t, that he might have nothing to distract him from the full
flavour of the genealogical tree. 'By George, you are right, Gowan. So
he is.'

'Consequently, Lord Decimus is his great uncle.'

'But stop a bit!' said Mr Meagles, opening his eyes with a fresh
discovery. 'Then on the mother's side, Lady Stiltstalking is his great
aunt.'

'Of course she is.'

'Aye, aye, aye?' said Mr Meagles with much interest. 'Indeed, indeed? We
shall be glad to see him. We'll entertain him as well as we can, in our
humble way; and we shall not starve him, I hope, at all events.'

In the beginning of this dialogue, Clennam had expected some great
harmless outburst from Mr Meagles, like that which had made him burst
out of the Circumlocution Office, holding Doyce by the collar. But his
good friend had a weakness which none of us need go into the next street
to find, and which no amount of Circumlocution experience could long
subdue in him. Clennam looked at Doyce; but Doyce knew all about it
beforehand, and looked at his plate, and made no sign, and said no word.

'I am much obliged to you,' said Gowan, to conclude the subject.
'Clarence is a great ass, but he is one of the dearest and best fellows
that ever lived!'

It appeared, before the breakfast was over, that everybody whom this
Gowan knew was either more or less of an ass, or more or less of a
knave; but was, notwithstanding, the most lovable, the most engaging,
the simplest, truest, kindest, dearest, best fellow that ever lived.
The process by which this unvarying result was attained, whatever the
premises, might have been stated by Mr Henry Gowan thus: 'I claim to be
always book-keeping, with a peculiar nicety, in every man's case, and
posting up a careful little account of Good and Evil with him. I do
this so conscientiously, that I am happy to tell you I find the most
worthless of men to be the dearest old fellow too: and am in a condition
to make the gratifying report, that there is much less difference than
you are inclined to suppose between an honest man and a scoundrel.' The
effect of this cheering discovery happened to be, that while he seemed
to be scrupulously finding good in most men, he did in reality lower
it where it was, and set it up where it was not; but that was its only
disagreeable or dangerous feature.

It scarcely seemed, however, to afford Mr Meagles as much satisfaction
as the Barnacle genealogy had done. The cloud that Clennam had never
seen upon hi