consented, and be was fervent, and then sat
down again.

"Here is wine," said Mr. Pumblechook.
"Let us drink, Thanks to Fortune, and may
she ever pick out her favourites with equal
judgment! And yet I cannot," said Mr.
Pumblechook, getting up again, "see afore me One
— and likeways drink to One— without again
expressing— May I— may I——?"

I said he might, and he shook hands with me
again, and emptied his glass and turned it upside
down. I did the same; and if I had turned
myself upside down before drinking, the wine
could not have gone more direct to my head.

Mr. Pumblechook helped me to the liver wing,
and to the best slice of tongue (none of those
out-of-the-way No Thoroughfares of Pork now),
and took, comparatively speaking, no care of
himself at all. "Ah! poultry, poultry! You
little thought," said Mr. Pumblechook,
apostrophising the fowl in the dish, "when you was
a young fledgling, what was in store for you.
You little thought you was to be refreshment
beneath this humble roof for one as— Call it a
weakness, if you will," said Mr. Pumblechook,
getting up again, "but may I? may I——?"

It began to be unnecessary to repeat the form
of saying he might, so he did it at once. How
he ever did it so often without wounding
himself with my knife, I don't know.

"And your sister," he resumed, after a little
steady eating, "which had the honour of bringing
you up by hand! It's a sad picter, to reflect
that she's no longer equal to fully understanding
the honour. May——"

I saw he was about to come at me again, and
I stopped him.

"We'll drink her health," said I.

"Ah!" cried Mr. Pumblechook, leaning back
in his chair, quite flaccid with admiration,
"that's the way you know 'em, sir!" (I don't
know who Sir was, but he certainly was not I,
and there was no third person present); "that's
the way you know the noble minded, sir! Ever
forgiving and ever affable. It might," said the
servile Pumblechook, putting down his untasted
glass in a hurry and getting up again, "to a
common person, have the appearance of repeating
—but may I——?"

When he had done it, he resumed his seat
and drank to my sister. "Let us never be blind,"
said Mr. Pumblechook, "to her faults of temper,
but it is to be hoped she meant well."

At about this time I began to observe that
he was getting flushed in the face; as to
myself, I felt all face, steeped in wine and smarting.

I mentioned to Mr. Pumblechook that I
wished to have my new clothes sent to his house,
and he was ecstatic on my so distinguishing
him. I mentioned my reason for desiring to
avoid observation in the village, and he lauded
it to the skies. There was nobody but himself,
he intimated, worthy of my confidence, and—
in short, might he? Then he asked me tenderly
if I remembered our boyish games at sums, and
how we had gone together to have me bound
apprentice, and, in effect, how he had ever been
my favourite fancy and my chosen friend? If
I had taken ten times as many glasses of wine
as I had, I should have known that he never
had stood in that relation towards me, and
should in my heart of hearts have repudiated
the idea. Yet for all that, I remember feeling
convinced that I had been much mistaken in
him, and that he was a sensible practical
goodhearted prime fellow.

By degrees he fell to reposing such great confidence
in me, as to ask my advice in reference to
his own affairs. He mentioned that there was
an opportunity for a great amalgamation and
monopoly of the corn and seed trade on those
premises, if enlarged, such as had never occurred
before in that, or any other neighbourhood.
What alone was wanting to the realisation of a
vast fortune, he considered to be More Capital.
Those were the two little words, more capital.
Now it appeared to him (Pumblechook)
that if that capital were got into the business
through a sleeping partner, sir: which sleeping
partner would have nothing to do but walk in,
by self or deputy, whenever he pleased, and
examine the books— and walk in twice a year and
take his profits away in his pocket, to the tune
of fifty per cent— it appeared to him that that
might be an opening for a young gentleman of
spirit combined with property, which would be
worthy of his attention. But what did I think?
He had great confidence in my opinion, and
what did I think? I gave it as my opinion.
"Wait a bit!" The united vastness and
distinctness of this view so struck him, that he no
longer asked if he might shake hands with me,
but said he really must— and did.

We drank all the wine, and Mr. Pumblechook
pledged himself over and over again to keep
Joseph up to the mark (I don't know what
mark), and to render me efficient and constant
service (I don't know what service). He also
made known to me for the first time in my life,
and certainly after having kept his secret
wonderfully well, that he had always said of me,
"That boy is no common boy, and mark me, his
fortun' will be no common fortun'. "He said
with a tearful smile that it was a singular thing
to think of now, and I said so too. Finally, I
went out into the air with a dim perception that
there was something unwonted in the conduct
of the sunshine, and found that I had slumberously
got to the turnpike without having taken
any account of the road. '

There, I was roused by Mr. Pumblechook's
hailing me. He was a long way down the sunny
street, and was making expressive gestures for
me to stop. I stopped, and he came up breathless.

"No, my dear friend," said he, when he had
recovered wind for speech. "Not if I can help
it. This occasion shall not entirely pass without
that affability on your part.— May I, as an
old friend and well-wisher? May I?"

We shook hands for the hundredth time at
least, and he ordered a young carter out of my
way with the greatest indignation. Then, he