Toppleton's Client; Or, A Spirit in Exile

the slivers of the shattered whiskey bottle. He needed stimulant. Hopkins readily granted the request, for he felt as if he would not mind having a little stimulant for h

make him doubly depressed, for it certainly indicated that the room, despite its cheerful situation, had been the dwelling-place of a supernatur

ved of your body?" said Hopkins at last, breaking the silence more for t

t for a second. The sensation was dreadful, and when I attempted to do what theretofore I had always done in moments of extreme agitation-to pull fiercely at my moustache-I was simply appalled to realize that the power to raise my hand to do t

ght hand relaxed its grasp on the pen, and my own eyes were turned upon me, and I was simply maddened t

elf said this to me outside of myself. 'You've come to, at last, e

put upon me, but from my point of view it is most uncomfortable, and I'd just as lief

which again indulged in an impertinent smile at my expense. 'You don't suppose that I have put in three we

on't understand the allusion, nor can I see wh

, "my face became cloud

derstand that to-morrow you are to appear in court to sum up for your side, and that the London Times itself is to have five stenographers in court to take down every word that is uttered by him they call a second Burke, because of his eloquence, by him they call a second Sheridan, because of his wit, by him they call the newly discovered leader of the English bar

ago you robbed me of my senses by your infernal machinations, and that whe

on which I visited you fi

urned on the night of November ninth-t

ir, tossing me a copy of the Times, 'and these will prove the rest,' he added, throwing sever

ling upon me to stand for Parliament. The tenour of everything in the papers was complimentary in the highest degree. It seemed that I had fairly routed my client's adversaries by nothing else than the aggressive manner of my fighting; that the case was practically won, though it still remained for me to sum up on the morrow, and that all London was

pect," murmu

y slightest move. For a time not a word was spoken by either of us. I was so overcome at the sudden revelation of my fame, that I knew not what to say. The words of blame that entered into my consciousness-for that was all that was left of me-to say, I could not utter, because however badly I had been treated by this fearful creature in the beginning, it could not be denied that he had exerted his powers entirely for my benefit. On the other han

and sensible to favours to evince some little appreciation of what has been done for you, but I must say that the veriest clod of a peasant would be h

ely grateful to you for having cut me ou

n the mortal mind is the mind which has put on omniscience, and I have found the head in which your intellect lived at ease, so contracted, so narrow for the accommodation of mine, that the work I have undertaken in your interest has been one prolonged bit of unremitting agony. If you have ever tried to wear a shoe fifteen sizes too small for you, you will have a faint glimmering of the pain I have suffe

as when I tried to grin and found I had not the wherewithal. Despite the insulting comment of my visitor upon the quality of my own mind, it really filled what there was left

It appears to me that even if I had not made you famous, the mere fact that I have relieved you of your toothache and rheumatism for three weeks should entitle me to your gratitude. However, I am willing to withdraw

I did not know what line of argument had been pursued-I was even unacquainted with the name of the presiding justice at the trial, and as for the testimony elicited during the three weeks of

ent. 'I have not mastered the details, nor is th

to me if disgrace stares you in the face. My name is safe; graven upon a white marble stone in a country cemetery, it is beyond the reach of dishonour, and is endor

uation, I was justified in changing my tone toward him.

" returned Hopki

under the circumstances. You would have besought him even as I did to crown his work with final success, and no

ary's and concealed myself in a chloroform bottle until my consciousness evaporated if I'd been you. You must hav

the mind is indestructible, I could not do as you suggested. I might have lulled myself into a state of perpetual unconsciousness, but I did not care to do that, for the reason that, despite the harrowing featur

taining your form. I promise you that to-morrow night, after the great speech has been made in court-a speech which will ring out through the whole country, that will echo from the hills of Scotland across the Atlantic Oce

n-he wasn't such a mean fie

a square fiend," returned the spirit s

How was that? Did he kee

istory of literature was there who did not contribute some little line or two to make the speech more interesting, or to emphasize some point in a manner certain to appeal to a polished mind or overawe an uncultivated one. Greek and Latin authors were levied upon for tribute. Parallels in ancient and modern history utterly unkn

of yours will not be able to do justice to that speech, and some of these quotations rasp on your unpractised tongue, so that I fear their effect may be weak

s that?'

aws of this land, what have we to say of him? What palliation can he offer for his unfraternal conduct in thus dragging his own brother into the courts of this land in a mad effort to recover the paltry sum of thirty thousand pounds? History affords no parallel, gentlemen of the jury, to this cause of son living

nt teeth-pearls they were, Hopkins, pe

t,' I said, 'it'll ruin

sness and rescue you from the effects of your own indecision. I have arranged to have a dentist here to-morrow morning at eight. In five minutes he will have

nough to laugh at this

l effect was heightened by the sibilant tone in which the words were spoken. To me the dreadful spirit within my body was apparent from introduction to peroration. The deadly greenness of the fiend shone out through every vein in my body. My eyes, once a beautiful blue, became like the eyes of an adder, and my cheeks took on a pallor that was horrible to look upon, and yet which so fascinated all beholders that they could not take their eyes away from it. The j

nt had brought to me. So absorbed was I in these reflections that the judge's faltering charge at the conclusion of the proceedings fell upon my consciousness unheard, save as the monotonous roar of the vehicles in the street outside was heard; but the verdict of the jury, rendered without leavi