you to receive the assurance of our felicitations. Permit
us to embrace the occasion of specially commanding to you M. Jules
Obenreizer.' Impossible!"

Wilding looked up in quick apprehension, and cried, "Eh?"

"Impossible sort of name," returned his partner, slightly--"Obenreizer.
'--Of specially commanding to you M. Jules Obenreizer, of Soho Square,
London (north side), henceforth fully accredited as our agent, and who
has already had the honour of making the acquaintance of your Mr.
Vendale, in his (said M. Obenreizer's) native country, Switzerland.' To
be sure! pooh pooh, what have I been thinking of! I remember now; 'when
travelling with his niece.'"

"With his--?" Vendale had so slurred the last word, that Wilding had not
heard it.

"When travelling with his Niece. Obenreizer's Niece," said Vendale, in a
somewhat superfluously lucid manner. "Niece of Obenreizer. (I met them
in my first Swiss tour, travelled a little with them, and lost them for
two years; met them again, my Swiss tour before last, and have lost them
ever since.) Obenreizer. Niece of Obenreizer. To be sure! Possible
sort of name, after all! 'M. Obenreizer is in possession of our absolute
confidence, and we do not doubt you will esteem his merits.' Duly signed
by the House, 'Defresnier et Cie.' Very well. I undertake to see M.
Obenreizer presently, and clear him out of the way. That clears the
Swiss postmark out of the way. So now, my dear Wilding, tell me what I
can clear out of _your_ way, and I'll find a way to clear it."

More than ready and grateful to be thus taken charge of, the honest wine-
merchant wrung his partner's hand, and, beginning his tale by
pathetically declaring himself an Impostor, told it.

"It was on this matter, no doubt, that you were sending for Bintrey when
I came in?" said his partner, after reflecting.

"It was."

"He has experience and a shrewd head; I shall be anxious to know his
opinion. It is bold and hazardous in me to give you mine before I know
his, but I am not good at holding back. Plainly, then, I do not see
these circumstances as you see them. I do not see your position as you
see it. As to your being an Impostor, my dear Wilding, that is simply
absurd, because no man can be that without being a consenting party to an
imposition. Clearly you never were so. As to your enrichment by the
lady who believed you to be her son, and whom you were forced to believe,
on her showing, to b