« said Halkit, »in full professional force -
counsel and agent« -
    »And client,« said the young advocate, looking behind him; and then added,
lowering his voice, »that looks as if he had kept such dangerous company too
long.«
    It was, indeed, too true, that the humble follower of the gay young men had
the threadbare appearance of a worn-out litigant, and I could not but smile at
the conceit, though anxious to conceal my mirth from the object of it.
    When we arrived at the Wallace Inn, the elder of the Edinburgh gentlemen,
and whom I understood to be a barrister, insisted that I should remain and take
part of their dinner; and their inquiries and demands speedily put my landlord
and his whole family in motion to produce the best cheer which the larder and
cellar afforded, and proceed to cook it to the best advantage, a science in
which our entertainers seemed to be admirably skilled. In other respects they
were lively young men, in the hey-day of youth and good spirits, playing the
part which is common to the higher classes of the law at Edinburgh, and which
nearly resembles that of the young Templars in the days of Steele and Addison.
An air of giddy gaiety mingled with the good sense, taste, and information which
their conversation exhibited; and it seemed to be their object to unite the
character of men of fashion and lovers of the polite arts. A fine gentleman,
bred up in the thorough idleness and inanity of pursuit, which I understand is
absolutely necessary to the character in perfection, might in all probability
have traced a tinge of professional pedantry which marked the barrister in spite
of his efforts, and something of active bustle in his companion, and would
certainly have detected more than a fashionable mixture of information and
animated interest in the language of both. But to me, who had no pretensions to
be so critical, my companions seemed to form a very happy mixture of
good-breeding and liberal information, with a disposition to lively rattle, pun,
and jest, amusing to a grave man, because it is what he himself can least easily
command.
    The thin pale-faced man, whom their good-nature had brought into their
society, looked out of place as well as out of spirits; sate on the edge of his
seat, and kept the chair at two feet distance from the table; thus incommoding
himself considerably in conveying the victuals to his mouth, as if by way of
penance for partaking of them in the company of his superiors. A short time
