y my friend Dombey;' for the general attention
was concentrated on Cousin Feenix; 'may remember Jack Adams, Jack Adams,
not Joe; that was his brother. Jack--little Jack--man with a cast in
his eye, and slight impediment in his speech--man who sat for somebody's
borough. We used to call him in my parliamentary time W. P. Adams, in
consequence of his being Warming Pan for a young fellow who was in his
minority. Perhaps my friend Dombey may have known the man?'

Mr Dombey, who was as likely to have known Guy Fawkes, replied in
the negative. But one of the seven mild men unexpectedly leaped into
distinction, by saying he had known him, and adding--'always wore
Hessian boots!'

'Exactly,' said Cousin Feenix, bending forward to see the mild man, and
smile encouragement at him down the table. 'That was Jack. Joe wore--'

'Tops!' cried the mild man, rising in public estimation every Instant.

'Of course,' said Cousin Feenix, 'you were intimate with em?'

'I knew them both,' said the mild man. With whom Mr Dombey immediately
took wine.

'Devilish good fellow, Jack!' said Cousin Feenix, again bending forward,
and smiling.

'Excellent,' returned the mild man, becoming bold on his success. 'One
of the best fellows I ever knew.'

'No doubt you have heard the story?' said Cousin Feenix.

'I shall know,' replied the bold mild man, 'when I have heard your
Ludship tell it.' With that, he leaned back in his chair and smiled at
the ceiling, as knowing it by heart, and being already tickled.

'In point of fact, it's nothing of a story in itself,' said Cousin
Feenix, addressing the table with a smile, and a gay shake of his head,
'and not worth a word of preface. But it's illustrative of the
neatness of Jack's humour. The fact is, that Jack was invited down to a
marriage--which I think took place in Berkshire?'

'Shropshire,' said the bold mild man, finding himself appealed to.

'Was it? Well! In point of fact it might have been in any shire,' said
Cousin Feenix. 'So my friend being invited down to this marriage in
Anyshire,' with a pleasant sense of the readiness of this joke, 'goes.
Just as some of us, having had the honour of being invited to the
marriage of my lovely and accomplished relative with my friend Dombey,
didn't require to be asked twice, and were devilish glad to be present
on so interesting an occasion.--Goes--Jack goes. Now, this marriage was,
in point of fact, the marriage of an uncommonly fine girl with a man