ure? An
old master, I presume?"

The artists looked pleased; it would seem as if even the great
connoisseur himself was liable to make mistakes.

"It is ugly enough, in all conscience," he continued bluntly. "For my
part, I am an utter philistine, and like my art to be the same as my
furniture--new, pretty to look at, and comfortable, and, for the life of
me, I can't fall in love with a snub-nosed Catherine de Medici, or a
muscular apostle. What is this?" He bent down to read the title. "Ah!
'Portrait of a gentleman of the sixteenth century.' Very valuable, I
daresay, Lady Merivale?"

Lady Merivale, who looked upon Mr. Vermont as one of her ancestors would
have regarded the Court jester, smiled indifferently.

"It all depends on the point of view," she said. "I have paid three
hundred pounds for it."

Mr. Vermont looked up with an air of innocent surprise; but a keen
observer might have been tempted to regard it as one of satirical
enjoyment.

"Three hundred pounds! I daresay these gentlemen, good judges all, have
declared it a bargain?" He motioned to the little group on the other
side of Lord Merivale.

"Not at all," returned his hostess. "On the contrary, Mr. Leroy declares
it an imposture."

Vermont raised his eyebrows.

"Indeed," he said. "How did he detect the fraud?"

"By the one weak point," said Colman. "That dagger; Rubens never lived
to see such a dagger as that, so could not possibly have painted it!"

Mr. Vermont smiled, an approving smile that seemed to mock the picture
as if it were a living thing.

"Capital," he said. "The rogue who palmed this forgery on you was
evidently not a student of the antique. Poor fellow, how was he to guess
who was to be his judge? You will, of course, institute proceedings
against him, or send the picture back?"

"Impossible," said Lord Merivale, with a rueful smile; "I wrote the
cheque last night; by this time it will have been cashed, and so the
swindle is complete."

"Dear! dear!" ejaculated Mr. Vermont, in tones of the deepest
commiseration, though he smiled as he added: "There's only one thing to
be said, my lord. If that picture is clever enough to deceive such great
experts, surely it has achieved its object. It certainly looks old
enough to satisfy the most exacting of second-hand furniture shops."

He turned to Lady Merivale.

"Before I forget," he said, "let me discharge the object of my visit.
Melba sings to-morrow at the Duke of Southville's