have so many letters! With your permission I shall consult the letter
book.'

'The article says "To Parents, Guardians, Children, and others." It was
in print,' remarked Mr. Apsley, with a heavy stress on "children," 'and
she said you wanted _us_.'

The mystified Merton, wondering who 'she' was, turned the pages of the
letter book, mumbling, 'Abernethy, Applecombe, Ap. Davis, Apsley. Here
we are,' he began to read the letter aloud. It was typewritten, which,
when he saw his clients, not a little surprised him.

'Gentlemen,' the letter ran, 'having seen your advertisement in the
_Daily Diatribe_ of to-day, May 17, I desire to express my wish to enter
into communication with you on a matter of pressing importance.--I am, in
the name of my sister, Miss Josephine Apsley, and myself,

'Faithfully yours,
'THOMAS LLOYD APSLEY.'

'That's the letter,' said Mr. Apsley, 'and you wrote to us.'

'And what did I say?' asked Merton.

'Something about preferences, which we did not understand.'

'References, perhaps,' said Merton. 'Mr. Apsley, may I ask whether you
wrote this letter yourself?'

'No; None-so-pretty printed it on a kind of sewing machine. _She_ told