large and lofty room, while the lift, the instant that it was freed from
their weight, flashed back to its original position. With his feet
sinking into the soft rich carpet, as though he were ankle-deep in some
mossy bank, he stared about him at the great pictures which lined the
walls.

"Surely, surely, I see Raphael's touch there" he cried, pointing up at
the one which faced him.

"Yes, it is a Raphael, and I believe one of his best. I had a very
exciting bid for it with the French Government. They wanted it for the
Louvre, but of course at an auction the longest purse must win."

"And this 'Arrest of Catiline' must be a Rubens. One cannot mistake
his splendid men and his infamous women."

"Yes, it is a Rubens. The other two are a Velasquez and a Teniers, fair
specimens of the Spanish and of the Dutch schools. I have only old
masters here. The moderns are in the billiard-room. The furniture here
is a little curious. In fact, I fancy that it is unique. It is made of
ebony and narwhals' horns. You see that the legs of everything are of
spiral ivory, both the table and the chairs. It cost the upholsterer
some little pains, for the supply of these things is a strictly limited
one. Curiously enough, the Chinese Emperor had given a large order for
narwhals' horns to repair some ancient pagoda, which was fenced in with
them, but I outbid him in the market, and his celestial highness has had
to wait. There is a lift here in the corner, but we do not need it.
Pray step through this door. This is the billiard-room," he continued
as they advanced into the adjoining room. "You see I have a few recent
pictures of merit upon the walls. Here is a Corot, two Meissoniers, a