Year: 1879

and neither of us had been favored with
brief; nor did there appear to be any
particular likelihood that we ever should.
We had friend, Charley Larcombe,
who had recently been articled to So
licitor, and who had promised that
when he was out of his articles (which
would be in about four years. and had
passed his examination, (which might
be forty), he would "give us u lift.
This rather vague prospect really APP
peared to be our only chance ; but, with
with natural sanguineness of youth, we
still looked for briefs, though we had not
the faintest notion where they were to
come from. In truth, in the very early
days of our professional career (when we
had only been barristers for week or
two), we used to watch with anxious
solicitude, any person of legal aspect who
was seen to cross the court in the direc-
ton of our staircase but we found that
the person of legal aspect invariably
stopped at the chamber of Cocksure, q.
c., which was Immediately below ours,
and the approach of a stranger had
ceased to excite more than casual in
terest.


At the outset of our career we had
unanimously agreed that everything of
an unprofessional character in our sur
roundings should be rigidly taboed.-
In particular we had decided that our
breakfast should always be over and its
remains cleared away before nine a. M,
and that smoking should not, on any
account, be permitted in the room des-
tined for the reception of clients. In ac-
cordance with these virtuous resolves we
were, or, should rather say, had been,
always to be found by halfpast nine,
each sitting in the rigidest of armchairs,
wearing the blacklist of frock coats, and
the stiffest OF shirt collars, attentively
perusing ponderous law books and maxi
ing copious notes with the assistance of
gigantic pewter inkstand, of positively
dazzling brightness. But this halcyon
state of things was too good to last. We
had screwed up our virtuous resolves to
too extreme tension, and they had
gradually sunk down again. Who was
first to give way is mooted point. My
own idea is that all should have
gone we'll had not Armitage insidiously
suggested our allowing ourselves just
one cigarette after breakfast while he
will have it that the thin end of the
wedge was introduced by my surrepti-
tiously reading an occasional novel un-
der cover of "Cove on Littleton. y
However 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 less
particular in our habits. The large law
books had been left unopened, the hour
of breakfast had become gradually later
and later, and short pipes and tweed
jackets had become the order of the day
until luncheon, and sometimes, fear,
even until dinner time. In our earlier
days we had made it point that one or
the other of us should always remain in
the chambers, SO as to be ready for any
thing that might turn up, but now we
made nothing of putting up the delusive
notice, Return in five minutes" and
departed together for the rest of the day.
In order, however, to keep up the pleas
ant fiction that we still expected to have
clients some day, we made bet. Each
backed e5 to get the first brief, with
the proviso that (if ever the bet should
be decided) the winner was to stand a
dinner to the loser, in order to commem-
rate the event.


Imagine our emotions, therefore, when,
on the morning of my story, soon after
ten,a heavy step was heard to ascend the
staircase and pause at our door and
when Blobbs-who had been, according
to his usual habit, settling little diff
Guilty with Cocksure's boy upon the
landing-rushed in, and in hoarse
whisper said, frantic with excitement :


"A gentleman for Mister Brown
And he's got a bundle of papers"


must say that Armitage's behavior
did him credit. My landing the
first prize must naturally have been a
disappointment to him; but in the most
magnanimous way he exclaimed:


Good for you, old man Go in and
win. I'll hook 1t into the next room
and leave the coast clear for you"


And he bolted accordingly into his
bedroom. Iwould have given much to