Gray youth

r. Resolution, hard work, and singleness of purpose had given him an enviable position in the most humorous job of the age; but these would have availed him comparatively little had there not

laugh in the middle of, he would not have been the Man of Ideas he was. In the ordinary run of his business smart young men came to Mr. Miller with notions and devices for this and t

nce as a mere "smartie," Mr. Miller would take trouble with you. He would frankly admit that he and his fellows had only themselves to thank for the disrepute into

dignity of our work. If you've got them, sit right down and let's have a look at them; if you haven't, you're a b

. Miller found you worth still more troub

ll tell you this: neither noise nor smartness is good enough for Hallowell and Smiths'. Look out o' that window. You see that edifice. That edifice isn't going up to be run like the one next door to it. It's a noo edifice, and it's going to be run on noo methods. You think your methods are noo. You think again. You think quite a lot. Then when it's hit you good and hard, ring me up and I'll make another date with

e (like Mr. Wellcome) to the horses, he proposed to do it by a putting of the founts of honour to purposes of irrigation. Commerce had vulgarized itself; dignity must therefore be restored to it from where dignity was to be had in quantities sufficient if necessary to throw at the birds-from above. One day Mr. Miller, passing a more than usually ingenious advertisement in a shop window, had stated his point of view in twenty words. "

lear he had tried to get permission for the Royal Standard to float over Hallowells' new premises (the Union Jack having become common trade property, and so of no more value to one emporium than to another); and though h

enough to leave her free to do pretty much as she liked (without that freedom the studio would never have got Hallowells' catalogue, nor have become what to all intents and purposes it now was-one of Hallowells' departments), and Dorothy's intimacy with Mr. Miller

It calls me. I feel it. It's got meaning. There's your Raleigh, look. And there's your Queen Bess. And I ask you to observe the chivalrous spirit of it. That's the reel old-world English courtesy. That's the thing that hasn't got to be let die. Hallowells' has got to pitch its key up to that. It's got

ever before his Departmental Hosts' e

month, all was expected to be ready for the Grand Inauguration in the spring; and even if the weather did not hold, the impression had somehow got about that the weather must be a mightier power even than had been supposed to be able to postpone an event of such magnitude.... But all this is ancient history now. London knows its Hallowells' and the wonders that the man who held its Portfolio of Publicity (for surely he was entitled to a seat in the Cabinet of the World's Commerce) called forth. It has accepted the Hallowell tou

ow," Mr. Miller had instantly replied-"tell us how; you've grasped the idee! You don't suppose we could enlist the patronage of our president of the Royal Academy, do you?" (Mr. Miller had lately begun to speak of "our" Royal Standard and "our" House of Peers.) Thereupon Dorothy had given a light, rapid sketch of Sir Edward Pointer, not so much disdaining as deba

N

urable,' with

just plain

t paper man or two cents? I ain't calling your friend down at all, Mis

e'd do rea

him in.... And now tell me what's the

d both at once. Mr. Stanhope Tasker was her second cousin, and Mr. Miller's

d Street only this morning brought it home to me good and hard. 'Here they are,' says I, 'ten of 'em in as many minutes, the reel high-grade goods, with centuries of blue blood in the very way they wear their pantaloons-Sir Walters from 'way back,

own pink, and laughed. "Leave him to

it?)-a captain in our army don't get as much by a half-we don't ask 'em to get shot-they don't handle goods-the

they weren't hard to get

s on a field of battle. It is as noble. In a properly organized community there ought to be a Distinguished Salesmanship Order just as there's a Distinguishe

ll do better after

thought that it would be a weight off my mind. I hope you'll assist me, Miss Lennard. And thank you very much for your assi

ther Mr. Miller's intelligent look, when he had asked her to

come upon a piece of Mr. Miller's own publicity-a column article in an evening paper on "The Disappearance of the Slur of Trade." Stan had been much impressed by the new field thus thrown open. Chancing to meet Dorothy at about that time, for the first time since they had been children, he had spoken of the new opening, and Dorothy had offered there and then to introduce him to the writer of the article. From the first moment Stanhope had shown a willingness to be introduced to anybody whomsoever by Dorothy; and perhaps Mr. Miller had less hope than Dorothy supposed that Mr. Stan now hung about the premises for any reason at all except that Dorothy was to be seen there.... It was a case

fashion studio on the upper floor. Instead she asked Mr. Miller when he would be out, and borrowed his office-his fourth office since the building had been in progress, and, though not yet his permanent one, still an oasis of upholstery and quietness

r at the top edge and set, like a huge book of wallpaper patterns, on a special easel so as to be conveniently turned over), she gave him an outline of the general scheme and the part it was hoped he would consent to play in it; and from the outset Mr. Dix liked this young woman's attitude. For Croziers' he was not much more than a pen; at Hallowells', if the bashful and deferential manner in which he found himself received meant anything, he would be a Berenson or a Cavalcaselle at the very least, and really well p

ters she had shaken her head; but now that she had seen him (Dorothy slowly lifted her great blue eyes) she was glad she had asked him. Wasn't it odd, how afraid you were of the pretentious and mediocre people, and not at all of the really big men? (At this point Mr. Dix had begun really to bask.) But of course nothing but the best was good enough for Hallowells'. Not (she went on) that they pretended for a moment to be anything but tradespeople, with no views on art at a

e look at them

(he said) be able to come to a conclusion. He understood that time pressed; it was half-past five now. Could-could Miss Lennard possibly dine with him at eight o'clock? He might perhaps say at once that he thought the subject a fascinating one. As Miss Lennard had so

e wanted to know) that genius was just that-the power of expressing what everybody had thought in terms they had never thought of? Given genius as a text, he is a poor critic who cannot talk for an hour without a break; and, as Mr. Dix slowly consumed liqueur brandy as he talked, Dorothy became very beautiful to him. He became tender, not to say mushy. He vowed that the sentimental point of view was something to be proud, not ashamed, of. He spoke of t

, while the curls shook on his head; and

ealers, whoever they are, and can't sell her own work?" Dorothy s

squegeeing her, so to speak, with his gelatinous eyes; they really

ly, I feel like going round and seeing these horrib

could have eaten Miss

st you, Mr. Dix-not if you said the beautifu

uld have done more tha

e trouble in the world seems to me to come of goodn

ted the large

re you

ot ask, but conferred a favour-the favour of showing Mr. Hamilton Dix what a