"I am Mr. Allston," replied Mr. A.
"Pray tell me, sir, who has purchased your fine painting of the 'Angel Uriel,' which won the prize at the exhibition of the Royal Academy?"
"That painting has not been sold," said Mr. A.
"Where is it to be found?"
"In this very room," said the artist, bringing a painting from the corner, and wiping off the dust.
"What is the price of it?" asked the gentleman.
"I have done fixing a price on it," said Mr. A., "for I have always asked more than people were willing to give."
"Will four hundred pounds be enough for it?" was the next question.
"That is more than I ever asked."
"Then the painting is mine," said the stranger, who introduced himself as the Marquis of Stafford; and from that day he became one of Mr. Allston's warmest friends.