come. If you choose to order dresses and jewels from first-rate shops,
you must pay for them; and don't expect that _I_ am to abet your
extravagance, or give you a shilling more than the munificent sum I pay
you for board and lodging!"

How could I tell Mary of this behaviour of Mrs. Hoggarty, and Mary in
such a delicate condition? And bad as matters were at home, I am sorry
to say at the office they began to look still worse.

Not only did Roundhand leave, but Highmore went away. Abednego became
head clerk: and one day old Abednego came to the place and was shown into
the directors' private room; when he left it, he came trembling,
chattering, and cursing downstairs; and had begun, "Shentlemen--" a
speech to the very clerks in the office, when Mr. Brough, with an
imploring look, and crying out, "Stop till Saturday!" at length got him
into the street.

On Saturday Abednego junior left the office for ever, and I became head
clerk with 400_l_. a year salary. It was a fatal week for the office,
too. On Monday, when I arrived and took my seat at the head desk, and my
first read of the newspaper, as was my right, the first thing I read was,
"Frightful fire in Houndsditch! Total destruction of Mr. Meshach's
sealing-wax manufactory and of Mr. Shadrach's clothing depot, adjoining.
In the former was 20,000_l_. worth of the finest Dutch wax, which the
voracious element attacked and devoured in a twinkling. The latter
estimable gentleman had just completed forty thousand suits of clothes
for the cavalry of H.H. the Cacique of Poyais."

Both of these Jewish gents, who were connections of Mr. Abednego, were
insured in our office to the full amount of their loss. The calamity was
attributed to the drunkenness of a scoundrelly Irish watchman, who was
employed on the premises, and who upset a bottle of whisky in the
warehouse of Messrs. Shadrach, and incautiously looked for the liquor
with a lighted candle. The man was brought to our office by his
employers; and certainly, as we all could testify, was _even then_ in a
state of frightful intoxication.

As if this were not sufficient, in the obituary was announced the demise
of Alderman Pash--Alderman Cally-Pash we used to call him in our lighter
hours, knowing his propensity to green fat: but such a moment as this was
no time for joking! He was insured by our house for 5,000_l_. And now I
saw very well the truth of a remark of Gus's--viz., that life-assurance
companies g