name?"

"Vich-Induibh? I have looked after their interests as in duty bound,
sold their shares at a large premium, and despatched them to their
native hills on annuities."

"And Sir Polloxfen?"

"Died yesterday of spontaneous combustion."

As the company seemed breaking up, I thought I could not do better than
take M'Corkindale's hint, and accordingly betook myself to Glenmutchkin,
along with the Captain of M'Alcohol, and we quartered ourselves upon
the Factor for Glentumblers. We found Watty Solder very shaky, and his
assistant also lapsing into habits of painful inebriety. We saw little
of them except of an evening, for we shot and fished the whole day, and
made ourselves remarkably comfortable. By singular good luck, the plans
and sections were lodged in time, and the Board of Trade very handsomely
reported in our favour, with a recommendation of what they were pleased
to call "the Glenmutchkin system," and a hope that it might generally be
carried out. What this system was, I never clearly understood; but,
of course, none of us had any objections. This circumstance gave an
additional impetus to the shares, and they once more went up. I was,
however, too cautious to plunge a second time in to Charybdis, but
M'Corkindale did, and again emerged with plunder.

When the time came for the parliamentary contest, we all emigrated to
London. I still recollect, with lively satisfaction, the many pleasant
days we spent in the metropolis at the company's expense. There were
just a neat fifty of us, and we occupied the whole of a hotel. The
discussion before the committee was long and formidable. We were opposed
by four other companies who patronised lines, of which the nearest was
at least a hundred miles distant from Glenmutchkin; but as they founded
their opposition upon dissent from "the Glenmutchkin system" generally,
the committee allowed them to be heard. We fought for three weeks a most
desperate battle, and might in the end have been victorious, had not our
last antagonist, at the very close of his case, pointed out no less than
seventy-three fatal errors in the parliamentary plan deposited by the
unfortunate Solder. Why this was not done earlier, I never
exactly understood; it may be that our opponents, with gentlemanly
consideration, were unwilling to curtail our sojourn in London--and
their own. The drama was now finally closed, and after all preliminary
expenses were paid, sixpence per share was returned to the