rious things exposed at Kauffer's; one had the
feeling of coming unexpectedly on treasure left upon the wayside and
forgotten.

'Hullo!' I said, at a standstill, 'I see you've got some of Mr. Armour's
work there.'

Mr. Kauffer, with his hands behind him, made the sound which has its
counterpart in a shrug. 'Yass,' he said, 'I haf some of Mr. Armour's
work there. This one, that one, all those remaining pictures--they are
all the work of Mr. Armour.'

'I didn't know that any of his things were to be seen outside his
studio,' I observed.

'So? They are to be seen here. There is no objection.'

'Why should there be any objection?' I demanded, slightly nettled.
'People must see them before they buy them.'

'Buy them!' Kauffer's tone was distinctly exasperated. 'Who will buy
these pictures? Nobody. They are all, every one of them to REfuse.'

'If you know Mr. Armour well enough,' I said, 'you should advise him
to exhibit some of his local studies and sketches here. They might sell
better.'

My words seemed unfortunately chosen. Mr. Kauffer turned an honest angry
red.

'Do I not know Mr. Armour well enough--und better!' he exclaimed. 'What
this man wass doing when I in Paris find him oudt? Shtarving, mein
Gott! I see his work. I see he paint a very goot horse, very goot animal
subject. I bring him oudt on contract, five hundred rupees the monnth to
paint for me, for my firm. Sir, it is now nine monnth. I am yoost four
tousand five hundred rupees out of my pocket by this gentleman!'

To enable me to cope with this astonishing tale I asked Mr. Kauffer for
a chair, which he obligingly gave me, and begged that he also would be
seated. The files at my office were my business, and this was not, but
no matter of Imperial concern seemed at the moment half so urgently
to require probing. 'Surely,' I said, 'that is an unusual piece of
enterprise for a photographic firm to employ an artist to paint on a
salary. I don't know even a regular dealer who does it.'

Mr. Kauffer at once and frankly explained. It was unusual and entirely
out of the regular line of business. It was, in fact, one of the
exceptional forms of enterprise inspired in this country by the native
prince. We who had to treat with the native prince solely on lofty
political lines were hardly likely to remember how largely he bulked
in the humbler relations of trade; but there was more than one Calcutta
establishment, Mr. Kauffer declared, that would be oblige