a second-hand wig box, used as a depository
for blank writs and declarations and other small forms of law, once the
sole contents of the head which belonged to the wig which belonged to
the box, as they were now of the box itself; two or three common books
of practice; a jar of ink, a pounce box, a stunted hearth-broom, a
carpet trodden to shreds but still clinging with the tightness of
desperation to its tacks--these, with the yellow wainscot of the walls,
the smoke-discoloured ceiling, the dust and cobwebs, were among the
most prominent decorations of the office of Mr Sampson Brass.

But this was mere still-life, of no greater importance than the plate,
'BRASS, Solicitor,' upon the door, and the bill, 'First floor to let to
a single gentleman,' which was tied to the knocker. The office
commonly held two examples of animated nature, more to the purpose of
this history, and in whom it has a stronger interest and more
particular concern.

Of these, one was Mr Brass himself, who has already appeared in these
pages. The other was his clerk, assistant, housekeeper, secretary,
confidential plotter, adviser, intriguer, and bill of cost increaser,
Miss Brass--a kind of amazon at common law, of whom it may be desirable
to offer a brief description.

Miss Sally Brass, then, was a lady of thirty-five or thereabouts, of a
gaunt and bony figure, and a resolute bearing, which if it repressed
the softer emotions of love, and kept admirers at a distance, certainly
inspired a feeling akin to awe in the breasts of those male strangers
who had the happiness to approach her. In face she bore a striking
resemblance to her brother, Sampson--so exact, indeed, was the likeness
between them, that had it consorted with Miss Brass's maiden modesty
and gentle womanhood to have assumed her brother's clothes in a frolic
and sat down beside him, it would have been difficult for the oldest
friend of the family to determine which was Sampson and which Sally,
especially as the lady carried upon her upper lip certain reddish
demonstrations, which, if the imagination had been assisted by her
attire, might have been mistaken for a beard. These were, however, in
all probability, nothing more than eyelashes in a wrong place, as the
eyes of Miss Brass were quite free from any such natural
impertinencies. In complexion Miss Brass was sallow--rather a dirty
sallow, so to speak--but this hue was agreeably relieved by the healthy
glow which mantled in t