This, we venture to assert, savours more of the old bar and the ancient sanded floors, more of the by-gone Cider Cellars and extinct Vauxhall Gardens, more of the early mornings and late nights, more of the rough-and-ready "P.R." times, than the veneered version for the drawing-room given us by Sir M.M., M.D. We may be wrong, but—we don't think we are.
AFTER LUNCH.
A Fancy Sketch, Copied from Cobb.
["There are numerous instances of Members of the legal profession having acquired habits of intemperance in consequence of the facilities for procuring alcoholic drinks in the building, and the difficulty of obtaining tea and coffee."—Cobb, on the Refreshment Bars of the Law Courts.]
SCENE—Apartment in the Chancery Division. Time, 2·15 P.M. Judge, Bar, Solicitors, and Public discovered in a state more easily imagined (by Mr. COBB) than described.
Judge (thickly). What want t'know—what-do-next? (Smiles.) Very hot! Very hot indeed! [Frowns.
First Q.C. (rising unsteadily). P'raps m'Lord let m'explain! Case of Brown-versus-Smith, should say—course—Smith-versus-Brown. (Smiles.) Absurd! Can't-say-more! [Sits down abruptly.
Judge (angrily). Very irregular this! Commit—contempt—Court!
Second Q.C. (leaning luxuriously on desk). P'raps m'Lord let me explain. Learned friend—drunk! [Disappears under his seat.