THE ASPERN PAPERSII HAD taken Mrs. Prest into my confidence; withouther in truth I should have made but little advance,for the fruitful idea in the whole business droppedfrom her friendly lips. It was she who found theshort cut and loosed the Gordian knot. It is notsupposed easy for women to rise to the large freeview of anything, anything to be done; but theysometimes throw off a bold conception-such as aman would n"t have risen to-with singular serenity."Simply make them take you in on the footing of alodger" - I don"t think that unaided I should haverisen to that. I was beating about the blli-h, tryingto be ingenious, wondering by what combination ofarts I might become an acquaintance, when she offeredthis happy suggestion that the way to becomean acquaintance was first to become an intimate. Heractual knowledge of the Misses Bordereau wasscarcely larger than mine, and indeed I had broughtwith nle fronl England some definite facts that werAbout the Publisher Forgotten Books is a...