stion of my guardian and trustee, Mr. Tuckerman Toddleham,
of Barristers' Hall, Boston, to inquire whether I may not be allowed
the great privilege of a desk in your office. I am a Harvard man,
born in Salem, and of an old Massachusetts family. Ever since I
made up my mind as a boy to enter the law it has been my ambition
to study in your office; and, I may add, it is also the earnest
hope of my guardian, Mr. Toddleham."

"Do you refer to the Mr. Toddleham of 'Toddleham on Perpetuities'?"
he asked with some interest.

"The same," I answered, for although I had never heard of the work
in question, it seemed just the sort for old Toddleham's production.

"I am glad to know you, Mr. Quibble," he exclaimed, extending his
hand. "I have often wished that I could meet your guardian and
ask the great Mr. Toddleham face to face what he really thinks of
the Rule in Shelley's Case--what do you think of it? What _was_
the Rule in Shelley's Case, may I ask?"

Now, I had never heard of the rule in question, so for want of a
better answer I replied:

"The law is no respecter of person. I suppose the rule was _the
same in his case as in any other_."

Mr. Haight looked at me strangely for a moment and suddenly began
to chuckle. Then he eyed me again and chuckled still more. Finally
he laid aside all modestly and hugged himself with delight.

"I see that you are a man of _esprit!_" he remarked between spasms.
"I shall be glad to take you into my office. You may go and
introduce yourself to Mr. Spruggins, the chief clerk."

Thus it was that I secured my first slender foothold at the bar of
New York, and it was not for several years that I discovered that
the Toddleham who had written the book on Perpetuities was an
entirely different person, belonging to another branch of the
family.

Of course I received no compensation for my services at Haight &
Foster's, but that was the customary rule with all students. As
a result we were not strictly tied down in our attendance at the
office. I really believe it would have been cheaper for the firm
to have paid a small salary to their clerks, for it would then have
been in a position to demand much more of them in return. As it
was I found myself able to come and go about as I chose, and being
obliged to support myself in some way my attendance at the office
was quite irregular. But I was started at last and belonged
somewhere. No longer was it necessary for me to wander ab