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iazamr '1v2'XP1i’C’TA TIONS. . ’ 659
we dined at was in Covent Garden), and the first Finch I
saw whcn‘I‘had tho‘honour of joining the Grove, was
Bent.ley.Drummle : at that time floundering about town
in a cab of his own,‘ anddoing a great deal of ‘damage to
the posts’ at" tliestreet ‘corners. Occasionally, he shot
himself out of his equipage - head-foremost over the
apron ;,and I saw him on one occasion deliver himself at
the door of‘ the Grove in this"unintentional way--like
coals. But here I anticipate a little, for I was not a
Finch, and could not be, according to the sacred laws of
the society, until I ‘came of age.
"In‘my confidence in my own resources, I would will-
ingly have taken IIerbert’s expenses upon myself; but
Herbert was roud, and I could make no such proposal
to him." So, re got into difficulties in every direction,
and continued to look about him. ‘Vhen we gradually
fell into keeping late hours and late company, I noticed
that he looked about him with a desponding eye at
breakfast-time: that he began to look about him more
hopefully about mid-day ; that he droopcd when he
came into dinner ; that he seemed to desc Capital
in the distance, rather clearly, after dinner ; tiat he all
but realised Capital towards midnight: and that about
two o'clock in the morning, he became so deeply despond-
ent again as to talk of buying a rifle and going to
America, with a general purpose of compelling buffaloes
to make his fortune.
I was usually at Hammersmith about half the week,
and when I was at Hammersmith I haunted Richmond :
whereof ‘ separatol y by-and-by. Herbert would often
come to Hammersmith when I was there, and I think at
those seasons his father would occasionally have some
passing perception that the opening he was looking for,
ind not appeared yet. But in the general tumbling up
of the family, his tumbling out in life somewhere, was a
thing to transact itself somehow. In the meantime Mr.
Pocket grew grayer, and tried oftener to lift himself out
of his perplexities by the hair. VVhilo Mrs. Pocket
trip ed up the family with her foot-stool, read her book
of ignities, lost her pocket-handkerchief, told us about
her randpapa, and taught the young idea how to shoot,
by s rooting it into bed whenever it attracted her notice.
‘ As I am now gcneralisiug a period of my life with the
object of clearing my way before me. I can scarcely do so
better than by at once completing the description of our
usual manners and customs at Barnard's Inn.
VVe spent as much money as we could, and got as little
for it as people could make up their minds to give us.
, “'0 were always more or less miserable, and most of our
acquaintance were in the same condition. There was a
gay fiction among us that we were constantly enjoying
ourselves, and a skeleton truth that we never did. To
the best of my belief, our case was in the last aspect a
rather common one.
Every morning, with an air over new, Herbert went
into the (‘ity to look about him. I often paid him a visit
in the dark back-room in which he consorted with an ink-
jar, a hat-peg, a coal-box, a string-box, an almanack, a
desk and stool, and a ruler; and I do not remember that
I ever saw him do anything else but look about him. If
we . all did What we undertake to do, as faithfully as
Herbert did, we might live in a Republic of the Virtues.
He had nothing else to do, poor fellow, except at a cer-
tain hour of every afternoon to " go to Lloyd's ”--in ob
servance of a ceremony of seeing his principal, I think.
He never did anything else in connexion with Lloyd’s
that I could find out, except come back again. VVhen he
felt his case unusually serious, and that he positively
must find an opening, he would go on ’Change at a busy
time, and walk in and out, in a kind of gloomy country
dance figure, among the assembled ma ates. “ For,"
says Herbert to me, coming home to (inner on one of
those special occasions, “I find the truth to be, Handel,
that an opening won’t come to one, but one must go to it
-so I have been.”
If we had been less attached to one another, I think we
must have hated one another regularly every morning.
I detested the chambers beyond expression at that
period of repentance, and could not endure the sight of
the Avcnger’s livery : which had a more expensive and
a less remuncrative appearanccjhcn, than at any other
- time in the four-and-twenty hours. As we gotmorc and
more into debt, breakfast became a hollower and hol-
lower form, and, being onone occasion'at’breakfast-
time threatened (by letter) with legal proceedings, “not
unwholly unconnected,” as my local paper might put it,
“ with Jewellery,” I went so far as to seize the Avenger
by his blue collar andrshake him off his feet--so that he
was actually in the air, like a booted Cupid;-for presum-
ing to suppose that we wanted a roll. -I -
At certain times-meaning at uncertain times, for
they depended on our humour--I would say to Herbert,
as if it were a remarkable discovery : i
“ My dear Herbert, we are getting on badly.”
“My dear Handel,” Herbert would say to me,iin all
sincerity, “if you will believe me, those very words
were on mv lips, by a strange coincidence."
“Then, Ierbcrt,” I would respond, “let us look into
our affairs.” - -
W‘e always derived profound satisfaction from making
an appointment for this urpose. I always thought this
was business, this was the way to confront the thing,
this was the way to take the foe by the throat. And I
know Herbert thought so too. ‘
‘V0 ordered something rather special for dinner, with
a bottle of something similarly out of the "common way,
in order that our minds might be fortified for the occa-
sion, and we might come well up to the mark. Dinner
over, we produced a bundle of pens, a copious supply of
ink, and a goodly show of writing and blotting paper.
For, there was something very comfortable in having
plenty of stationery. I =
I would then take a sheet of paper, and write across
the top of it, in a neat hand, the heading, “ Memoran-
dum of Pip’s debts : ” with Barnard’s Inn and the date
very carefully added. Ilcrbcrt would also take a sheet
of paper, and write across it with similar formalities,
“ Memorandum of IIerl)ert’s debts.”
Each of us would then refer to a confused heap of
papers at his side, which had been thrown into drawers,
worn into holes in pockets, half-burnt in lighting'can-
dlcs, stuck for weeks into the looking-glass, and other-
wise damaged. The sound of our pens going, refreshed
us exceedingly, insomuch that I sometimes found it dif-
ficult to distinguish between this edifying business pro-
ceeding and actually pa ing the money. In point of
meritorious character, t e two things seemed about
e ual.
q‘Vhen we had written a little while, I would ask Her-
bert how he got on? Herbert probably would have
been scratching his head in the most rueful manner at
the si ht of his accumulating fi ures. ‘ v i
“ ‘ iey are mounting up, I andel,” Herbert would
say ; “ upon my life, the are mounting up.”
“Be firm, Herbert,” lywould retort, plying my own
pen with great assiduity. “ Look the thing in the face.
Look into your affairs. Stare them out of countenance.”
“ So I would, Handel, only they are staring me out of
countenance.”
However, my determined manner would have its ef-
fect, and Herbert would fall to work again. After a
time he would give up once more, on the plea that he
had not got Cobbs’s bill, or Lobbs’s, or Nobbs's, as the
case might be. ‘
“ Then, Herbert, estimate ; estimate it in round num-
bers, and put it down.” '
“What a fellow of resource you are I” my friend
would reply, with admiration. "Really your business
powers are very remarkable.” '
I thought so too. I established with myself, on these
occasions, the reputation of a first-rate man of business-
prompt, decisive, energetic, clear, cool-headed. VVhen
Ihad got all my responsibilities down upon my list, I
compared each with the bill, and ticked it off. My self-
approval when I ticked an entry was quite a luxurious
sensation. When I had no more ticks to make, I folded
all my bills up uniformly, docketcd each on the back,
and tied the whole into a symmetrical bundle. Then I
did the same for Herbert (who modestly said he had not
my administrative genius), and felt that I hadpbrought
his affairs into a focus for him. > -
My business habits had one other bright feature, which
I called “leaving a Margin.” For example; ‘supposing
IIerbert’s debts to be one hundred and sixty-four pounds