mitigated by the parallel his wife suggested between his own case and that of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, who were thrust into a burning fiery furnace.  For, as he observed to her the next morning, with that perspicacity which belongs to the period of shaving, whereas their deliverance consisted in the fact that their linen and woollen goods were not consumed, his own deliverance lay in precisely the opposite result.  But convenience, that admirable branch system from the main line of self-interest, makes us all fellow-helpers in spite of adverse resolutions.  It is probable that no speculative or theological hatred would be ultimately strong enough to resist the persuasive power of convenience:  that a latitudinarian baker, whose bread was honourably free from alum, would command the custom of any dyspeptic Puseyite; that an Arminian with the toothache would prefer a skilful Calvinistic dentist to a bungler stanch against the doctrines of Election and Final Perseverance, who would be likely to break the tooth in his head; and that a Plymouth Brother, who had a well furnished grocery shop in a favourable vicinage, would occasionally have the pleasure of furnishing sugar or vinegar to orthodox families that found themselves unexpectedly ‘out of’ those indispensable commodities.  In this persuasive power of convenience lay Mr. Dunn’s ultimate security from martyrdom.  His drapery was the best in Milby; the comfortable use and wont of procuring satisfactory articles at a moment’s notice proved too strong for Anti-Tryanite zeal; and the draper could soon look forward to his next stock-taking without the support of a Scriptural parallel.

On the other hand, Mr. Dempster had lost his excellent client, Mr. Jerome—­a loss which galled him out of proportion to the mere monetary deficit it represented.  The attorney loved money, but he loved power still better.  He had always been proud of having early won the confidence of a conventicle-goer, and of being able to ’turn the prop of Salem round his thumb’.  Like most other men, too, he had a certain kindness towards those who had employed him when he was only starting in life; and just as we do not like to part with an old weather-glass from our study, or a two-feet ruler that we have carried in our pocket ever since we began business, so Mr. Dempster did not like having to erase his old client’s name from the accustomed drawer in the bureau.  Our habitual life is like a wall hung with pictures, which has been shone on by the suns of many years:  take one of the pictures away, and it leaves a definite blank space, to which our eyes can never turn without a sensation of discomfort.  Nay, the involuntary loss of any familiar object almost always brings a chill as from an evil omen; it seems to be the first finger-shadow of advancing death.

From all these causes combined, Mr. Dempster could never think of his lost client without strong irritation, and the very sight of Mr. Jerome passing in the street was wormwood to him.