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81 views50 pages

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The document is a promotional listing for various eBooks related to government policy and business, including titles like 'Government Policy Towards Business' and 'Business Law'. It provides links to download these eBooks from the website ebooksecure.com. Additionally, it includes a table of contents for the book 'Government Policy Towards Business', outlining various chapters and topics covered.

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vi Contents

3.7 Efficiency and Market Failure 31


3.7.1 Imperfect Competition 32
3.7.2 Asymmetric Information 32
3.7.3 Public Goods 33
3.7.4 Externalities 34
3.7.5 Government Failure 34
3.8 Macroeconomic Stabilization and
Economic Growth 35
3.9 Fairness and Other Rationales for Policy
Intervention 37
3.10 Jurisdiction for Government Intervention 38
3.11 Cost-Benefit Analysis 39

Chapter 4: Fairness, Ethics, and Public Policy 43


4.1 Introduction 43
4.2 Moral Relativism 45
4.2.1 Interpreting Individual Actions Using
Moral Relativism 45
4.2.2 Problems with Moral Relativism 47
4.2.3 Women Drivers in Saudi Arabia 47
4.2.4 Moral Relativism and Bribery 48
4.3 Value Conflicts or Misunderstanding? 49
4.4 Major Philosophical Approaches to
Ethics and Fairness 51
4.4.1 The Benefits Principle 52
4.4.2 Utilitarianism 53
4.4.3 Rule Utilitarianism 55
4.4.4 Kant’s Categorical Imperative 57
4.4.5 Social Covenants and Contracts 58
4.4.6 Procedural Fairness 60
4.4.7 Rights 61
4.5 Individual and Group-Based Fairness 63
4.5.1 Problems with Group Fairness 64
4.5.2 The Nondiscrimination Principle 66

3GFTOC.indd vi 01/04/13 10:16 AM


Contents vii

4.6 Trade-offs Between Efficiency and Fairness 67


4.7 Improving Fairness and Efficiency 70
4.8 Attitudes Toward Fairness in the Marketplace 71
4.9 Concluding Remarks 73

Chapter 5: The Positive Theory of Government 75


5.1 Introduction 75
5.2 Voting 76
5.2.1 Representative Voting 79
5.2.2 Hotelling’s Theory of Political Parties 80
5.2.3 Committee Voting and the Power
of the Agenda Setter 83
5.2.4 Vote-Trading 85
5.2.5 The Normative Significance
of Voting 85
5.3 Special Interest Groups and Transfer-Seeking 86
5.3.1 Transfer-Seeking 87
5.3.2 The Transitional Gains Trap 92
5.3.3 Economic Interest Groups 93
5.3.4 Examples of Business Lobbying 95
5.3.5 Social Interest Groups 96
5.3.6 Interest Groups and Financing of
Political Parties 98
5.4 Direct Self-Interest 99
5.4.1 The Theory of Bureaucracy 99
5.4.2 Conflict of Interest and Self-Interested
Politicians 102

Chapter 6: Firms and Markets 105


6.1 Introduction 105
6.2 The Firm 105
6.3 Market Structure 109
6.3.1 Perfect Competition 110
6.3.2 Monopoly 112
6.3.3 Dominant Firms 115

3GFTOC.indd vii 01/04/13 10:16 AM


viii Contents

6.3.4 Monopolistic Competition 116


6.3.5 Oligopoly 117
6.3.6 The Cournot Model of Oligopoly 120
6.3.7 Oligopoly and the Prisoner’s Dilemma 122
6.3.8 Modes of Rivalry 123
6.3.9 Market Structure and Public Policy 124
6.4 The Legal Environment 125
6.4.1 The Rule of Law 125
6.4.2 Broad and Narrow Views of
the Rule of Law 127
6.4.3 The Corporate Legal Form 128
6.4.4 Corporate Governance 130

Chapter 7: The Canadian Business Environment 133


7.1 Introduction 133
7.2 Population and Demography 133
7.3 Macroeconomic Trends 138
7.4 Industrial Structure 141
7.4.1 Sectoral Shares of Business
Activity 141
7.4.2 Market Structure 145
7.5 The Role of Government 146
7.6 Canada in the World Economy 147
7.6.1 International Trade Flows 149
7.6.2 World Living Standards and
Population Growth 149

Chapter 8: International Trade Policy 153


8.1 Introduction 153
8.2 The Basic Economics of International Trade 154
8.2.1 Comparative Advantage 154
8.2.2 Comparative Advantage, Competitive
Advantage, and the Exchange Rate 158
8.2.3 Increasing Returns to Scale 160
8.2.4 Market Structure 162

3GFTOC.indd viii 01/04/13 10:16 AM


Contents ix

8.3 Types of Trade Policy 163


8.3.1 Import Restricting Policies 163
8.3.2 Tariffs 164
8.3.3 Quotas 164
8.3.4 Government Procurement 165
8.3.5 Administrative Barriers to Trade 165
8.3.6 Regulatory Barriers 165
8.3.7 Interprovincial Trade Barriers 166
8.4 Normative Reasons for Trade Policy 166
8.4.1 Overview of Reasons for
Intervention 166
8.4.2 Raising Revenue 167
8.4.3 Non-Economic Objectives 168
8.4.4 Exploiting Market Power 168
8.4.5 The Infant Industry Argument 169
8.4.6 Profit-Shifting 170
8.4.7 Domestic Redistribution 172
8.4.8 Employment 173
8.4.9 The Trade Balance 175
8.5 The Positive Theory of International Trade Policy 175
8.6 The Global Trading System 176
8.6.1 The General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade 176
8.6.2 The World Trade Organization 177
8.6.3 Current Issues in WTO Negotiations 177
8.6.4 The International Monetary Fund 180
8.6.5 The World Bank 181
8.6.6 The United Nations 182
8.7 Canada–U.S. Trade Relations 184
8.7.1 The Auto Pact and the Canada–U.S.
Free Trade Agreement 184
8.7.2 NAFTA 184
8.7.3 Other Issues 186
8.8 Concluding Remarks 187

3GFTOC.indd ix 01/04/13 10:16 AM


x Contents

Chapter 9: Environmental Policy and Externalities 189


9.1 Introduction 189
9.2 Externalities: Definition, Analysis, and Examples 190
9.2.1 Defining Externalities 190
9.2.2 Externalities as Market Failure 191
9.2.3 The Simple Economics of Pollution
Abatement 193
9.2.4 Technological and Pecuniary Externalities 194
9.2.5 Transaction Costs and Incomplete
Property Rights 195
9.2.6 The Coase Theorem 196
9.3 Policy Solutions to Externality Problems 198
9.3.1 Internalizing Externalities 198
9.3.2 Quantity Controls and Standards 199
9.3.3 Taxes and Subsidies 199
9.3.4 Cap and Trade Systems 201
9.4 Global Warming 203
9.5 Hazardous Waste and the NIMBY Problem 205
9.6 Traffic Externalities 207
9.7 Cost-Benefit Analysis and Discounting
for Environmental Projects 209
9.8 Jurisdiction for Environmental Policy 211

Chapter 10: Natural Resources and Sustainability 213


10.1 Introduction 213
10.2 Management of Renewable Resources 213
10.3 Canadian North Atlantic Cod 217
10.4 Open Access Resources 220
10.5 Other Renewable Resources: Forests and Soil 222
10.6 Ocean Use 223
10.7 Nonrenewable Resources and Intergenerational
Equity 224
10.8 Wildlife Conservation 227
10.9 Land Use, Waste Disposal, and Recycling 228

3GFTOC.indd x 01/04/13 10:16 AM


Contents xi

10.10 Sustainable Development 230


10.11 Population Growth and Environmental
Sustainability 231

Chapter 11: Competition Policy 237


11.1 Introduction 237
11.2 A Brief History of Competition Policy 238
11.2.1 Early Legislation 238
11.2.2 Important Developments in Canadian
Competition Policy 239
11.2.3 Objectives of Canadian Competition
Policy 241
11.2.4 The Administration of Competition
Policy 242
11.2.5 Anti-Competitive Practices 243
11.3 Collusion 243
11.3.1 Incentives Under Collusion 245
11.3.2 Enforcement 248
11.4 Mergers 248
11.4.1 Types of Mergers 249
11.4.2 Merger Review 252
11.5 Abuse of Market Power 253
11.5.1 Abuse of Dominant Position 253
11.5.2 Predatory Pricing 254
11.5.3 Resale Price Maintenance 256
11.5.4 Exclusionary Arrangements 258
11.6 Deceptive Marketing Practices 258
11.6.1 Economic Analysis of Deceptive
Marketing 260
11.6.2 Informational Market Failure:
The Lemons Problem 261
11.6.3 The Lemons Problem and Misleading
Advertising 262
11.7 The Evolution of Competition Policy 262

3GFTOC.indd xi 01/04/13 10:16 AM


xii Contents

Chapter 12: Regulation and Public Enterprise 265


12.1 Introduction 265
12.2 The Meaning of Regulation 265
12.3 Natural Monopoly as the Rationale for
Price Regulation 267
12.4 Types of Price Regulation 268
12.4.1 Average and Marginal Cost Pricing 269
12.4.2 Nonuniform Pricing 272
12.4.3 Rate-of-Return Regulation and the
Averch-Johnson Effect 276
12.4.4 Price-Cap Regulation 277
12.4.5 Multiproduct Firms and
Cross-Subsidization 278
12.5 The Capture Hypothesis: A Positive
Theory of Regulation 279
12.6 Major Areas of Regulation in Canada 279
12.6.1 Agricultural Marketing Boards and
Supply Management 280
12.6.2 Financial Regulation 283
12.7 Public Enterprise 285
12.7.1 Major Public Enterprises in Canada 286
12.7.2 Normative and Positive Reasons for
Public Enterprise 287
12.7.3 Regulation, Public Enterprise, or
Direct Government? 289
12.8 Public Goods 291
12.8.1 Defining Public Goods 291
12.8.2 The Efficiency Condition for a Public Good 292
12.8.3 The Free Rider Problem 292

Chapter 13: Innovation Policy and Intellectual Property 295


13.1 Introduction 295
13.2 A Brief History of Innovation 296
13.2.1 Three Revolutions (Agricultural, Scientific,
and Industrial) 297
13.2.2 Major Innovations 298

3GFTOC.indd xii 01/04/13 10:16 AM


Contents xiii

13.3 Market Failure and Innovation 301


13.3.1 Innovations as Public Goods 301
13.3.2 Innovation Externalities 302
13.3.3 Informational Asymmetry in Innovation
Finance 303
13.3.4 Effects of Market Failure on Innovation 305
13.4 Patents 307
13.4.1 Canadian Patent Policy 308
13.4.2 The Amazon One-Click Shopping Patent 309
13.4.3 Market Power vs. Innovation 310
13.4.4 Can Patents Hinder Innovation? 312
13.5 Other Intellectual Property Protection 315
13.5.1 Trade Secrets 315
13.5.2 Integrated Circuit Topographies and
Industrial Designs 316
13.5.3 Copyright Protection 316
13.5.4 Trademarks 318
13.5.5 International Harmonization and Trade-
Related Intellectual Property Rights 319
13.6 Government Support for Research and
Development 321
13.6.1 University Research 321
13.6.2 Tax Concessions and Subsidies for Private
Sector R&D 323
13.6.3 Financing Innovation 324

Chapter 14: Macroeconomic Policy 329


14.1 Introduction 329
14.2 Principles of Macroeconomic Stabilization 329
14.2.1 Objectives of Macroeconomic Policy 329
14.2.2 Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy 330
14.2.3 Controlling Interest Rates 333
14.2.4 Aggregate Economic Activity and
Keynesian Policy 335
14.3 Macroeconomic Policy in an Open Economy 336
14.3.1 Effects of Exchange Rate Changes 336

3GFTOC.indd xiii 01/04/13 10:16 AM


xiv Contents

14.3.2 Determinants of Exchange Rates 338


14.3.3 Fiscal Policy in an Open Economy 340
14.4 Inflation 341
14.4.1 The Meaning of Inflation 341
14.4.2 The Fisher Effect 342
14.4.3 Inflation and the Money Supply: The Quantity
Theory 342
14.4.4 Inflationary Expectations and the
Effectiveness of Monetary Policy 346
14.4.5 The Inflation Tax 347
14.5 Unemployment 348
14.5.1 Types of Unemployment 348
14.5.2 The Natural Rate of Unemployment 349
14.6 The Public Debt 351
14.6.1 Sources of the Public Debt 352
14.6.2 The Burden of the Public Debt 354
14.6.3 Government Deficits and Current-Account
Deficits 357
14.7 Macroeconomic Stabilization and Market Failure 359
14.8 Long-Run Economic Growth 360

Chapter 15: Corporate Social Responsibility 365


15.1 Introduction 365
15.2 Social Responsibility and Profits 366
15.2.1 Responsibility to Owners 367
15.2.2 Efficiency (the Invisible Hand) 368
15.2.3 Legitimacy and Expertise 369
15.3 Social Responsibility Beyond Profits 370
15.3.1 Stakeholder Theory 370
15.3.2 Efficiency, Market Failure, and
Corporate Responsibility 371
15.3.3 CSR Legitimacy and Expertise 373
15.4 Feasibility 375
15.4.1 Survival Bias 375

3GFTOC.indd xiv 01/04/13 10:16 AM


Contents xv

15.4.2 Doing Well by Doing Good 376


15.4.3 Responses to Survival Bias 377
15.4.4 A Case-Study: CSR at McDonald’s 380
15.5 Government Policy and CSR 382

References 385

Index 393

3GFTOC.indd xv 01/04/13 10:16 AM


3GFTOC.indd xvi 01/04/13 10:16 AM
Preface and
Acknowledgments

This textbook is intended for use in courses dealing with public policy toward
business. It is based on my lecture notes from a course entitled Government
and Business taught in the Sauder School of Business at the University of
British Columbia (UBC). Earlier editions of this book have been widely used
in business schools and have also been used for public policy courses in
public administration programs, economics departments, and political sci-
ence departments, and as a supplementary text for a variety of other courses.
The fifth edition of this book contains major revisions. In addition to
general updating, some chapters in earlier editions have been condensed
and combined, and two new chapters have been added. One new chapter
is “Innovation Policy and Intellectual Property”—an area that has emerged
as an important focus of government policy. This chapter deals with patent
policy and other areas of intellectual property policy, and also addresses
policies affecting innovation finance and the role of university research in
the innovation process.
The other new chapter is “Corporate Social Responsibility.” Years ago, such
a chapter might have been called “Business Ethics” but the term “corporate
social responsibility” (CSR) seems to have entered general usage. When the
first edition of this book was published, very few large corporations had
published policies or staff units devoted to such areas as “sustainability” or
“social responsibility.” Now, such policy statements and staff assignments are

3GFPREF.indd xvii 22/03/13 1:56 PM


xviii Preface and Acknowledgments

an important part of the business environment and interact with government


policy in several areas, particularly regarding environmental policy.
As far as condensations are concerned, what were two chapters on inter-
national trade policy in the last edition have been condensed to one chapter
for this edition, as is also true of the two former chapters on competition
policy. And regulation and public enterprise have been combined into a single
chapter. Much of this condensation was achieved by removing material that
was very topical when the book was first published but is now of primarily
historical interest. This includes such topics as the debate over the Canada–
U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the development of the “new” Competition Act
of 1986, and the deregulation and privatization agenda of the 1980s and
early 1990s. These topics are still covered, but much of the historical detail
has been dropped.
As before, the book proceeds from conceptual principles to specific
policy areas. Specific policies are viewed as applications of general policy
principles with a particular focus on the use of public policy to redress
market failure problems. After reading the book, students should be able to
readily understand new policy issues that confront them. This edition offers
an up-to-date treatment of competition policy, environmental and resource
policy (incliuding a discussion of sustainability), innovation and intellectual
property, international trade policy, macroeconomic policy, public enterprise,
and regulation. The book continues to provide a streamlined overview of the
major public policies that affect business, and can be covered comfortably
in a one-term course.
An important theme in the book is that policy can be viewed partly as
arising from the “public interest” objectives of policy-makers, and partly as
the result of competition for policy influence among various private inter-
ests. Both the “public interest” and “private interest” approaches to policy
are examined at a conceptual and institutional level, and many examples
illustrating both interpretations of policy are provided.
Material in this book is drawn from several areas of study, including
political science, philosophy, and psychology. The underlying discipline that
contributes most to the central framework of the book is, however, econom-
ics, reflecting the fact that most policies affecting the business environment
are focused on economic objectives. This book is not very technical or
mathematical, and it presumes only that readers have a general familiarity
with introductory economics. There are a few graphs and equations, but not
many. The emphasis, instead, is on the basic insights and conceptual tools of
economics as they apply to business-related public policy.

3GFPREF.indd xviii 22/03/13 1:56 PM


Preface and Acknowledgments xix

I have accumulated many debts in the preparation of the five editions


of this book. Earlier editions have benefited from input provided by Bruce
Anderson, Paul Anglin, Trent Appelbe, Jen Baggs, Tony Boardman, Clive
Chapple, Elizabeth Croft, Murray Frank, Steve Globerman, Peter Nemetz, Bo
Pazderka, Asha Sadanand, Zena Seldon, Jim Vercammen, Allan Warrack, Bill
Waters, and Bernard Wolf, among others. I would also like to acknowledge
student research assistants who helped with earlier editions, including Anna
Fok, Rick Gleason, Fred Gower, Livia Mahler, Jo-Anne McLean, Diane Wilson,
and Monica Zhang. I am also grateful to my father, Stuart James Brander, who
read the manuscript for the first edition and provided many helpful comments.
As for the fifth edition, I would like to start by thanking my wife and
colleague Barbara Spencer, who made major contributions to the chapters on
competition policy and regulation, along with many other contributions to all
five editions. I also owe a particular debt to Keith Head, who made detailed
comments on many aspects of the book for this and earlier editions, and whose
lecture notes I benefited from in preparing the new chapters for this edition.
I am also very grateful to Ed Egan, Florencia Jaureguiberry, Robin Lindsey,
John Ries, Tom Ross, and Ralph Winter for valuable input. I also thank Louisa
Yeung for her excellent work as a research assistant for this edition.
Finally, I would like to thank copy editor Julie vanTol and the staff at
Wiley, particularly Joel Balbin and Karen Staudinger, for their patience,
efficiency, and good judgment.

3GFPREF.indd xix 22/03/13 1:56 PM


3GFPREF.indd xx 22/03/13 1:56 PM
Objectives
1
and Overview

1.1 Introduction
This book is concerned primarily with government policies directed toward
business. Such policies are an important focus of political debate and feature
prominently in the business media. In addition, dealing with government
policies toward business is a very important activity in the private sector,
and implementing such policies is a major function of the public sector. This
book is directed principally toward students in business, economics, and
public policy, many of whom will deal professionally with public policy is-
sues within either the public sector or the private sector.
Most citizens of modern developed countries expect government policy
to play an important role in their lives. We expect governments to provide
law enforcement, education, and a variety of other goods and services, and
we accept, or at least expect, that governments will finance these activities
in large part by imposing taxes. Most of us also recognize that government
policy has some influence on unemployment, inflation, interest rates, and
general business conditions.
Many people, however, are surprised when they discover the extent to
which consumer decisions and the business decisions of private sector firms
are affected by government intervention. We might wonder what all this
government intervention is intended to achieve and why governments choose
the policies that they do. We might also wonder whether the chosen poli-
cies are effective methods of pursuing the intended objectives. This book is

3GC01.indd 1 25/03/13 11:20 AM


2 Government Policy Toward Business

concerned with these and related issues. More precisely, it offers a systematic
method for analyzing government policy affecting businesses. This analysis
subdivides naturally into two questions:

1. What should the role of government be?


2. What factors explain the actual conduct of government?

The first question is sometimes described as normative or prescriptive,


because in answering it we are trying to suggest or prescribe what govern-
ments should do. The starting point in the analysis of this question is that
government policy toward business should seek to promote the public interest.
Therefore, consideration of the first question is also called the public interest
approach to policy analysis.
The second question is positive or descriptive in that it tries to explain or
describe why things are as they are. It is possible that actual policies toward
business will be just as normative analysis suggests they should be. Frequently,
however, actual policies coincide poorly with normative analysis, and we may
conclude that the general public interest was not the major determinant of policy.
In answering the second question, we normally assume that actual policy
is the outcome of a market for political influence in which politicians are
pursuing political or personal advantages, public sector managers are trying
to advance their careers, and special interest groups, including business lob-
bies, are pursuing their private objectives as well. Analysis of question two is,
therefore, often referred to as the private interest approach to policy analysis.
It is also sometimes referred to as the study of public choice.

1.2 The Normative Approach to Policy Analysis


We have established that normative analysis starts with the assertion that
government policy should seek to promote the public interest. Unfortunately, it
is difficult to say exactly what the public interest is. Conceptions of the public
interest are reflections of basic values and vary over time and across social,
religious, and other groups. Nevertheless, there is a well-established set of goals
that are widely accepted as legitimate objects of government attention. These
goals are discussed briefly below and will form the central themes of this book.

1. Economic efficiency: In rough terms, pursuit of economic efficiency cor-


responds to trying to make the per capita benefits from the consumption

3GC01.indd 2 25/03/13 11:20 AM


Chapter 1: Objectives and Overview 3

of goods and services as high as possible. In a world where simple eco-


nomic scarcity and poverty remain major problems, this objective is very
important. In Chapter 2, the concept of economic efficiency is described
more carefully.
2. Macroeconomic stabilization and growth: One of the most serious prob-
lems of market-based economies is that they are prone to cyclical swings
in business activity and employment. After the experience of the Great
Depression of the 1930s, most citizens of Western (and many other)
countries came to regard stabilization of these cyclical fluctuations and
provision of reliable employment opportunities as important objectives
of government policy. More broadly, the objectives of macroeconomic
policy are to smooth the business cycle, keep unemployment rates low
and stable, keep inflation rates low and stable, and assist in promoting
economic growth.
3. Fairness: Pursuit of economic efficiency seeks to make the overall size
of the “economic pie” as large as possible. Fairness is concerned mainly
with the distribution of that pie among different claimants. Canada,
for example, has a system of taxation and social welfare that taxes the
relatively well off and gives money and other resources to the poor. In
addition to redistribution, public policy is also targeted toward other con-
ceptions of fairness. For example, the dominant conception of fairness in
Canada’s health care policy is that all individuals should have essentially
the same level of health care, at least for certain core medical services.
There are employment laws that seek to prevent or limit discrimination
by employers on the basis of age, sex, and certain other characteristics
on the grounds that such discrimination is unfair in some fundamental
way. Other ideas of fairness lead to public policy seeking to protect the
interests of children and others judged unable to adequately defend their
own interests.
4. Other social objectives: Governments sometimes pursue objectives that
are not directly related to economic efficiency, macroeconomic stabili-
zation, or fairness. For example, governments of many countries have
sometimes tried to promote national unity or certain aspects of cultural
identity as goals in themselves. Some policies, such as limitations on
gambling and alcohol consumption, have their roots in a desire to pro-
mote certain values. Such policies may be categorized simply as other
social objectives.

3GC01.indd 3 25/03/13 11:20 AM


Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Unvarnished
Tales
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United
States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away
or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License
included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the
laws of the country where you are located before using this
eBook.

Title: Unvarnished Tales

Author: William Mackay

Release date: May 9, 2016 [eBook #52029]

Language: English

Credits: Transcribed from the 1886 edition by David Price

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK UNVARNISHED


TALES ***
Transcribed from the 1886 edition by David Price, email
[email protected]

UNVARNISHED TALES.

BY
WILLIAM MACKAY.

LONDON:
SWAN SONNENSCHEIN, LOWREY AND CO.,
PATERNOSTER SQUARE.
1886.

Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.

TO
REGINALD SHIRLEY BROOKS.
CONTENTS.

PAGE

I. A QUEER QUEST 1
II. THE SAWDUST MAN’S CURSE 11
III. LORD LUNDY’S SNUFF-BOX 23
IV. “ONE WAS RENT AND LEFT TO DIE” 32
V. THE GRIGSBY LIVING 41
VI. RES EST SACRA MISER 51
VII. MR. GREY 60
VIII. THE PRODIGAL’S RETURN 69
IX. A PHILANTHROPIC “MASHER” 78
X. A DISHONOURED BILL 87
XI. A MAN OF GENIUS 96
XII. A DIGNIFIED DIPSOMANIAC 106
XIII. “OLD BOOTS” 115
XIV. A MISSING HEIRESS 124
XV. TEDDY MARTIN’S BRIEF 135
XVI. BLUEBEARD’S CUPBOARD 144
XVII. TRUE TO POLL 154
XVIII. JOHN PHILP, MASTER CARPENTER 166
XIX. PICTURES ON THE LINE 177
XX. THE DEVIL’S PLAYTHINGS 186
XXI. LOVE AND A DIARY 199
I.
A QUEER QUEST.

In the Times newspaper of Monday, 1st July, 18–, there appeared a


notice of Mr. White’s last novel. The notice—for one cannot dignify
with the name of review an article which did not exceed a quarter of
a column—contained the following sentence:—

“Mr. White’s novels appear to us to lack but one element.


Having achieved that one thing needful, Mr. White at once and
without cavil takes his place in the first rank of modern
novelists. In one word, Mr. White must learn to study Human
Nature from the life. His characters are too often evolved from
his inner consciousness, and as beings thus produced are apt to
be wanting in backbone, it is not surprising that many of this
popular author’s works are weak and flabby—shadows without
substance—pictures without colour. If Mr. White were to give
one-half of the time to the study of the men and women by
whom he is surrounded, which he gives to the elaboration of
plot and the cultivation of style, we do not know that there is
any seat in the republic of letters which we would deny him.”

Mr. White was a timid gentleman, with thin reddish hair—a very tall
forehead and weak eyes. He was also a very well tailored man, and
lived in a neatly-appointed villa, in the Hilgrove Road, St. John’s
Wood, N.W. He was married, but had no children. He was by
profession a briefless barrister, but he made his name by writing
novels. It so happened that the public applauded Mr. White from the
very first moment that he appealed to them—at least in book form:
his tentative efforts in periodicals having fallen very short of creating
a furor. His nonsense, which, it must be confessed, was not of a
very rollicking description, suited their nonsense. And that was the
whole secret of his success. Being a very industrious man, he wrote
a great many fictions, and being modest withal, attributed his fame
to hard work rather than to any endowment of genius.
When Mr. White neglected his grilled bone, his buttered toast, his
hot coffee, and his new-laid egg, and seemed spell-bound by what
appeared in the Times newspaper, his wife instinctively knew that
there was a notice of her husband’s book in that great organ, and
she guessed by the twitching of his mouth, and the flushing of his
face, that the notice was the reverse of favourable.
“It is quite true. It is quite true,” said Mr. White, aloud, but to
himself, as he laid the paper down.
“What is quite true?” asked Mrs. White, who, while greatly
appreciating the pecuniary results of her husband’s labour, had but
little sympathy with the work itself.
“I am all wrong,” he replied, grimly.
“Good gracious! What is the matter with you?”
“I am wanting in backbone,” he explained, gloomily—“criminally
deficient in backbone.”
“Why, John, you must be mad,” said the wife of his bosom. And,
indeed, there was a seeming irrelevancy in his remarks, which
favoured his helpmate’s theory. But John knew quite well what he
was about.
“Tell Edward to fetch my coat and hat,” he said, having trifled with
his breakfast instead of eating it like a Briton; “and lend me your
scissors.”
The dutiful young woman handed her lord and master the scissors,
with which he proceeded to cut out the Times review—the which,
when carefully abstracted, he placed in his pocket-book. But before
Edward came with his coat and hat, Mrs. White, with natural and
justifiable curiosity asked,—
“Where are you going so early, John?”
“I am going,” said John, quoting from the article, “I am going among
the men and women by whom I am surrounded. I am going to
study human character from the life.”
Mrs. White shrugged her little shoulders, elevated her little
eyebrows, kissed her husband, and when she heard the hall-door
close behind him, she said very quietly, as though she were making
an observation which did not affect her even remotely,—
“He doesn’t seem to study me very much.”
John White’s great crony was Anthony Lomax, of Paper Buildings.
And John White took a ticket to the Temple Station, being
determined to consult his old friend on this new revelation which the
great Times newspaper had opened up to him. He was fortunate in
finding Mr. Lomax at home, devouring a frugal meal of brandy and
soda, preparatory to appearing before Vice-Chancellor Bacon in the
celebrated case of Breeks v. Woolfer.
“You see,” said John White, with characteristic modesty, “you see I
never thought of achieving a first rank. My books take well and I
make money—thank heaven. But this fellow in the newspaper
absolutely says that I am possessed of genius!”
“And haven’t I always said it?” asked Tony, with an offended air;
“haven’t we all always said it?”
“Yes; but you are friends, don’t you know?”
“Not a bit. Do I ever tell Jones that he has genius? Do I ever tell
Sandford that he has genius—although he is a Fellow of Merton?
Did I ever tell Barlow that his works would set the Thames on fire?
Never! Friendship in my case never interferes with strict
impartiality.”
This pleased Mr. White. He absolutely blushed with pleasure. A kind
word from Lomax was more real satisfaction to him than a page of
praise from the Sultry Review—which is not, perhaps, rating the
eulogy of Mr. Lomax very highly.
“And are they right about the—the want of backbone?” he inquired,
nervously, “and the necessity to study character from the life?”
“As right as nine-pence, my boy. Doctors analyse dead bodies, and
pull live ones about. Artists draw, I am told, from the nude. Actors
imitate particular individuals. Yes, I think the Times rascal is
absolutely right.”
“Then I shall commence and study from the life at once. But where
now,” he asked plaintively, “where would you advise me to
commence? You don’t know of any very likely place for the
acquirement of the backbone?”
“Well, my boy, there’s Breeks and Woolfer; if you’ll step over to the
Vice-Chancellor’s Court—it’s quite full of character.”
But the novelist only shuddered at the mention of the case, and
saying gently that he thought he would take his own course, bade
his friend “Good-bye,” and departed much disturbed in his mind at
the magnitude and amount of the task the censor of Printing-house
Square had set for him.

Three months and a couple of weeks had passed away. It was now
the 15th of October, 18–, and Tony Lomax once more sat in his
chambers. He had been away for his holidays, and had just
returned, brown and invigorated, and ready to grapple with and
subdue that insatiable monster, “Breeks and Woolfer.” He was sitting
with his legs stretched well under his table, his coat was off
notwithstanding the chilliness of the weather, and his white shirt-
sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He looked the picture of rude
health and high animal spirits.
A feeble knock on the panel of his door. A loud and cheery “Come
in” from Tony. The door opened, and Mr. White entered, glanced
nervously round, and gliding up to Lomax, said in a whisper,—
“Are we alone?”
Lomax could hardly believe his eyes. The dapper little friend of his
youth had grown prematurely old. His thin red hair was no longer
neatly arranged. His weak eyes had a wild and nervous shifting. His
hands moved convulsively. His lips were dry, and his throat—to
judge from his voice—parched.
“What in heaven’s name—!” exclaimed Lomax, starting from his seat.
“Hush,” said the other, in extreme agitation, “don’t speak so loudly.
They might hear you.”
“Who might hear me?”
“The human characters—from the life—don’t you know. I have
plenty of backbone now—too much, Tony. It’s very awful!”
Lomax saw how it was, attempted to calm him, and induced him to
take a seat, and to release his hat from his trembling fingers. Then
he said, with something of a tremor in his voice,—
“Now, old man, tell us all about it.”
John White looked nervously about the room, again asked whether
they were quite alone, and commenced, in a husky whisper, to tell
his narrative, with awful rapidity.
“It was all right at first, Tony, and I made some capital notes, but in
a few days I tired. All the human characters seemed so much alike
when studied in the life. So brutally alike. It pained me. The
monotony of it made me giddy. But then the worst came, Tony.
Whenever I went out to study a character—from the life—the
character began to study me. I tried to brave it and bear up against
it, because you know, Tony, the Times said I had genius and only
wanted backbone. But just fancy to yourself setting out to study
murderers and thieves, and all sorts and conditions of
unmentionable men, and the murderers and thieves and
unmentionables—from the life—turning round and studying you!
What do you think of that? Study you—d’ye hear?—from the life!
Ay, and follow you, too—to your club, to your home:—to your very
bed!”
The trembling hands searched for the hat. Mr. White had jumped
from his chair, and uttered a wild shriek, that sounded like “Here
they are—from the life,” and had fled out on to the pavement of
Paper Buildings.
Poor White died at Hanwell just two years ago—and Lomax married
his widow. She, poor creature, finds in her new husband a practical
person, whom she can understand, and seems all the happier for the
change.
II.
THE SAWDUST MAN’S CURSE.

Harp Alley is a little nagged passage nestling under the heavy


shadows of Drury Lane Theatre. None of the merchants who pursue
business in the reeking enclosure can be truthfully described as
doing a roaring trade. A manufacturer of spangles, who has hidden
his commercial light under the bushel of Harp Alley, does a brisk
business during the months preceding Christmas—his stock being in
great demand for the decoration of the gorgeous characters of
Pantomime. No one ever stops at the old book shop, where the
same old plays which were offered ten years ago in a box at a penny
each are offered at a penny still. And a steel engraving of David
Garrick as Richard the Third, greatly perturbed by apparitions, has
during the same interval failed to find a purchaser at half-a-crown.
There is an old clothes shop in the Alley, owned by an adventurous
speculator of the Semitic persuasion, where you can borrow a dress
suit for the evening, and become a magnificent swell on the new
hire system.
The best trade done in Harp Alley is done by the owner of the
“Piping Bulfinch”—a public-house much resorted to in the present
day by scene-shifters, stage carpenters, property men, and other
humble ornaments of the British Drama, with a fine capacity for four
ale and bad language. At the time of this story, the inner bar of the
“Piping Bulfinch”—a reserved space with a door marked “private”—
was the resort of certain actors and authors having a greater wealth
of brain than of pocket. In those days the cuff-shooter was not, and
a jeune premier would be satisfied with something less than the
wages of an ambassador. Only the very superior sort of actor and
manager and dramatic author belonged to a Club. The rank and file
met unostentatiously in bars, and did their business or criticised their
neighbours over “goes” of gin and whiskey, or half pints of ale and
stout. I do not intend to mention here the names of those who
were wont to meet of an afternoon at the “Piping Bulfinch.” Some
are dead. Some are alive and famous. Others are alive and
wrecks. And all of them seem desirous to forget the struggling
period when they patronised the snug but sombre hostlery in Harp
Alley.
Informally established as a réunion, this little society became known
to the outer world, and the gentle layman penetrated to the
recesses of the inner bar and forced his babbling company upon the
playwright and the player. So that in self-defence the mummers and
the drama-makers hired from the landlord of the “Piping Bulfinch” a
large room that opened off the public bar. Towards defraying the
expenses, each member of the coterie subscribed one shilling per
week. They had a room of their own. They were now a Club; and
that is the true history of the establishment of the Otway—for such
was the style and title which these able but impecunious men of
genius gave to this Association, when shrinking from contact with
the profane vulgar, they withdrew behind the closed door of their
own private and particular room.
And every Wednesday came to be known as Sawdust Day.
In those days of struggle what small incidents afforded interest and
even excitement! and the weekly advent of the man bearing the
sack of sawdust which was to be sprinkled on the floor of the Club-
room, was looked forward to with keen enjoyment. He was a
strange reflective man—the man who bore in this weekly sacrifice to
respectability—this thin and shifting substitute for a carpet—this
indoor Goodwin sands. But he greatly prized the opportunity
afforded him of entering the Club. He laughed respectfully (to
himself) at the jokes which were bandied about. He accepted with
gratified smile the chaff which was levelled at him and at his
sawdust. He became indeed a part of the Club itself, and
lengthened his weekly visit as much as possible, always discovering,
when it appeared time to go, some refractory spot on the floor
which required replenishing and smoothing. The Sawdust man may
have been a broken down dramatist, a poor poet whose literary
wares were a drug in the market; and here in this bright association
of wits and good fellows he found solace once a-week.
Twelve happy months sped over the grey locks and closely shaven
features of the Sawdust man. And the fifty-two days of congenial
fellowship—so, poor man, he chose to consider it—compensated for
the three hundred and thirteen other days upon which he sprinkled
the yellow refuse among the unsympathetic feet of the market-men
in the public-houses about Covent Garden. Pride, we are credibly
informed, led to the overthrow of the Prince of Darkness; and Pride
entering into the bosom of a new member of the Otway led to
eventual decline and fall of that remarkable society. In an evil
moment it was proposed at a meeting of the Committee that the
Club-room should be carpeted! After a long and angry discussion
the resolution was carried by a bare majority. The carpet was
purchased, and the poor dealer in the waste of the saw-pits was
dismissed for ever from the only Paradise of which he had any
knowledge.
Not unchallenged, however, was the innovation. A few days after
the dismissal of the weekly visitor, the following letter was received
by the Secretary of the Club. It was duly affixed to the notice-board
above the mantel-piece, where for some time it afforded the
greatest amusement to the members, and was provocative of many
facetiæ on the part of the chartered wags. But there were some of
the older ornaments of the Otway, I think, who regarded the
document with some misgiving, and counted it as an ill omen. Here
is the text of the Awful Denunciation:—

“To the Otways.


“Pride comes before a fall.
“Beware! You are haughty now. You will soon be humble. My
curse is upon you. For you have driven me forth into the world
—alone. May your Club be overrun by outsiders. May money
rule you instead of brains. May your skill fail you and your wit
wither away. May you be abandoned by the pewter and the
pipe. May your plays be damned, and your articles rejected.
And aping your betters, may you become the laughing stock of
the world. [Signed]
“The Sawdust Man.”

“There is insanity in Sawdust,” said Gadsby, after he had read the


startling anathema.
“More drunk than mad, I expect,” suggested the charitable Tapham.
“Swallowed his own sack, perhaps,” added Ponsonby, in defence of
the latter theory.
But old and judicious Otways shook their heads and sighed. The
Sawdust man had become a part of their artistic career. His removal
affected them. His curse depressed them beyond measure. On the
morning after the receipt of the Curse, the members arriving at the
Club found out in the upper panel of the door the word
Ichabod.
No one was ever able to ascertain when or how this amateur wood-
carving had been accomplished. It was a mystery. But it led to this
result. Senior members of the Otway entertained some fine old
crusted superstitions, and after this handwriting on the door began
to agitate for a removal to more commodious apartments. And now
the curse began to work. For in order to keep up the more
commodious rooms, and to pay for the increased service, there were
necessitated two things. In the first place, an increased entrance
fee and subscription, and in the second place, a certain healthy
relaxing of the first rule of the Club, whereby all those who were not
professionally connected with art, literature, or the drama, were
rigorously excluded.
In two years from the date of the instalment of the Club in its more
commodious chambers, the institution had grown marvellously in
respectability, but it had lost its character, and was now a collection
of individuals of the most various and most nondescript kind. And at
the end of the last of those two years, a gentleman was elected to
membership, who worked with the utmost good-will to efface what
little traces of Bohemian beginnings still clung about the Otway.
About this person or his antecedents little was known. He was
immensely wealthy. He had suddenly acquired his money. And his
qualification as a member of the Club was a work on Papua and New
Guinea, which had been eagerly welcomed by the learned societies,
had been solemnly reviewed by the Quarterly, and which was known
by several to be the work, not of the new member at all, but of a
Museum hack named Geyser, who for a consideration in hard cash,
permitted Mr. Thistleton—that was the new member’s name—to
figure on the title. Appended to his name were the letters F.R.G.S.,
and other formidable distinctions which it may be presumed, can
also be obtained by the common commercial operation known as
exchange and barter.
Shortly after the advent of this great man, questions arose as to the
propriety of drinking beer out of pewter in the Club-rooms. And as
Mr. Thistleton was always ready to stand a bottle of wine to anybody
who cared to call for it, the consumption of beer fell steadily off, and
it became in time, the very worst possible sort of form for an Otway
to be seen imbibing the produce of hops. Clay pipes had long ago
been disestablished by a by-law of the committee. Cigars at
ninepence and a shilling were supplied for the post-prandial smoke.
And it was an understood thing that members should always dine in
evening dress. When this rule came into force, it occasioned the
withdrawal of some old Otways, who, although eminent in their
particular walks of literature and art, hadn’t got a single dress-suit
among ’em. The places of these talented but socially incomplete
persons were speedily filled by gentlemen who, if devoid of genius,
were possessed of dress suits of the very latest design, and had gold
and silver and precious stones. And the flash of a diamond is, I take
it, a much more agreeable scintillation than the flash of the greatest
wit in the world.
Mr. Thistleton not only elevated the members of the Otway by
means of champagne of great price; he endeavoured to give them
reflected glory by inviting to the house-dinner personages of repute
in Society. A Cabinet Minister once dined with him. At another time,
an Indian Prince, dressed in the most gorgeous Oriental toggery, sat
down to the Otway repast. Indeed, there seemed to be, practically,
no limit to his influence with the great ones of the earth, and it was
apparently his delight to exert that influence, with a view of
introducing his brother members to all that was esteemed, wealthy,
and wise, in London Society.
At last there visited England an Indian Prince, compared to whom
the other Indian princes were mere nobodies. This mighty potentate
was in due course brought down to the Otway, and was graciously
pleased to express his approval of all that he saw and heard. And
the Club, in order to show its appreciation of the compliment of the
wise man from the East, invited him to a banquet. Princes have an
awkward habit of making requests that are commands. And when
dinner was over this dusky heathen had induced the members of the
Club to guarantee him a donation of five thousand pounds, towards
his fund for providing tom-toms for the Nautch girls of Hindustan.
Their solemn word was given to their copper-coloured guest. There
was no retreating from their promise. The sequel is soon told. In
order to raise the amount the effects of the Otway were offered at
public auction. All the members attended the sale, and watched
their works of art, their luxurious furniture, their rare wines, and
their ninepenny cigars disappear under the hammer of the
auctioneer.
Mr. Thistleton bought in everything. He bid with a persistency and a
viciousness that astonished the man in the rostrum. When the last
article was knocked down to him, he turned upon his late fellow-
members, now dissolved and houseless, and with a demoniac shout
of derisive laughter cried, “I am avenged.” He had grown a beard,
and he had become rich, two wonderful disguises. But there was no
doubt about it. It was the Sawdust Man.
III.
LORD LUNDY’S SNUFF-BOX.

“Not another farthing, Tom. Not another farthing.”


“But my dear father—”
“But me no buts, Tom, as the man says in the playbook. You have
an ample allowance. I never object to a hundred or two in advance
to pay your club subscriptions, or for any other legitimate purpose.
But extravagance like yours means vice, and vice I never will
encourage.”
Lord Lundy shook his grey head at his son, heaved a sigh, felt in the
left-hand pocket of his vest, missed something, heaved another sigh,
and became absorbed in the Report with which he had been
engrossed when his son entered the library.
“I only want a paltry two hundred,” pleaded Tom, not by any means
willing to give up without a struggle.
His father once more looked up from his statistics, and without
altering his tone replied,—
“Harkye, Tom. I have said my say. You know the position which I
hold as the patron of religious and philanthropic societies. You are
aware of the repute which I bear. With your proceedings, and those
of your associates, rumour is busy. Such rumours reflect upon me.
Common decency should suggest to you that I am the last person in
the world to whom you should apply for fresh means wherewith to
procure fresh indulgence.”
“Indeed, sir—”
“Enough, Tom. I am busy. Good-morning.”
It was useless to argue further. The Hon. Tom Foote, with downcast
countenance, withdrew; reflected that he must once more have
recourse to his friends, Shadrach, Mesech, and Abednego in
Throgmorton Street; and inwardly apostrophised his stern parent as
Old Father Adamant.
When Tom left the library Lord Lundy rang the bell. When the
menial entered his lordship was still feeling in the left-hand pocket of
his vest.
“Oh, James,” he said, “tell my man to look for the snuff-box I usually
carry. Must have dropped it somewhere.”
James bowed and departed on his mission.
Meanwhile Tom, descending into Grosvenor Square, hailed a passing
hansom; but when the driver pulled up by the kerb he was
undecided in what direction to drive.
“Shall I go to the Raleigh and consult Bruiser, or shall I go direct to
old Abednego, or shall I see Dot and explain matters?” This to
himself. Then, suddenly making up his mind to see Dot, he gave his
cabman an address in the vicinity of the Regent’s Park, and
abandoned himself to his fate.
To his great delight, and, indeed, surprise, he found Dot in the very
best of tempers. Her little villa was surrounded by a wall which
protected it from the vulgar stare of the passer-by, and Tom found
her in her breakfast-room arranging flowers and humming an air out
of Diana, a burlesque which she was at that time engaged in
illustrating at the Mausoleum Theatre. She was arrayed in a
morning-gown of light-blue, trimmed with some fluffy stuff strangely
suggestive of powder-puffs. She received her guest with
considerable warmth; asked her “poor old boy” why he looked so
“glum,” and when in reply he admitted that he had been unable to
obtain the trifling sum which she had requested, burst out laughing,
and said,—
“Don’t look so solemn, Dolly,”—’twas her pet name for him. “I shall
be able to do without it for the present. A wealthy connection of
mine has just died leaving me sufficient for all immediate wants.
And now what’s the news?”
Tom having mentally blessed the rich and opportune relative, and
having regretted aloud that any person should have deprived him of
the coveted opportunity of playing the part of relieving officer,
declared that there was no news.
He then began to look about the room. This is a habit which most
men have in visiting rooms where others, perchance, may be
received—others that they know not of. There is a suspicion of the
very furniture. A jealousy of articles left behind. Great Heavens!
what heart-burnings have been caused by the discovery of a strange
cigar-case or a ring with an unfamiliar monogram.
Tom, strolling up to the mantel-piece while chatting to Dot, or
listening to her artless prattle, perceived, nestling between the
ormolu timepiece and a vase of early primroses, a snuff-box. He
took it up and involuntarily ejaculated,—
“Halloa!”
Dot looked up, and observing the object of his curiosity, exclaimed,—
“Oh, put that down, it—it’s nothing.”
“Nothing?” said Tom. “It’s a snuff-box. Come, where did you get
it?”
Dot pouted. She must not be cross-examined. It was an insult to
her. Did Dolly doubt her?
But Dolly was in perfect temper. He declared himself as devoid of
doubt as a minor prophet, and having calmed the rising emotions of
the lady, said, with the greatest sang-froid,—
“Lend me the snuff-box till to-morrow at this hour, and I’ll bring you
the two hundred. Yes, and a fifty into the bargain.”
“Only a loan, mind,” stipulated the girl, who, like most of her
charming sex, had a mind irrevocably fixed on the main chance.
“Of course—only a loan,” replied the elated Tom; “d’ye think I’m
going to turn snuff-taker?”
Whether Tom’s logic or the hope of Tom’s money mollified Miss Dot,
it is certain that when, an hour after, he left Laburnum Villa,
Regent’s Park, N.W., he had the snuff-box in his pocket.
It was from Lady Lundy that his lordship had imbibed his religion
and his philanthropy. She was, indeed, a marvellous woman, and
had been known on at least one occasion to take the chair from
which indisposition had driven her husband. If ever a nobleman
could have been said to be hen-pecked, that devoted aristocrat was
Lord Lundy. And Tom, although more audacious in his expressions
of defiance, also stood in considerable awe of his mother. When on
the evening of the day during which all the events of this
unvarnished tale arrived, Tom sat down to dinner, both his father
and his mother were surprised at the flow of his animal spirits, the
redundancy of his anecdotes, and the impudent way in which he
relegated to some future occasion all discussion concerning Outcast
London, or the heathen living in dark places of the earth.
Being a Christian household, certain Christian customs were
observed in the Lundy establishment; so when Lady Lundy left the
room her husband and her son remained to discuss a glass of claret.
“You seem in excellent spirits to-night, my boy,” said the father. And
the remark was not uncalled for; because when last father and son
had met, the latter was extremely downcast.
“Pretty well, thank you,” replied the youth.
“And to what may I attribute this change?”
“I’ve taken your advice, sir, and have commenced to do something
useful. I have gone into trade.”
“God bless my soul! Trade!”
“Yes. I’m dealing in articles—if I may call them so—of virtue.”
“You’re joking.”
“Never more serious, I assure you. To prove it I will sell you
something.”
“What?”
“A snuff-box.”
The philanthropist laughed.
“And so it is you who have been hiding my favourite box. Hand it
over this minute, you rascal.”
But Tom shook his head.
“No; this can’t be yours. This is a snuff-box with a history. It
belonged, my dear father, to a great philanthropist; and it was
discovered in a breakfast-room in the Regent’s Park.”
At this Tom exhibited the pretty receptacle, saying,—
“How much do you say for this highly authenticated heirloom?”
“The two hundred you asked for this morning, Tom,” replied the
father, with more coolness than might reasonably been expected
under the circumstances.
“Not enough,” said the son.
“Three hundred—five hundred!” gasped the philanthropist.
“Say a thousand,” insinuated Tom.
“I’ll be d—d if I do!” replied the philanthropist, with the utmost
decision.
“Then,” said Tom, rising, “I’ll take it to her ladyship, and see what
she’ll give me for it—and for its story.”
“Tom, sit down, I command you. Not a word of this. The money is
yours.”
How Tom managed with Dot about retaining the snuff-box history
does not say. But it has been noticed with considerable alarm that
Tom has now a greater influence over Lord Lundy than ever was
obtained even by her ladyship.

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