"The name of my benefactor. I wish to dedicate the third, fourth and fifth editions of my poems to you," the young man declared grandiloquently.
Mr. Harvey Grimm pondered.
"It is an immense compliment," he acknowledged. "We will talk of it."
"In the meantime," the poet went on, "listen. The curse of these days is jealousy and imitation. A young man of worthy upbringing but wholly ignorant of art, who perpetrated the daubs which you see upon the walls here, was struck with my success. Only last Thursday an elderly gentleman, such a one as might have been selected by my own employés, was stopped in Hampstead and asked whether he had seen the sketches of Sidney Wentworth, displayed in Manchester Street, Adelphi. The fool admitted that he had never heard of them and down he went. I ask you, sir, was there ever a more flagrant case of spoiling a man's market? From the moment this absurd affair was reported, public feeling has begun to change. Curiously enough, there has been very small resentment, even on the part of those who have suffered slight pains in the cause of art, as to my methods. Now, however, that the idea has commenced to spread that such means are becoming a regular curriculum of the advertiser, I have noticed distinct expressions of indignation. In plain words, I can see the end coming."
"Nothing lasts," Mr. Harvey Grimm pointed out, "and you must admit you've had a run for your money."
"I've had more than that, sir," the poet admitted. "I am established. Many of the leading periodicals of the day, including Titbits and the London Mail, have invited me to contribute to their pages. The Society of Authors has made me a tempting proposition to join their ranks. You may look upon me, sir, as a man whose future is now assured."
"I am delighted to hear it," Mr. Harvey Grimm declared heartily. "I fear I must now be getting on."
The young man took down, his hat, possessed himself of a pair of expensive doeskin gloves and a silver-topped cane.
"I will let you out by the back way," he suggested. "It is my desire to accompany you."
"I am going to call upon a friend in the neighbourhood," Harvey Grimm remarked.