'Out of the castle: that's all explained afterwards. Out come the retainers, and pitch into the Baron till they make mincemeat of him.' 'They don't kill him, too?' 'Don't they though? I rather think they do, and no mistake.' 'And so both your heroes are dead in the first chapter.' 'First chapter! why that's only the second paragraph. I'm only to be allowed ten paragraphs for each number, and I am expected to have an incident for every other paragraph for the first four days.' 'That's twenty incidents.' 'Yes--it's a great bother finding so many.--I'm obliged to make the retainers come by all manner of accidents; and I should never have finished the job if I hadn't thought of setting the castle on fire. 'And now forked tongues of liquid fire, and greedy lambent flames burst forth from every window of the devoted edifice. The devouring element----.' That's the best passage in the whole affair.' 'This is for the _Daily Delight_, isn't it?' 'Yes, for the _Daily Delight_. It is to begin on the 1st of September with the partridges. We expect a most tremendous sale. It will be the first halfpenny publication in the market, and as the retailers will get them for sixpence a score--twenty-four to the score--they'll go off like wildfire.' 'Well, Charley, and what do you do with the dead bodies of your two heroes?' 'Of course I needn't tell you that it was not the Baron who killed Sir Anthony at all.' 'Oh! wasn't it? O dear--that was a dreadful mistake on the part of the retainers.' 'But as natural as life. You see these two grandees were next-door neighbours, and there had been a feud between the families for seven centuries--a sort of Capulet and Montague affair. One Adelgitha, the daughter of the Thane of Allan-a-dale--there were Thanes in those days, you know--was betrothed to the eldest son of Sir Waldemar de Ballyporeen. This gives me an opportunity of bringing in a succinct little account of the Conquest, which will be beneficial to the lower classes. The editor peremptorily insists upon that kind of thing.' '_Omne tulit punctum_,' said Norman. 'Yes, I dare say,' said Charley, who was now too intent on his own new profession to attend much to his friend's quotation. 'Well, where was I?--Oh! the eldest son of Sir Waldemar went off with another lady and so the feud began. There is a very pretty scene between Adelgitha and her lady's-maid.' 'What, seven centuries before the story begins?' 'Why not? The editor says that the unities are altogether thrown over now, and that they are regular bosh--our game is to stick in a good bit whenever we can get it--I got to be so fond of Adelgitha that I rather think she's the heroine.' 'But doesn't that take off the interest from your dead grandees?'