With the jurors he had contrived to enjoy a sup of whiskey
at the tavern bar-room, and had actually, and with a manner the most
adroit, gone deeply into the distribution of an entire packet of
steel-pens, one of which he accommodated to a reed, and to the fingers
of each of the worthy twelve, who made the panel on that
occasion--taking care, however, to assure them of the value of the gift,
by saying, that if he were to sell the article, twenty-five cents each
would be his lowest price, and he could scarcely save himself at that.
But this was not all. Having seriously determined upon abiding at the
south, he ventured upon some few of the practices prevailing in that
region, and on more than one occasion, a gallon of whiskey had
circulated "free gratis," and "_pro bono publico_," he added, somewhat
maliciously, at the cost of our worthy tradesman. These things, it may
not be necessary to say, had elevated that worthy into no moderate
importance among those around him; and, that he himself was not
altogether unconscious of the change, it may be remarked that an ugly
_kink_, or double in his back--the consequence of his pack and past
humility--had gone down wonderfully, keeping due pace in its descent
with the progress of his upward manifestations.
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