'It depends,' replied the salesman, withdrawing his cheroot. 'The

power of money is an article of faith in which I profess myself a

sceptic. A hundred pounds will with difficulty support you for a

year; with somewhat more difficulty you may spend it in a night;

and without any difficulty at all you may lose it in five minutes

on the Stock Exchange. If you are of that stamp of man that rises,

a penny would be as useful; if you belong to those that fall, a

penny would be no more useless. When I was myself thrown

unexpectedly upon the world, it was my fortune to possess an art:

I knew a good cigar. Do you know nothing, Mr. Somerset?'

'Not even law,' was the reply.

'The answer is worthy of a sage,' returned Mr. Godall. 'And you,

sir,' he continued, turning to Challoner, 'as the friend of Mr.

Somerset, may I be allowed to address you the same question?'

'Well,' replied Challoner, 'I play a fair hand at whist.'

'How many persons are there in London,' returned the salesman, 'who

have two-and-thirty teeth? Believe me, young gentleman, there are

more still who play a fair hand at whist. Whist, sir, is wide as

the world; 'tis an accomplishment like breathing. I once knew a

youth who announced that he was studying to be Chancellor of

England; the design was certainly ambitious; but I find it less

excessive than that of the man who aspires to make a livelihood by

whist.'

'Dear me,' said Challoner, 'I am afraid I shall have to fall to be

a working man.'

'Fall to be a working man?' echoed Mr. Godall. 'Suppose a rural

dean to be unfrocked, does he fall to be a major? suppose a captain

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