some time with the Messrs.
Aminadab, and finally had a cab called for him, and drove home with a
pretty bulky parcel.

* * * * *

At five minutes to twelve on the following day, a tall, burly,
mahogany-colored mariner, attired, for the occasion, in a frock-coat
and hat, appeared in Lincoln's Inn Fields. He seemed to be but ill
acquainted with those coasts, and mooned about for some minutes before
he reached the door of Messrs. Wright Then he rang, the door was opened,
and he was admitted into the presence of the partners.

"I have come, gentlemen, in answer to your letter," he said with a
Northern burr, bowing awkwardly, and checking a disposition to salute by
touching his forelock.

His eyes wandered round the room, where he saw no one but the partners,
with whom he was already acquainted, and a foreign-looking gentleman--a
gentleman with hay-colored hair, a soft hat, spectacles, and a
tow-colored beard. He had a mild, short-sighted expression, a pasty
complexion, and the air of one who smoked too much.

"Good morning, Mr.--h'm--Mr. Johnson," said old Mr. Wright. "As we told
you, sir, we have, as a necessary preliminary to the inquiry, requested
Professor Lieblein to step in and inspect--h'm--the personal marks of
which you spoke. Professor Lieblein, of Bonn, is a great authority on
these matters--author of 'Die Tattuirung,' a very learned work, I am
told."

Thus introduced, the Professor bowed.

"Glad to meet you, sir," said the sailor-man gruffly, "or any gentleman
as really knows what's what."

"You have been a great traveller, sir?" said the learned Professor,
whose Teutonic accent it is superfluous to reproduce. "You have in many
lands travelled? So!"

"Yes, sir; I have seen the world."

"And you are much tattooed: it is to me very interesting. You have by
many races been decorated?"

"Most niggers have had a turn at me, sir!"

"How happy you are to have had such experiences! Now, the Burmese--ah!
have you any little Burmese marks?"

"Yes, sir; from the elbow to the shoulder," replied the seafaring man.
"Saving your presence, I'll strip to the buff."

"The buff! What is that? Oh, thank you, sir," this was in reply to young
Mr. Wright "The naked body! why, buff! 'Buff,' the abstract word, the
actual stuff, the very _wesen_ of man unclothed. 'Buffer,' the concrete
man, in the 'buff,' in the flesh; it is _sehr interessant_."

While the learned Professor muttered thes