’Haveyoutakenitlong？’
　　’Three-and-twentyyears。’
　　’Whatsnuffdoyoutake？’
　　’Universalmixture。’
　　’Andyoufinditofuse？
　　Taggarttappedhisbox。
　　’Inwhatrespect？’saidI。
　　’Inmany-thereisnothinglikeittogetamanthrough；butforsnuffIshouldscarcelybewhereIamnow。’
　　’Haveyoubeenlonghere？’
　　’Three-and-twentyyears。’
　　’Dearme，’saidI；’andsnuffbroughtyouthrough？Givemeapinch-pah，Idon’tlikeit，’andIsneezed。
　　’Takeanotherpinch，’saidTaggart。
　　’No，’saidI，’Idon’tlikesnuff。’
　　’Thenyouwillneverdoforauthorship；atleastforthiskind。’
　　’SoIbegintothink-whatshallIdo？’
　　Taggarttooksnuff。
　　’Youweretalkingofagreatwork-whatshallitbe？’
　　Taggarttooksnuff。
　　’DoyouthinkIcouldwriteone？’
　　Taggartupliftedhistwoforefingersasiftotap，hedidnothowever。
　　’Itwouldrequiretime，’saidI，withahalfsigh。
　　Taggarttappedhisbox。
　　’Agreatdealoftime；Ireallythinkthatmyballads-’
　　Taggarttooksnuff。
　　’Ifpublished，woulddomecredit。I’llmakeaneffort，andofferthemtosomeotherpublisher。’
　　Taggarttookadoublequantityofsnuff。
　　CHAPTERXLII
　　FrancisArdry-Thatwon’tdo，sir-Observemygestures-Ithinkyouimprove-Betterthanpolitics-DelightfulyoungFrenchwoman-
　　Aburningshame-Magnificentimpudence-Paunch-Voltaire-Lumpofsugar。
　　OCCASIONALLYIcalledonFrancisArdry。Thisyounggentlemanresidedinhandsomeapartmentsintheneighbourhoodofafashionablesquare，keptaliveryservant，and，uponthewhole，livedinverygoodstyle。Goingtoseehimoneday，betweenoneandtwo，Iwasinformedbytheservantthathismasterwasengagedforthemoment，butthat，ifIpleasedtowaitafewminutes，I
　　shouldfindhimatliberty。HavingtoldthemanthatIhadnoobjection，heconductedmeintoasmallapartmentwhichservedasantechambertoadrawing-room；thedoorofthislastbeinghalfopen，IcouldseeFrancisArdryatthefartherend，speechifyingandgesticulatinginaveryimpressivemanner。Theservant，insomeconfusion，washasteningtoclosethedoor；but，erehecouldeffecthispurpose，FrancisArdry，whohadcaughtaglimpseofme，exclaimed，’Comein-comeinbyallmeans’；andthenproceeded，asbefore，speechifyingandgesticulating。Filledwithsomesurprise，Iobeyedhissummons。
　　OnenteringtheroomIperceivedanotherindividual，towhomFrancisArdryappearedtobeaddressinghimself；thisotherwasashortsparemanofaboutsixty；hishairwasofbadgergray，andhisfacewascoveredwithwrinkles-withoutvouchsafingmealook，hekepthiseye，whichwasblackandlustrous，fixedfullonFrancisArdry，asifpayingthedeepestattentiontohisdiscourse。
　　Allofasudden，however，hecriedwithasharp，crackedvoice，’Thatwon’tdo，sir；thatwon’tdo-morevehemence-yourargumentisatpresentparticularlyweak；therefore，morevehemence-youmustconfusethem，stunthem，stultifythem，sir’；and，ateachoftheseinjunctions，hestruckthebackofhisrighthandsharplyagainstthepalmoftheleft。’Good，sir-good!’heoccasionallyuttered，inthesamesharp，crackedtone，asthevoiceofFrancisArdrybecamemoreandmorevehement。’Infinitelygood!’heexclaimed，asFrancisArdryraisedhisvoicetothehighestpitch；
　　’andnow，sir，abate；letthetempestofvehemencedecline-
　　gradually，sir；nottoofast。Good，sir-verygood!’asthevoiceofFrancisArdrydeclinedgraduallyinvehemence。’Andnowalittlepathos，sir-trythemwithalittlepathos。Thatwon’tdo，sir-thatwon’tdo，’-asFrancisArdrymadeanattempttobecomepathetic，-’thatwillneverpassforpathos-withtonesandgestureofthatdescriptionyouwillneverredressthewrongsofyourcountry。Now，sir，observemygestures，andpayattentiontothetoneofmyvoice，sir。’
　　Thereupon，makinguseofnearlythesametermswhichFrancisArdryhademployed，theindividualinblackutteredseveralsentencesintonesandwithgestureswhichwereintendedtoexpressaconsiderabledegreeofpathos，thoughitispossiblethatsomepeoplewouldhavethoughtboththeoneandtheotherhighlyludicrous。Afterapause，FrancisArdryrecommencedimitatingthetonesandthegesturesofhismonitorinthemostadmirablemanner。
　　Beforehehadproceededfar，however，heburstintoafitoflaughter，inwhichIshould，perhaps，havejoined，provideditwereevermywonttolaugh。’Ha，ha!’saidtheother，good-humouredly，’youarelaughingatme。Well，well，Imerelywishedtogiveyouahint；butyousawverywellwhatImeant；uponthewholeIthinkyouimprove。ButImustnowgo，havingtwootherpupilstovisitbeforefour。’
　　Thentakingfromthetableakindofthree-corneredhat，andacaneheadedwithamber，heshookFrancisArdrybythehand；and，afterglancingatmeforamoment，mademeahalfbow，attendedwithastrangegrimace，anddeparted。
　　’Whoisthatgentleman？’saidItoFrancisArdry，assoonaswerealone。
　　’Oh，thatis-’saidFrank，smiling，’thegentlemanwhogivesmelessonsinelocution。’
　　’Andwhatneedhaveyouofelocution？’
　　’Oh，Imerelyobeythecommandsofmyguardians，’saidFrancis，’whoinsistthatIshould，withtheassistanceof-，qualifymyselfforParliament；forwhichtheydomethehonourtosupposethatI
　　havesomenaturaltalent。Idarenotdisobeythem；for，atthepresentmoment，Ihaveparticularreasonsforwishingtokeepongoodtermswiththem。’
　　’But，’saidI，’youareaRomanCatholic；andIthoughtthatpersonsofyourreligionwereexcludedfromParliament？’
　　’Why，uponthatverythingthewholematterhinges；peopleofourreligionaredeterminedtobenolongerexcludedfromParliament，buttohaveashareinthegovernmentofthenation。NotthatI
　　careanythingaboutthematter；Imerelyobeythewillofmyguardians；mythoughtsarefixedonsomethingbetterthanpolitics。’
　　’Iunderstandyou，’saidI；’dog-fighting-well，Icaneasilyconceivethattosomemindsdog-fighting-’
　　’Iwasnotthinkingofdog-fighting，’saidFrancisArdry，interruptingme。
　　’Notthinkingofdog-fighting!’Iejaculated。
　　’No，’saidFrancisArdry，’somethinghigherandmuchmorerationalthandog-fightingatpresentoccupiesmythoughts。’
　　’Dearme，’saidI，’IthoughtIhadheardyousaythattherewasnothinglikeit!’
　　’Likewhat？’saidFrancisArdry。
　　’Dog-fighting，tobesure，’saidI。
　　’Pooh，’saidFrancisArdry；’whobutthegrossandunrefinedcareanythingfordog-fighting？Thatwhichatpresentengagesmywakingandsleepingthoughtsislove-divinelove-thereisnothinglikeTHAT。Listentome，Ihaveasecrettoconfidetoyou。’
　　AndthenFrancisArdryproceededtomakemehisconfidant。ItappearedthathehadhadthegoodfortunetomaketheacquaintanceofthemostdelightfulyoungFrenchwomanimaginable，AnnetteLaNoirebyname，whohadjustarrivedfromhernativecountrywiththeintentionofobtainingthesituationofgovernessinsomeEnglishfamily；apositionwhich，onaccountofhermanyaccomplishments，shewaseminentlyqualifiedtofill。FrancisArdryhad，however，persuadedhertorelinquishherintentionforthepresent，onthegroundthat，untilshehadbecomeacclimatedinEngland，herhealthwouldprobablysufferfromtheconfinementinseparablefromtheoccupationinwhichshewasdesirousofengaging；hehad，moreover-foritappearedthatshewasthemostfrankandconfidingcreatureintheworld-succeededinpersuadinghertopermithimtohireforheraveryhandsomefirstfloorinhisownneighbourhood，andtoacceptafewinconsiderablepresentsinmoneyandjewellery。’Iamlookingoutforahandsomegigandhorse，’saidFrancisArdry，attheconclusionofhisnarration；’itwereaburningshamethatsodivineacreatureshouldhavetogoaboutaplacelikeLondononfoot，orinapaltryhackneycoach。’
　　’But，’saidI，’willnotthepursuitofpoliticspreventyourdevotingmuchtimetothisfairlady？’
　　’Itwillpreventmedevotingallmytime，’saidFrancisArdry，’asIgladlywould；butwhatcanIdo？Myguardianswishmetoqualifymyselfforapoliticalorator，andIdarenotoffendthembyarefusal。IfIoffendmyguardians，Ishouldfinditimpossible-