MR. AMY. Yes, you have, James. You got them at Peterkin’s in Dean Street, didn’t you? Yes, I know you did. I saw them there. I wanted them too, but they told me you had already got the refusal. MR. MORLAND. Sorry to have been too quick for you, George, but it is my way to nip in. You have some nice prints yourself. MR. AMY. I haven’t got your flair, James. MR. MORLAND. I admit I don’t miss much. (_So far it has been a competition in saintliness._) MR. AMY. No. (_The saint leaves him._) You missed something yesterday at Peterkin’s though. MR. MORLAND. How do you mean? MR. AMY. You didn’t examine the little lot lying beneath this lot. MR. MORLAND. I turned them over; just a few odds and ends of no account. MR. AMY (_with horrible complacency_). All except one, James. MR. MORLAND (_twitching_). Something good? MR. AMY (_at his meekest_). Just a little trifle of a Gainsborough. MR. MORLAND (_faintly_). What! You’ve got it? MR. AMY. I’ve got it. I am a poor man, but I thought ten pounds wasn’t too much for a Gainsborough. (_The devil now has them both._) MR. MORLAND. Ten pounds! Is it signed? MR. AMY. No, it isn’t signed. MR. MORLAND (_almost his friend again_). Ah! MR. AMY. What do you precisely mean by that ‘Ah,’ James? If it had been signed, could I have got it for ten pounds? You are always speaking about your flair; I suppose I can have a little flair sometimes too. MR. MORLAND. I am not always speaking about my flair, and I don’t believe it is a Gainsborough. MR. AMY (_with dignity_). Please don’t get hot, James. If I had thought you would grudge me my little find--which _you_ missed--I wouldn’t have brought it to show you. (_With shocking exultation he produces a roll of paper._) MR. MORLAND (_backing from it_). So that’s it. MR. AMY. This is it. (_The squire has to examine it like a Christian._) There! I have the luck this time. I hope you will have it next. (_The exultation now passes from the one face into the other._) MR. MORLAND. Interesting, George--quite. But definitely not a Gainsborough. MR. AMY. I say definitely a Gainsborough. MR. MORLAND. Definitely not a Gainsborough. (_By this time the needles have entered into the controversy, but they are disregarded._) I should say the work of a clever amateur. MR. AMY. Look at the drawing of the cart and the figure beside it. MR. MORLAND. Weak and laboured. Look at that horse. MR. AMY. Gainsborough did some very funny horses. MR. MORLAND. Granted, but he never placed them badly. That horse destroys the whole balance of the composition. MR. AMY. James, I had no idea you had such a small nature. MR. MORLAND. I don’t like that remark; for your sake I don’t like it. No one would have been more pleased than myself if you had picked up a Gainsborough. But this! Besides, look at the paper. MR. AMY. What is wrong with the paper, Mr. Morland? MR. MORLAND. It is machine-made. Gainsborough was in his grave years before that paper was made.