beneath the dignity of the office, he contends that they
help business, and in proof quotes the old story of
the unknown dentist who compelled a suffering prince
to call the next day at noon, claiming that his list
was full, when neither man, woman nor child had
been in his chair for over a week--fame and fortune
being his ever after.

When Mawkum gets tired of inspecting the brick
wall and the industrious clerks and the face of the
clock, he strolls leisurely into my room, plants himself
at my window--this occurs during one of those calms
that so often come to an office between contracts--and
spends hours in contemplating the view.

To me the stretch of sky and water, with its dividing
band of roof, tower and wharf, stretching from
the loop of steel--that spider-web of the mighty--to
the straight line of the sea, is a never-ending delight.
In the early morning its broken outline is softened
by a veil of silver mist embroidered with puffs
of steam; at midday the glare of light flashing from
the river's surface makes silhouettes of the ferry-
shuttles threading back and forth weaving the city's
life; at twilight the background of purple is bathed
in the glory of the sunset, while at night myriads of
fireflies swarm and settle, tracing in pencillings of
fire the plan of the distant town.

Mawkum, being commercially disposed, sees none