nything on hinges, I presume," he remarked, "is worth
inspection. Only why don't they hinge _more_ of the good ones? They ought
to give us a hint; they really ought. How's a man to be sure he's on the
right tack?"

After an hour of that they went to see the prince who had the goblet.
Half an hour's conversation with him, and the goblet belonged to Leslie.
It was a glorious thing of deep blue glass and translucent enamel and
silver, with the Berovieri signature cut on it. Peter looked at it much
as he had seen a woman in the Duomo look up at her Lady's shrine, much
as Rodney had looked on the illumined reality behind the dreaming silver
world.

Peter said, "My word, suppose it broke!" It was natural that he should
think of that; things so often broke. Only that morning his gold watch
had broken, in Illuminato's active hands. Only that afternoon his
bootlace had broken, and he had had none to replace it because Caterina
had been sailing his other boots in the canal. Peter sighed over the
lovely and brittle world.

Then he and Leslie visited Signor Sardi's shop and looked at _osele_ and
sixteenth-century visiting cards. Peter said he knew nothing about either
personally, but quoted Hilary in the Gem, to Leslie's satisfaction.

"Your brother's a good man," said Leslie. "Knows what's what, doesn't he?
If he says these are good _osele_, we may take it that they _are_ good
_osele_, though we don't know one _osele_ from another. That's right,
isn't it?"

Peter said he supposed it was, if one wanted _osele_ at all, which
personally he didn't care about; but one never knew, of course, what
might come in useful. Anyhow Leslie bought some, and a visiting card
belonging to the Count Amadeo Vasari, which gave him much satisfaction.
Then they visited the person who, the Gem had said, had good plaques, and
inspected them critically. Then they had tea at Sant' Ortes' tearoom, and
then Peter went home.

Hilary, who was looking worried, said, "Lord Evelyn wants us to dine with
him to-night," and passed Peter a note in delicate, shaky handwriting.

"Good," said Peter. Hilary wore a bored look and said, "I suppose we must
go," and then proceeded to question Peter concerning Leslie's shopping
adventures. He seemed on the whole more interested in the purchase of
_osele_ than of the Berovieri goblet.

"But," said Peter presently, "your plaque friend wasn't in form to-day.
He had only shams. Rather bright shams, but still--So we didn't