he former
has been commuted into fines to maintain the latter. And long may they
endure, those social meetings, where many a lasting friendship is
formed, and the bonds of brotherhood cemented, which in England unite
an order, declared by D'Aguesseau, _aussi ancien que la magistrature,
aussi noble que la vertu, aussi necessaire que la justice_.

As a novice, Randolph was partly interested and partly disconcerted on
his introduction to these assemblies. He felt a reverence for the old
hall, standing on the site of that of the knights whose dust reposed
in the neighbouring church. He looked with respect on the coats of
arms of the successive treasurers, emblazoned on the oak panelling of
the walls, and subscribed with many a name of high distinction. On the
dais, beneath the portraits of Littleton and Coke, sat some of the
leading advocates of the day, partaking a more luxurious repast than
that allotted to the occupants of the floor below. And on the opposite
side to the young student were the juniors of the bar, men who had
risen, were rising, had not begun to rise, and never would rise.

It was all curious and new. The very gown in which Randolph dined,
rustled on his shoulders with a forensic feeling. The repast was
apportioned to messes of four, all of which had precisely the same
fare. The attendants were called _paniers_; because--an enemy has
suggested--supported by donkeys. The platters were of Peter Piper's
metal, and the cups were earthenware. As at the table of Prior's
pococurante couple--

"Their ale was strong, their wine was port,
Their meal was large, their grace was short."

Trifles all these: forgotten perhaps by the fortunate lawyer, whose
clerk groans under the weight of his brief-bag; ridiculed by the
disappointed man, whose early clients have long disappeared; but
interesting and entertaining to the neophyte, whose ambition foresees
the career of the first, whose self-reliance is too strong to fear the
fate of the second.

These last were the feelings which had inspired Randolph in the
solitude of Trevethlan Castle, and conjured up those airy visions
which seemed so fair in the sight of himself and his sister. The very
first encounter with the world had dimmed the prospect for a moment,
and the brother's subsequent intercourse with it confirmed rather
than diminished his disappointment. It was not that he was
disheartened by perceiving how very inadequate an idea he had formed
of the