Of the mercantile class I intend to say very little. So much that I have just written applies with equal force to the Greens, or second estate of the realm. I am often entertained by the leading merchants of Tamarida and Zapyro, but these occasions really produce little more than the exchange of polite formalities, and I know far less of these persons than I do of the nobility. A portion of this class is connected with the land in the form of yeomen, or small freeholders, whose properties are however confined to Barbaria or to the poorer districts of the Regio Solis. In their case the law of primogeniture is enforced more strictly than amongst the landed aristocracy, for as the yeoman's estate is reckoned insufficient to provide for all the males of the family, only the eldest son enjoys the paternal acres. The younger sons are accordingly dispatched to make their living or fortune in some trade, and it is usually the stalwart young men of this small landed stock who supply the greater part of the petty officers in the army. The great majority of the Greens, as they are commonly termed, are traders either on a large or a small scale, though a certain number fill some of the lesser official posts of stewards and assistants in connection with the work of the hierarchy. In the case of members of this order who have amassed considerable wealth and are desirous of entering the class of the nobles, application is made to the council, and such appeals are either granted or refused after a full hearing of the circumstances. The royal consent is likewise necessary for the bestowal of this coveted privilege; and I may add that such applications constitute the sole exception to the general rule, that the nobles are never given to intrigue with myself. Naturally they are jealous concerning the prerogative of their order, and some at least are certain to resent fiercely any such attempts of outsiders to be admitted to their ranks. A good many of such appeals are rejected, but in the event of a successful application a large contribution has to be paid to the coffers of the temple and the palace; a landed estate has somehow to be purchased, usually in Barbaria, and then the fortunate postulant doffs the green robes and dons the red, which he is now permitted to wear, and also assumes the use of a badge granted him by the King, who selects the emblem he deems most suitable. The position of the new-comers for a considerable time, perhaps for a couple of generations, is not an enviable one, for they are treated coldly and looked at askance by the majority of their fellow-nobles. But as the older folk pass away, and memories grow shorter, the new lord, or rather his progeny, becomes gradually absorbed by matrimonial connection into the mass of the nobility, and intermingles with the rest. Still, the stigma of having risen from the Greens clings, I fancy, to this type of pseudo-aristocratic house for a long time.