on't," said Morris hastily; "for almost directly he will be
going into the dining-hall."

"Well, what would that matter? Country hospitality and--you understand.
But there, if you think the time adverse, I certainly would not
presume. But, by the way, would you believe it, that letter has not
come this morning?"

"Yes," said Morris faintly. "You said so just now."

"And it puts me to the greatest inconvenience. I am almost ashamed to
ask you."

"Would that you were quite!" thought Morris.

"But would you mind--say a couple of half-crowns--a mere trifle, and the
moment the letter comes--really, I think it must be stuck in the
post-office somewhere from wrong direction. Is there another
Plymborough in England?"

"Oh no; this is the only one."

"Yes, two half-crowns, and the moment the letter arrives I shall hurry
to you to repay you with many thanks, your kindly interest in my
welfare."

"And the other two?"

"Oh, of course," said the Professor. "The-ank you. Some day, my dear
Morris, I hope and believe--But, by the way, that young Prince: I could
not help taking the greatest interest in what he told me. It came
naturally as the result of questions and in conversation upon the beauty
of Eastern costume. I remember saying to him, `Why are not you, a young
Eastern potentate, robed in the resplendent garments of your country,
wearing a picturesque helmet, plumed, and decked with gorgeous jewels?
I remember,' I said, `a visit paid by the Nawab of Puttyputty when I was
one of the masters at the college at Longbourne. He was magnificently
dressed, a most picturesque figure amongst the gentlemen, who in their
sombre black looked like so many waiters. I remember he wore a
resplendent belt, the clasps of which were formed of gigantic emeralds
engraved with Eastern characters--Sanskrit, I believe, though I never
had them in my hand.' And the boy proudly told me that he possessed
just such a one, though he never wore it, because it would not be
suitable with modern English costume. All a boy's romance, I suppose--
recollections of the _Arabian Nights_."

"Oh no," said Morris; "it is quite true."

"Dear me," said the Professor, "what an opportunity! Why, I would give
worlds to see it," he added with a laugh. "It has been one of the
regrets of my life that I did not ask the Nawab's permission to inspect
those clasps. To my thinking, the inscriptions must have been of that
so-called talismanic kind in whi