{"product_id":"2940015847024","title":"THE YELLOW GOD: AN IDOL OF AFRICA","description":"CHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSAHARA LIMITED\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSir Robert Aylward, Bart., M.P., sat in his office in the City of\u003cbr\u003eLondon. It was a very magnificent office, quite one of the finest that\u003cbr\u003ecould be found within half a mile of the Mansion House. Its exterior\u003cbr\u003ewas built of Aberdeen granite, a material calculated to impress the\u003cbr\u003eprospective investor with a comfortable sense of security. Other stucco,\u003cbr\u003eor even brick-built, offices might crumble and fall in an actual or a\u003cbr\u003efinancial sense, but this rock-like edifice of granite, surmounted by a\u003cbr\u003elife-sized statue of Justice with her scales, admired from either corner\u003cbr\u003eby pleasing effigies of Commerce and of Industry, would surely endure\u003cbr\u003eany shock. Earthquake could scarcely shake its strong foundations; panic\u003cbr\u003eand disaster would as soon affect the Bank of England. That at least\u003cbr\u003ewas the impression which it had been designed to convey, and not without\u003cbr\u003esuccess.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There is so much in externals,\" Mr. Champers-Haswell, Sir Robert's\u003cbr\u003epartner, would say in his cheerful voice. \"We are all of us influenced\u003cbr\u003eby them, however unconsciously. Impress the public, my dear Aylward. Let\u003cbr\u003esolemnity without suggest opulence within, and the bread, or rather the\u003cbr\u003egranite, which you throw upon the waters will come back to you after\u003cbr\u003emany days.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMr. Aylward, for this conversation occurred before his merits or the\u003cbr\u003edepth of his purse had been rewarded by a baronetcy, looked at his\u003cbr\u003epartner in the impassive fashion for which he was famous, and answered:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"You mix your metaphors, Haswell, but if you mean that the public are\u003cbr\u003efools who must be caught by advertisement, I agree with you. Only this\u003cbr\u003eparticular advertisement is expensive and I do not want to wait many\u003cbr\u003edays for my reward. However, £20,000 one way or the other is a small\u003cbr\u003ematter, so tell that architect to do the thing in granite.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSir Robert Aylward sat in his own quiet room at the back of this\u003cbr\u003eenduring building, a very splendid room that any Secretary of State\u003cbr\u003emight have envied, but arranged in excellent taste. Its walls were\u003cbr\u003epanelled with figured teak, a rich carpet made the footfall noiseless,\u003cbr\u003ean antique Venus stood upon a marble pedestal in the corner, and over\u003cbr\u003ethe mantelpiece hung a fine portrait by Gainsborough, that of a certain\u003cbr\u003eMiss Aylward, a famous beauty in her day, with whom, be it added, its\u003cbr\u003epresent owner could boast no connection whatsoever.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSir Robert was seated at his ebony desk playing with a pencil, and the\u003cbr\u003elight from a cheerful fire fell upon his face.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47162353451248,"sku":"2940015847024","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015847024","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}