rupees the monnth to paint for me, for my firm. Sir, it is now nine
monnth. I am yoost four tousand five hundred rupees out of my
pocket by this gentleman!'

To enable me to cope with this astonishing tale I asked Mr. Kauffer
for a chair, which he obligingly gave me, and begged that he also
would be seated. The files at my office were my business, and this
was not, but no matter of Imperial concern seemed at the moment half
so urgently to require probing. 'Surely,' I said, 'that is an
unusual piece of enterprise for a photographic firm to employ an
artist to paint on a salary. I don't know even a regular dealer who
does it.'

Mr. Kauffer at once and frankly explained. It was unusual and
entirely out of the regular line of business. It was, in fact, one
of the exceptional forms of enterprise inspired in this country by
the native prince. We who had to treat with the native prince
solely on lofty political lines were hardly likely to remember how
largely he bulked in the humbler relations of trade; but there was
more than one Calcutta establishment, Mr. Kauffer declared, that
would be obliged to put up its shutters without this inconstant and
difficult, but liberal customer. I waited with impatience. I could
not for the life of me see Armour's connection with the native
prince, who is seldom a patron of the arts for their own sakes.

'Surely,' I said, 'you could not depend on the Indian nobility to
buy landscapes. They never do. I know of only one distinguished
exception, and he lives a thousand miles from here, in Bengal.'

'No, not landscape,' returned Mr. Kauffer; 'but that Indian nobleman