ECONOMY. 83 



Then, gently removing a crust of the colour 

 and consistency of a piece of parchment, 

 my friend counted twenty bottled goose- 

 berries at the bottom of a very shallow 

 dish. 



" Economy is the order of the day here," 

 I said. 



"You might have given it a more ap- 

 propriate name, I think," he replied. 



But to say no more of this very spare 

 meal, and the observations it gave rise to, 

 for which the port wine that bore his name 

 made ample amends, I found myself in 

 company with a man of enlightened under- 

 standing, great experience in political 

 affairs, with a thorough knowledge of his 

 kind evinced, I thought, a little too 

 broadly in exposing the vanities and ab- 

 surdities of his late coadjutors. He was one 

 of the few who had done good in his gener- 

 ation, by dispersing the cloud of darkness 

 and promulgating truly liberal principles 

 through the land. Having made the 



G2 



