Fortune seemed to smile on Alfred’s London enterprise. He called personally on the editors of several of the society magazines and journals. ‘A Summer Ramble in Kirkcudbright’ was now in all the glory of print; and when he assured the editors that he was really the ‘Ariel’ who penned the sketch, he found them willing, nay, anxious to look over the manuscripts he left with them. The letter from the _Olympic_ accepting the manuscript and inclosing so handsome an honorarium was of great help to him. Mr Hannay had a reputation for ‘discovering’ talent, and his protégés hardly ever failed in taking some rank in the profession. He got four or five accepted at fairly remunerative prices. Then he was proposed at a minor literary club, and passed the ballot. As a new contributor to the _Olympic_, he ranked well there among his brother scribes, who looked on him as a rising man, and one whose good opinion was worth courting. These new friends indeed treated him with great cordiality, and made him as one of themselves; some even going the length of borrowing from him small sums of money. Nor was this all. One of the members, the sub-editor of a Sunday paper, volunteered to introduce him to London ‘society.’ Behold our friend, then, at a grand reception at Mrs Judson’s. This lady was the widow of a wealthy London pawnbroker (financial agent she preferred the lost one to be called). Her sole ambition in life was to secure a following of literary ‘stars,’ even if they were of infinitesimal magnitude; and in her circle, ‘Ariel’ appeared as one of the first. His handsome figure and genial manners constituted him a great favourite with the ladies; and his presence was eagerly sought for at all these little reunions which compose the ‘fringe’ of London literary and artistic society. He found this kind of life both pleasant and profitable; for he was brought in contact with many editors and proprietors of third and fourth rate periodicals, and was able to dispose of half his rejected manuscripts among them, with fairly satisfactory pecuniary results to himself.