er; at which there was a roar of laughter, and Tim Linkinwater
being charged with blushing, and called upon to explain, denied that the
accusation was true; and further, that there would have been any harm in
it if it had been; which last position occasioned the superannuated bank
clerk to laugh tremendously, and to declare that it was the very best
thing he had ever heard in his life, and that Tim Linkinwater might say
a great many things before he said anything which would beat THAT.

There was one little ceremony peculiar to the day, both the matter and
manner of which made a very strong impression upon Nicholas. The cloth
having been removed and the decanters sent round for the first time, a
profound silence succeeded, and in the cheerful faces of the brothers
there appeared an expression, not of absolute melancholy, but of quiet
thoughtfulness very unusual at a festive table. As Nicholas, struck
by this sudden alteration, was wondering what it could portend, the
brothers rose together, and the one at the top of the table leaning
forward towards the other, and speaking in a low voice as if he were
addressing him individually, said:

'Brother Charles, my dear fellow, there is another association connected
with this day which must never be forgotten, and never can be forgotten,
by you and me. This day, which brought into the world a most faithful
and excellent and exemplary fellow, took from it the kindest and very
best of parents, the very best of parents to us both. I wish that
she could have seen us in our prosperity, and shared it, and had the
happiness of knowing how dearly we loved her in it, as we did when we
were two poor boys; but that was not to be. My dear brother--The Memory
of our Mother.'

'Good Lord!' thought Nicholas, 'and there are scores of people of their
own station, knowing all this, and twenty thousand times more, who
wouldn't ask these men to dinner because they eat with their knives and
never went to school!'

But there was no time to moralise, for the joviality again became very
brisk, and the decanter of port being nearly out, brother Ned pulled the
bell, which was instantly answered by the apoplectic butler.

'David,' said brother Ned.

'Sir,' replied the butler.

'A magnum of the double-diamond, David, to drink the health of Mr
Linkinwater.'

Instantly, by a feat of dexterity, which was the admiration of all the
company, and had been, annually, for some years past, the apoplectic