, 1876-10-20

unanimously agreed that everything OF
an unprofessional character in our sur
rouniings should he Tigidly tabooed.
In particular We had decided that our
hreak .aSt should always he over and its
remains cleared away before q A. NJ,
aul that smoking should not, on any ac-
count. l,e permitted in the room des-
tined Coz the reception Of clients. In
arrur,iarcc with these virtuOus resolves.
". wcre lor, | should rather say, We
hal becnl always TO be found by half
past nine. each seated in the rigidest Of
arm-chairs. wearing the blackest of
fruck-cuais and the stiifest OF shirt col
lars, aitentively perusing ponderous
law hooks and making copiOus notes
with the assistance Of 4 gigantic pewter
inkstand, polished 10 a positively daz-
cling brightness. But this halcyon
state Of affairs was too good to last. We
I had screwed up our yirtuous resolves to
too extreme a tension, and they had
gradually sunk down again. Who was
/ first 10 give wav is q moot point. My
own idea is that all would have gone
we'll had not Armitage insidiously sug-
gested our allowing ourselves just one
cigarette after breakfast; while he will
have it that the thin end of the wedge
was introduced by my surreptitiously
reading an occasional French novel un-
der cover of "Coke on Littleton." How
ever this may be we had speedily fallen
away from our original high standard.
Not having been troubled with that
frantic rush of clients which we had
originally expected, we had become
much less particular in our habits. The
large law books were left unopened, the
hour of breakfast had gradually become
later and later, and short pipes and
tweed jackets had become the order of
the day until luncheon, and, sometimes,
fear, even till dinner-time. In our
earlier days we had made it point of
honor that one or the other of us should
always remain in chambers, so as to be
ready fo. anything that. might turn up,
but now, we made nothing of putting
up the delusive notice, "Return in five
minutes" and departing together for
the rest of the day. In order, however,
to keep up the pleasant fiction that we
still expected to have clients. some day,
we had made bet. Each of us had
backed himself for 95 to get the first
brief. with the proviso that (if ever the
bet should be decided) the winner was
to stand dinner to the loser, in order
to commemorate the event. Imagine
our emotion, therefore, when on the
morning of my story, soon after 10
o'clock, heavy step was heard to as
cend the staircase and pause at our door;
and when Blobbs-who had been, ac-
cording TO his usual habit, settling lit
tie difficulty with Cocksure's boy upon
the landing rushed in, and in hoarse
whisper, said, frantic with excitement:
ga gentleman for Mr.. Brownei And
he've got bundle O. papers" I must
say that ArmitAge's behavior did him
credit. My landing the first prize must
naturally have been disappointment to
him; but in the most magnanimous way
he exclaimed:
GOOD for you, old mani Go in and
win. I'll hook it into the next room,
and leave the coast clear for you"
And he bolted accordingly into his
bedroom. would have given much
to have been able to assume q more dig
nifed attire, and to straighten things
some, before the entrance of my client,
but it was out Of the question. I had
only just time to pitch the end of my
cigar in the fire, open one of the big
law books, upside down, as afterwards
discovered, and to compose my features
into the most professional expression
compatible with flannel jacket and car
pet slippers, when the visitor entered.
He was short, puffy little man, middle
aged, and Of good-naturedly unintel-
lectual cast of countenance, He wore a
shabby white hat and greasy black
gloves, and his trowsers were shorter
and his umbrella fatter than is gener-
ally considered desirable in those arti-
cles; but, notwithstanding, there was
an air Of snug respectability about him.
and the bundle of papers. tied with red
tape, which he carried, Mad an emin-
emily business like appearance. He be-
gan:
II must apologize for disturbing you
at this early hour, Mr.. BROWNE" Che was
evidently not a high practitioner); "but
the fact. is. have come to beg your as
sistance in a very. urgent case" Il -
Itried to look as If very urgent cases
were matters of the most ordinary oc-
-currence in my professional experience.
"Ah," I said, quite 50, take a seat,
Mr.. -" t''' ~'-' s--
"ward, sir; Gibbins & Ward, of
High street, Bloomsbury. You have
heard the name, I dare say. Gibbins is
dead-has been dead some years, in fact;
but we keep up the old name, you
know"
I didn't know in the least. i had
never to my knowledge heard Of Glib
bins & Ward, but it would not do to ad-
nit the fact. Not to know Gibbins &
Ward would clearly be to argue myself
unknown. I took my cue accordingly,
"Oh, yes; Gibbins & Ward, a most
| l.I..lA.l Il. H.