than otherwise with the attention, and began to pluck the delicate
flowers with which it was painted and gather them into a nosegay. In
some dudgeon, I blew a small jug of great beauty on to a carved
prie-dieu, to which it adhered as though made of some slimy substance.

"Cannon," said my lady. "Shall I put you on?"

"I wish you would. It's rather important."

"You're through."

"Tallboy speaking," said a faint voice. "Tallboy. Tallboy."

"How d'ye do?" said I.

"Ill," said the voice, "so ill. All these years I've carried it, and no
one knew----"

"Pardon me," said I. "I only put it there five minutes ago. You see, the
fire was almost out and----"

"Measurements tell," said the voice. "But they never do that. They
polish my panels and lay fair linen within me, and great folk have stood
about me telling each other of my elegance, and once a baby child
mirrored its little face in one of my sides. And all the time
measurements tell. But they never do that."

A sigh floated to my ears, a long, long sigh that rose into a wail of
the wind, and a casement behind me blew to with a shaking clash.