one minute at a time, if he dared. These arrangements completed, Mr

Quilp looked round him with chuckling satisfaction, and remarked

that he called that comfort.

The legal gentleman, whose melodious name was Brass, might have

called it comfort also but for two drawbacks: one was, that he could

by no exertion sit easy in his chair, the seat of which was very hard,

angular, slippery, and sloping; the other, that tobacco-smoke always

caused him great internal discomposure and annoyance. But as he

was quite a creature of Mr Quilp's and had a thousand reasons for

conciliating his good opinion, he tried to smile, and nodded his

acquiescence with the best grace he could assume.

This Brass was an attorney of no very good repute, from Bevis Marks

in the city of London; he was a tall, meagre man, with a nose like a

wen, a protruding forehead, retreating eyes, and hair of a deep red. He

wore a long black surtout reaching nearly to his ankles, short black

trousers, high shoes, and cotton stockings of a bluish grey. He had a

cringing manner, but a very harsh voice; and his blandest smiles were

so extremely forbidding, that to have had his company under the least

repulsive circumstances, one would have wished him to be out of

temper that he might only scowl.

Quilp looked at his legal adviser, and seeing that he was winking very

much in the anguish of his pipe, that he sometimes shuddered when

he happened to inhale its full flavour, and that he constantly fanned

the smoke from him, was quite overjoyed and rubbed his hands with

glee.

'Smoke away, you dog,' said Quilp, turning to the boy; 'fill your pipe

again and smoke it fast, down to the last whiff, or I'll put the sealing-

waxed end of it in the fire and rub it red hot upon your tongue.'

Luckily the boy was case-hardened, and would have smoked a small

lime-kiln if anybody had treated him with it. Wherefore, he only

muttered a brief defiance of his master, and did as he was ordered.

Is it good, Brass, is it nice, is it fragrant, do you feel like the Grand

Turk?’ said Quilp.

Mr Brass thought that if he did, the Grand Turk's feelings were by no

means to be envied, but he said it was famous, and he had no doubt

he felt very like that Potentate.

This is the way to keep off fever,' said Quilp, 'this is the way to keep

off every calamity of life! We'll never leave off, all the time we stop here

smoke away, you dog, or you shall swallow the pipe!'

The Old Curiosity Shop