CHAPTER XXIII.

MEESON'S ONCE AGAIN.

A MONTH had passed-a month of long summer days, and such happiness as young people who truly love each other can get out of a honeymoon spent under the most favourable circumstances in the sweetest, sunniest spots of the Channel Islands. And now the curtain draws up for the last time in this history, where it drew up for the first-in the inner office of Meeson's huge establishment.

During the last fortnight certain communications had passed between Mr. John Short, being duly authorised thereto, and the legal representatives of Messrs. Addison & Roscoe, with the result that the interests of these gentlemen in the great publishing house had been bought up, and that Eustace Meeson was the sole owner of the vast concern, which he intended to take under his personal supervision.

Now, accompanied by John Short, whom he had appointed to the post of solicitor both of his business and private affairs, and by Augusta, he was engaged in formally taking over the keys from the head manager, who was known throughout the establishment as No. 1.

"I wish to refer to the authors' agreements of the early part of last year," said Eustace.

No. I produced them somewhat sulkily. He did not like the appearance of this determined young owner upon the scene, with his free and un-Meeson

like ways.

Eustace turned them over, and while he did so, his happy wife stood by him, marvelling at the kaleidoscopic change in her circumstances. When last she

had stood in that office, not a year ago, it had been as a pitiful suppliant, begging for a few pounds wherewith to try and save her sister's life, and now

Suddenly Eustace stopped his search, and drawing a document from the bundle, glanced at it. It was Augusta's agreement with Meeson & Co. for "Jemima's Vow," the agreement binding her to them for five years, which had been the cause of all her troubles, and, as she firmly believed, of her little sister's death.

"There, my dear," said Eustace to his wife, "there is a present for you. Take it!"

Augusta took the document, and having looked to see what it was, shivered. It brought the whole thing back so painfully to her mind.

"What shall I do with it?" she asked; "tear it

up?"

"Yes," he answered. "No, stop a bit;" and, taking it from her, he wrote "Cancelled" in big letters across it, signed, and dated it.

"There," he said; "now send it to be framed and

glazed, and it shall be hung here in the office, to show how they used to do business at Meeson's."

No. snorted, and looked at Eustace aghast. What would the young man be after next?

"Are the gentlemen assembled in the hall?" asked Eustace of him when the remaining documents were. put away again.

No. I said that they were, and, accordingly, to the hall they went, wherein were gathered all the editors, sub-editors, managers, sub-managers of the various departments, clerks, and other employés, not excepting the tame authors, who, a pale and mealy regiment, had been marched up thither from the Hutches, and the tame artists with flying hair. Now they were being marshalled in lines by No. 1, who had gone on before. When Eustace, his wife, and John Short reached the top of the hall, where some chairs had been set, the whole multitude bowed, whereon he begged them to be seated-a permission of which the tame authors, who sat all day in their little wooden hutches, and sometimes a good part of the night also, did not seem to care to avail themselves of. But the tame artists, who, for the most part, had to work standing, sat down readily.

"Gentlemen," said Eustace, "first let me introduce you to my wife, Mrs. Meeson, who, in another capacity, has already-not greatly to her own profit-been connected with this establishment, having written the best work of fiction that has ever gone through our printing

presses" (Here some of the wilder spirits cheered, and Augusta blushed and bowed)- "and who will, I hope and trust, write many even better books, which we shall have the honour of giving to the world." (Applause.) "Also, gentlemen, let me introduce you to Mr. John Short, my solicitor, who, together with his twin-brother, Mr. James Short, brought the great lawsuit in which I was engaged to a successful issue.

"And now I have to tell why I have summoned you all to meet me here. First of all, it is to say that I am now the sole owner of this business, having bought out Messrs. Addison and Roscoe"-("And a good job too," said a voice)-"and that I hope we shall work well together; and secondly, to inform you that I am going to totally revolutionise the course of business as hitherto practised in this establishment"-(Sensation)-"having, with the assistance of Mr. Short, drawn up a scheme · for that purpose. I am informed in the statement of profits, on which the purchase price of the shares of Messrs. Addison and Roscoe was calculated, that the average net profits of this house during the last ten years have amounted to forty-seven and a fraction per cent. on the capital invested. Now, I have determined that in future the net profits of any given undertaking shall be divided as follows:-Ten per cent. to the author of the book in hand, and ten per cent. to the House. Then, should there be any further profit, it will be apportioned thus: one-third-of which a moiety will go towards a pension fund-to the employés of the

House, the division to be arranged on a fixed scale"(Enormous sensation, especially among the tame authors) -"and the remainder to the author of the work. Thus, supposing that a book paid cent. per cent., I should take ten per cent., and the employés would take twenty-six and a fraction per cent., and the author would take sixty-four per cent."

And here an interruption occurred. It came from No. 1, who could no longer restrain his disgust.

"I'll resign," he said; "I'll resign! Meeson's content with ten per cent. and out-of-pocket expenses, when an author-a mere author-gets sixty! It's shameful— shameful!"

"If you choose to resign, you can," said Eustace sharply; "but I advise you to take time to think it over."

"Gentlemen," went on Eustace, "I daresay that this seems a great change to you, but I may as well say at once that I am no wild philanthropist. I expect to make it pay, and pay well. To begin with, I shall never undertake any work which I do not think will pay-that is, without an adequate guarantee, or in the capacity of a simple agent; and my own ten per cent. will be the first charge on the profits; then the author's ten. Of course, if I speculate in a book, and buy it out and out, subject to the risks, the case will be different. But with a net ten per cent. certain, I am, like people in any other line of business, quite prepared to be satisfied; and, upon those terms, I expect to become the publisher of all the best writers in England, and I