longer, but parsons, lawyers, and doctors; and though they don't
venture to interfere with one-another as regards their individual
professions, they make no sort of scruple about interfering with _him_.
They write to him their unsolicited advice and strictures. This is the
parson's letter:

'MY DEAR DICK,

'I like your last book much better than the rest of them; but I don't
like your heroine. She strikes both Julia and myself [Julia is his
wife, who is acquainted with no literature but the cookery-book] as
rather namby-pamby. The descriptions, however, are charming; we both
recognised dear old Ramsgate at once. [The original of the locality
in the novel being Dieppe.] The plot is also excellent, though we
think we have some recollection of it elsewhere; but it must be so
difficult to hit upon anything original in these days. Thanks for
your kind remembrance of us at Christmas: the oysters were excellent.
We were sorry to see that ill-natured little notice in the _Scourge_.

'Yours affectionately,

'BOB.'

Jack the lawyer writes:

'DEAR DICK,

'You are really becoming ["Becoming?" he thinks _that_ becoming]
quite a great man: we could hardly get your last book from Mudie's,
though I suppose he takes very small quantities of copies, except