It will tranquilize you somewhat to know that the Lord Chancellor assures me that on examining the records of the dynasty he finds that my ancestor Rupert never left his kingdom during his entire reign, and that consequently your ancestress has been grossly maligned.

I am sending typewritten copies of this to Rupert of Glasgow and the King.

Farewell.
FLIRTIA.
Once a year, at Christmastide, I receive a simple foreign hamper via Charing Cross, marked "Return empty." I take it in silence to my own room, and there, opening it, I find--unseen by any other eyes but my own--a modest pate de foie gras, of the kind I ate with the Princess Flirtia.

I take out the pate, replace the label, and have the hamper reconveyed to Charing Cross.
THE STOLEN CIGAR CASE By A.CO--N D--LE I found Hemlock Jones in the old Brook Street lodgings, musing before the fire.

With the freedom of an old friend I at once threw myself in my usual familiar attitude at his feet, and gently caressed his boot.
I was induced to do this for two reasons: one, that it enabled me to get a good look at his bent, concentrated face, and the other, that it seemed to indicate my reverence for his superhuman insight.