"What dates?" said he, a gleam of interest in his dark eye.
"All pre-war," said I proudly; "none of them are later than 1900 and some go back to 1880."
"Not b.c.?" said he, with a look in which hope and disbelief were mingled.
"No," said I. "All are a.d.; but they include two Reports of Missions to Deep Sea Fishermen in 1885—very rare. I'm sure they would match splendidly the Proceedings of the Royal Commission on Aniline Dyes which you have in the waiting-room."
"No," said he firmly. "I have one of the most important practices in Harley Street. I likewise possess one of the finest collections of old magazines in the profession. That blue-book on Aniline Dyes is barely fifty years old. It was left me by my father, and I retain it simply through affection for him in spite of its modernity. But the rest go back to the Crimean vintage and earlier. When you have something really old, come to me. But"—and he threw in a winning smile in his best bedside manner—"not till then."
I am now in search of a young practitioner who is merely starting a collection.
Scene.—A Flower Show: Garden Ornament Section.