able to sell it for what
it will fetch. Books at a penny apiece all round, I suppose"--James
gasped--"shop furniture thrown in"--James panted--"and the goodwill
for a small lump sum." James wondered how far his own savings, and
what he could borrow, might go toward that lump sum, and how much
might "remain." "My grandfather, as you know, of course, is soon going
to retire from business altogether." This was another lie absolute, as
Mr. Emblem had no intention whatever of retiring.

"Soon, Mr. Joseph? He has never said a word to me about it."

"Very soon, now--sooner than you expect. At seventy-five, and with
all his money, why should he go on slaving any longer? Very soon,
indeed. Any day."

"Mr. Joseph," the assistant positively trembled with eagerness and
apprehension.

"What is it, James? Did you really think that a man like me was going
to sit in a back shop among these moldy volumes all day? Come, that's
too good. You might have given me credit for being one cut above a
counter, too. I am a gentleman, James, if you please; I am an officer
and a gentleman."

He then proceeded to explain, in language that smacked something of
the sea, that his ideas soared far above trade, which was, at best, a
contemptible occupation, and quite unworthy of a gentleman,
particularly an officer and a gentleman; and that his personal friends
would never condescend even to formal acquaintance, not to speak of
friendship, with trade. This discourse may be omitted. When one reads
about such a man as Joe Gallop, when we are told how he looked and
what he said and how he said it, with what gestures and in what tone,
we feel as if it would be impossible for the simplest person in the
world to be mistaken as to his real character. My friends, especially
my young friends, so far from the discernment of character being easy,
it is, on the contrary, an art most difficult, and very rarely
attained. Nature's indications are a kind of handwriting the
characters in which are known to few, so that, for instance, the
quick, enquiring glance of an eye, in which one may easily read--who
knows the character--treachery, lying, and deception, just as in the
letter Beth was originally easily discerned the effigies of a house,
may very easily pass unread by the multitude. The language, or rather
the alphabet, is much less complicated than the cuneiform of the Medes
and Persians, yet no one studies it, except women, most of whom are
profoundly skilled