parker tells it with much skilL The 
 Story is one to be read.' — St. James's Gcuettt.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 25 
 
 Gilbert Parker. THE TRAIL OF THE SWORD. By Gilbert 
 Parker, Author of ' Pierre and his People,' etc. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 A historical romance dealing with a stirring period in the history of Canada, 
 
 Arthur Morrison. TALES OF MEAN STREETS. By Arthur 
 Morrison. Crown 8vo, 6s. 
 
 ' Told with consummate art and extraordinary detail. He tells a plain, unvarnished 
 tale, and the very truth of it makes for beauty. In the true humanity of the book 
 lies its justification, the permanence of its interest, and its indubitable triumph.' — 
 Ai/se 
 
 'Each story is complete in itself, vivid, engrossing. His work is literature, and 
 literature of a high order.' — Realtn. 
 
 'A great book. The author's method is amazingly effective, and produces a thrilling 
 sense of reality. The writer lays upon us a master hand. The book is simply 
 appalling and irresistible in its mterest. It is humorous also ; without humour 
 it would not make the mark it is certain to mzke.' — lVorid. 
 
 ' Mr. Morrison has shot the flashlight of his unmistakable genius. The literary 
 workmanship is of the highest order.' — Ahcrdeen Press. 
 
 ' Powerful pictures from the lower social depths.' — Morning Post. 
 
 Robert Ban. IN THE MIDST OF ALARMS. By Robert 
 Barr, Author of ' From Whose Bourne,' etc. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 ' A delightful romance with experiences strange and exciting. There are two pretty 
 girls in the story, both the heroes fall in love, and the development of this thread 
 of the tale is in all respects charming. The dialogue is always bright and witty ; 
 the scenes are depicted briefly and effectively ; and there is no incident from first 
 to last that one would wish to have omitted.' — Scotsman. 
 
 Pryce. TIME AND THE WOMAN. By Richard Pryce, 
 Author of * Miss Maxwell's Affections,' 'The Quiet Mrs. Fleming,' 
 etc. New and Cheaper Edition. Crown Svo. 6s. 
 
 ' Mr. Pryce's work recalls the style of Octave Feuillet, by its clearness, conciseness, 
 its licerary reserve.' — Aihencevnt. 
 
 Marriott Watson. DIOGENES OF LONDON and other 
 Sketches. By H. B. Marriott Watson, Author of 'The Web 
 of the Spider.' Crown Svo. Buckram. 6s. 
 ' By all those who delight in the uses of worths, who rate the exercise of prose above 
 the exercise of verse, who rejoice in all pre ofs of Its delicacy and its strength, who 
 believe that English prose is chief among the moulds of thought, by these 
 Mr. Marriott Watson's book will be welcomed." — National Qbstrvtr. 
 
 Gilchrist. THE STONE DRAGON. By Murray Gilchrist. 
 
 Crown Svo. Buckram. 6s. 
 
 ' The author's faults are atoned for by certain positive and admirable merits. The 
 romances have not their counterpart in modern literature, and to read them is a 
 unique experience.' — National Obscrvtr. 
 
 THREE-AND-8IXPENNY NOVELS 
 
 Edna Lyall. DERRICK VAUGHAN, NOVELIST. By 
 Edna Lyall, Author of ' Donovan,' etc. Crown Svo. 31. 6d. 
 
 Baring Gould. ARMINELL: A Social Romance. By S. 
 Baring Gocld. New Edition. Crown %vo. 3.'. 6./.
 
 26 Messrs. Methuens List 
 
 Baring Gould. URITH : A Story of Dartmoor, By S. Baring 
 
 GODLD. Third Edition. Crown Svo. ^s. 6d. 
 
 'The author is at his beit." — Times. 
 
 ' He has acarly reached the high water-mark of " Mehalah." '—National Oiitrvtr. 
 
 Baring Gould. MARGERY OF QUETHER, and other Stories. 
 By S. Baring Godld. Crown &vo. 31. 6d. 
 
 Baring Gould. JACQUETTA, and other Stories. By S. Baring 
 
 Go OLD. Crown Svo. ^s. 6d. 
 
 Gray. ELSA. A Novel. By E. M'Queen Gray. Crown Svo. 
 3J. 6d. 
 'A charming novel. The characters are not only powerful sketches, but mlnntely 
 
 and carefully finished portraits.' — Guardian. 
 
 J. H. Pearce. JACO TRELOAR. By J. H, Pearce, Author of 
 
 'Esther Pentreath.' New Edition. Crown Svo. y. 6d. 
 A tragic story of Cornish life by a writer of remarkable power, whose first novel has 
 
 been highly praised by Mr. Gladstone. 
 The 'Spectator' speaks of Mr. Pc3.Tcczs'avtriterofexceptifiutlpinuer'; the 'Daily 
 
 Telegraph' calls the book 'powerful and picfieres^Me' liiit 'Birmingham Post' 
 
 asserts that it is 'a novtl of high quality.' 
 
 Clark RusseU. MY DANISH SWEETHEART. By W. 
 Clark Russkll, Author of 'The Wreck of the Grosvenor,' etc. 
 Illustrated. Third Edition. Crozvn 8vc. ^s. 6d. 
 
 X. L. AUT DIABOLUS AUT NIHIL, and Other Stories. 
 By X. L. Crown %vo. 3i. dd. 
 
 ' Distinctly original and in the highest degree imaginative. The conception is almost 
 as lofty as Milton's.' — Spectator. 
 
 'Original to a degree of originality that may be called primitive— a kind of passion- 
 ate directness that absolutely absorbs \is.' —Saturday Review. 
 
 ' Of powerful interest. There is something startlingly original in the treatment of the 
 themes. The terrible realism leaves no doubt of the author's power.'— .<4 tlienaum. 
 
 ' The stories possess the rare merit of originality.' — Speaker. 
 
 O'Grady. THE COMING OF CUCULAIN. A Romance of 
 the Heroic Age of Ireland. By Standish Q'Grady, Author of 
 * Finn and his Companions,' etc. Illustrated by MORRAY Smith. 
 Crown Svo. y. 6d. 
 
 ' A flashlight thrown on the greatness and splendour of our ancestors. Redolent of 
 freshness and parity.' — Cork Herald. ^ 
 
 ' The sugg -^tions of mystery, the rapid and exciting action, are superb poetic effects. 
 — Speaker. 
 
 ' For light and colour it resemblei nothing so much as a Swiss diWD.'—Manchesttr 
 Guardian. 
 
 ' A romance extremely fascinating and admirably well knit.'— Saturday Review. 
 
 Constance Smitli. A CUMBERER OF THE GROUND. 
 By Constance Smith, Author of * The Repentance of Paul Weat- 
 Ti'orth,' etc. New Edition. Crown Svo. p. ^i.
 
 Messrs. Methuen's List 27 
 
 Author of 'Vera.' THE DANCE OF THE HOURS. By 
 
 the Author of ' Vera.' Crown Svo. 3^. 6d. 
 
 Esmh Stuart. A WOMAN OF FORTY. By EsMfe Stuart, 
 Author of •Muriel's Marriage,' 'Virginie's Husband,' etc. JVew 
 Edition. Crown ive. Jf. 6(/. 
 ' The story Is well written, and some of the scenes show great dramatic power.' — 
 Daily Chronicle. 
 
 Fenn. THE STAR GAZERS. By G. Manville Fenn, 
 Author of ' Eli's Children,' etc. New Edition, Cr. Svo. 3^. 6d. 
 'A stirring romance.' — W€itern Morning News. 
 ' Told with all the dramatic power for which Mr. Fenn is consplcaons.'— 5r<»<^A-<i 
 
 Oliservcr. 
 
 Dickinson. A VICAR'S WIFE. By Evelyn Dickinson. 
 
 Crown Svo. 2^. 6d. 
 
 Prowse. THE POISON OF ASPS. By 3ft, Orton Prowse. 
 Crown ivo, 3^. 6d, 
 
 Grey. THE STORY OF CHRIS. By Rowland Grey. 
 Crown 8vo, ^s, 
 
 Lynn Linton. THE TRUE HISTORY OF JOSHUA DAVID- 
 SON, Christian and Communisi.. By E. LYNN LiNTON. Eleventh 
 Edition. Fost Svo. is. 
 
 HALF-CROWN NOVELS 
 
 A Series 0/ Novels by popular Authors^ tastefulfy 
 bound in cloth. 
 
 2/6 
 
 1. THE PLAN OF CAMPAIGN. By F. MABEL ROBINSON, 
 
 2. DISENCHANTMENT. By F. Mabel Robinson. 
 
 3. MR. BUTLER'S WARD. By F. Mabel Robinson. 
 
 4. HOVENDEN, V.C. By F, Mabel Robinson. 
 
 5. ELI'S CHILDREN. By G. Manville Fenn. 
 
 6. A DOUBLE KNOT. By G. Manville Fenn. 
 
 7. DISARMED. By M. Betham Edwards. 
 
 8. A LOST ILLUSION. By Leslie Keith. 
 
 9. A MARRIAGE AT SEA. By W. Clark Russell. 
 
 10. IN TENT AND BUNGALOW. By the Author of ' Indian 
 
 Idylls.' 
 
 11. MY STEWARDSHIP. By E. M'Qu.een GrAY.
 
 28 Messrs. Metkuen's List 
 
 12. a reverend gentleman. by j. m. cobban. 
 
 13. a deplorable affair. by w. e. norris. 
 
 14. jack's father. by w. e. norris. 
 
 Other volumes will be announced in due course. 
 
 Books for Boys and Girls 
 
 Baring Gould. THE ICELANDER'S SWORD, By S. 
 Baring Gould, Author of 'Mchalah,' etc. "With Twenty-nine 
 Illustrations by J. Moyr Smith. Crown ?>vo. 6s. 
 A stirring story of Iceland, written for boys by the author of ' In the Roar of the Sea. 
 
 Cuthell. TWO LITTLE CHILDREN AND CHING. By 
 
 Edith E. Cothell. Profusely Illustrated. Crown Svo. Cloik, 
 gilt edges, ^s. 6d. 
 Another story, with a dog hero, by the author of the very popular ' Only a Guard- 
 Room Dog. 
 
 Blake. TODDLEBEN'S HERO. By M. M. Blake, Author of 
 'The Siege of Norwich Castle.' With 36 Illustrations. Crown 
 Zvo. 3^. 6d. 
 
 A story of military life for children. 
 
 Cuthell. ONLY A GUARD-ROOM DOG. By Mrs. Cuthell. 
 
 With 16 Illustrations by W. Parkinson. Square Crown 2>vo. y. 6a. 
 
 ' This is a charming story. Tangle was but a little mongrel Skye terrier, but he had a 
 big heart in his little body, and played a hero's part more than once. The book 
 can be warmly recommended.' — Standard. 
 
 Collingwood. THE DOCTOR OF THE JULIET. By Harry 
 COLLINGWOOD, Author of 'The Pirate Island,' etc. Illustrated by 
 Gordon Browne. Crown Svo. y. 6d, 
 
 ' "The Doctor of the Juliet," well illustrated by Gordon Browne, Is one of Harry 
 Collingwood's best efforts.' — Afomittg' Post. 
 
 Clark RusseU. MASTER ROCKAFELLAR'S VOYAGE. By 
 
 W. Clark Rdssell, Author of ' The Wreck of the Grosvenor,' etc. 
 Illustrated by GORDON Browne. Second Edition, Crown Svo. 
 3^. 6d. 
 
 ' Mr. Clark Russell's story of " Master Rockafellar's Voyage " will be among the 
 favourites of the Christmas books. There is a rattle and " go" all through it, arid 
 its illustrations are charming in themselves, and very much above the average in 
 the way in which they are produced.' — Guardian. 
 
 Manville Fenn. SYD BELTON : Or, The Boy who would not 
 go to Sea. By G. Manville Fenn, Author of ' In the King's 
 Name,' etc. Illustrated by Gordon Browne. Crown Svo. 3^. 6d. 
 ' Who among the young story-reading public will not rejoice at the sight of the old 
 combination, so often proved admirable— a story by Manville Fenn, illustrated 
 by Gordon Browne? The story, too, is one of the good old sort, full of life and 
 Vigour, breezinesj and i^n-'—Jeurnal 0/ Edttcatum.
 
 Messrs. Methuen s List 29 
 
 3/6 
 
 The Peacock Library 
 
 A Series of Books for Girls by luell-knovjti Authors, 
 handsomely bound in blue and silver, and well illustrated. 
 Crown Zvo, 
 
 1. A PINCH OF EXPERIENCE. By L. B. Walford. 
 
 2. THE RED GRANGE. By Mrs. Molesworth. 
 
 3. THE SECRET OF MADAME DE MONLUC. By the 
 
 Author of ' Mdle Mori.' 
 
 4. DUMPS. By Mrs. Parr, Author of 'Adam and Eve.' 
 
 5. OUT OF THE FASHION. By L. T. Meade. 
 
 6. A GIRL OF THE PEOPLE. By L. T. Meade. 
 
 7. HEPSY GIPSY. By L. T. Meade. 2j. 6d. 
 
 8. THE HONOURABLE MISS. By L. T. Meade. 
 
 9. MY LAND OF BEULAH. By Mrs. Leith Adams. 
 
 University Extension Series 
 
 A series of books on historical, literary, and scientific subjects, suitable 
 for extension students and home reading circles. Each volume is com- 
 plete !n itself, and the subjects are treated by competent writers in a 
 broad and philosophic spirit. 
 
 Edited by J. E. SYMES, M.A., 
 
 Principal of University College, Nottingham. 
 
 Crown Zvo. Price {with some exceptions) 2s, 6d. 
 
 The following volumes are ready : — 
 
 THE INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF ENGLAND. By H. DE 
 B. GiBBlNS, M.A., late Scholar of Wadham College, Oxon., Cobden 
 Prizeman. Fourth Edition. With Maps and Plans. 35. 
 
 'A compact and clear story of our industrial development. A study of this concise 
 but luminous book cannot fail to give the reader a clear insight into the principal 
 phenomena of our industrial history. The editor and publishers are to be congrat- 
 ulated on this first volume of their venture, and we shall look with expectant 
 interest for the succeeding volumes of the series. ' — University Extension Journal. 
 
 A HISTORY OF ENGLISH POLITICAL ECONOMY. By 
 
 L. L. Price, M.A., Fellow of Oriel College, Oxon. 
 
 PROBLEMS OF POVERTY: An Inquiry into the Industrial 
 Conditions of the Poor. By J. A. IIobson, M.A. Second Edition. 
 
 VICTORIAN POETS. l:>i A, Skas?,
 
 30 Messrs. Methuen's List 
 
 the french revolution. by j. e. svmes, m.a. 
 
 PSYCHOLOGY. By F. S. Granger, M.A., Lecturer in Philo- 
 sophy at University College, Nottingham. 
 
 THE EVOLUTION OF PLANT LIFE: Lower Forms. By 
 G. Massee, Kew Gardens. With Illustrations. 
 
 AIR AND WATER. Professor V. B. Lewes, M.A. Illustrated. 
 
 THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE AND HEALTH. By C. W. 
 KiMMiNS, M.A. Camb. Illustrated. 
 
 THE MECHANICS OF DAILY LIFE. By V. P. SELLS, M.A. 
 
 Illustrated. 
 ENGLISH SOCIAL REFORMERS. H. DE B. GiBBlNS, M.A. 
 
 ENGLISH TRADE AND FINANCE IN THE SEVEN- 
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