This speech was a complete success: it was unanswerable.
It fixed the lodgings at Camden Town. It stopped Mrs. Bumpkin’s impatience; diminished her apprehensions; and apparently, lulled her misgivings. She was a gentle, hard-working, loving wife.
And so all was settled. It was the month of April, and it was confidently expected that by the end of July all would be comfortably finished in time to get in the harvest. The crops looked well; the meadows and clover-field promised a fair crop, and the wheat and barley never looked better.
The following week found Mr. Bumpkin in his new lodgings at Camden Town; and I verily believe, as Mr. Prigg very sagaciously observed, if it had not been for the Judges going circuit, Bumpkin v. Snooks would have been in the paper six weeks earlier than it really was. But even lawsuits must come on at last, be they never so tardy: and one day, in bustling haste, Mr. Prigg’s young man informed Mr. Bumpkin that a consultation was actually fixed at his leader’s chambers, Garden Court, Temple, at seven o’clock punctually the next day.
Bumpkin was delighted: he was to be present at the express wish of the leading counsel. So to Garden Court he went at seven, with Mr. Prigg; and there sure enough was Mr. Dynamite, his junior counsel. Mr. Catapult, Q.C., had not yet arrived. So while they waited, Mr. Bumpkin had an opportunity of looking about him; never in his life had he seen so many books. There they were all over the walls; shelves upon shelves. The chambers seemed built with books, and Mr. Bumpkin raised his eyes with awe to the ceiling, expecting to see books there.
“What be all these ’ere books, sir?” he whispered to Prigg.
“These are law books,” answered the intelligent Prigg; “but these are only a few.”
“Must be a good dale o’ law,” said Bumpkin.
“A good deal too much,” observed Mr. Dynamite, with a smile; “if we were to burn nine-tenths of the law books we should have better law, eh, Mr. Prigg?”
Mr. Prigg never contradicted counsel; and if Mr. Dynamite had said it’s a great pity that our libraries have so few authorities, Prigg would have made the same answer, “I quite agree, quite so! quite so!”