ad picked up at a tollman's, where they had been
passed off for cents. He had bought them as curiosities. One had the
name of Gallienus upon it, tolerably distinct,--a common little Roman
penny; but it would serve his purpose of asking a question, as would two
or three others with less legible legends. Paolo told him that if he
came the next morning he would stand a fair chance of seeing Mr.
Kirkwood. At any rate, he would speak to his master.

The Interviewer presented himself the next morning, after finishing his
breakfast and his cigar, feeling reasonably sure of finding Mr. Kirkwood
at home, as he proved to be. He had told Paolo to show the stranger up
to his library,--or study, as he modestly called it.

It was a pleasant room enough, with a lookout on the lake in one
direction, and the wooded hill in another. The tenant had fitted it up
in scholarly fashion. The books Paolo spoke of were conspicuous, many of
them, by their white vellum binding and tasteful gilding, showing that
probably they had been bound in Rome, or some other Italian city. With
these were older volumes in their dark original leather, and recent ones
in cloth or paper. As the Interviewer ran his eye over them, he found
that he could make very little out of what their backs taught him. Some
of the paper-covered books, some of the cloth-covered ones, had names
which he knew; but those on the backs of many of the others were strange
to his eyes. The classics of Greek and Latin and Italian literature were
there; and he saw enough to feel convinced that he had better not attempt
to display his erudition in the company of this young scholar.

The first thing the Interviewer had to do was to account for his visiting
a person who had not asked to make his acquaintance, and who was living
as a recluse. He took out his battered coppers, and showed them to
Maurice.

"I understood that you were very skilful in antiquities, and had a good
many yourself. So I took the liberty of calling upon you, hoping that
you could tell me something about some ancient coins I have had for a
good while." So saying, he pointed to the copper with the name of
Gallienus.

"Is this very rare and valuable? I have heard that great prices have
been paid for some of these ancient coins,--ever so many guineas,
sometimes. I suppose this is as much as a thousand years old."

"More than a thousand years old," said Maurice.

"And worth a great deal of money?" asked the Interviewer