'But take your hat and be off, and mind and pay everything beforehand.' Left to himself, the lawyer turned his attention for some time exclusively to the liqueur brandy, and his spirits, which had been pretty fair all morning, now prodigiously rose.

He proceeded to adjust his whiskers finally before the glass.

'Devilish rich,' he remarked, as he contemplated his reflection.

'I look like a purser's mate.' And at that moment the window-glass spectacles (which he had hitherto destined for Pitman) flashed into his mind; he put them on, and fell in love with the effect.

'Just what I required,' he said.