friends; his friends received Joseph Loveredge. Mrs.
Loveredge, as a hostess, came to have only one failing--a marked coldness
of demeanour towards all people with titles, whenever introduced to her.

STORY THE SIXTH--"The Babe" applies for Shares

People said of the new journal, _Good Humour_--people of taste and
judgment, that it was the brightest, the cleverest, the most literary
penny weekly that ever had been offered to the public. This made Peter
Hope, editor and part-proprietor, very happy. William Clodd, business
manager, and also part-proprietor, it left less elated.

"Must be careful," said William Clodd, "that we don't make it too clever.
Happy medium, that's the ideal."

People said--people of taste and judgment, that _Good Humour_ was more
worthy of support than all the other penny weeklies put together. People
of taste and judgment even went so far, some of them, as to buy it. Peter
Hope, looking forward, saw fame and fortune coming to him.

William Clodd, looking round about him, said--

"Doesn't it occur to you, Guv'nor, that we're getting this thing just a
trifle too high class?"

"What makes you think that?" demanded Peter Hope.

"Our circulation, for one thing," explained Clodd. "The returns for last
month--"

"I'd rather you didn't mention them, if you don't mind," interrupted
Peter Hope; "somehow, hearing the actual figures always depresses me."

"Can't say I feel inspired by them myself," admitted Clodd.

"It will come," said Peter Hope, "it will come in time. We must educate
the public up to our level."

"If there is one thing, so far as I have noticed," said William Clodd,
"that the public are inclined to pay less for than another, it is for
being educated."

"What are we to do?" asked Peter Hope.

"What you want," answered William Clodd, "is an office-boy."

"How will our having an office-boy increase our circulation?" demanded
Peter Hope. "Besides, it was agreed that we could do without one for the
first year. Why suggest more expense?"

"I don't mean an ordinary office-boy," explained Clodd. "I mean the sort
of boy that I rode with in the train going down to Stratford yesterday."

"What was there remarkable about him?"

"Nothing. He was reading the current number of the _Penny Novelist_.
Over two hundred thousand people buy it. He is one of them. He told me
so. When he had done with it, he drew from his pocket a copy of the
_Halfpenny Joker_--they gu