Any further observations from the indignant old gentleman were cut shortby the announcement of the song, which Mr. Anthony Humm gave out twolines at a time, for the information of such of his hearers as wereunacquainted with the legend.
Friendship's a very good thing in its way--we are all veryfriendly and comfortable at the Stump, for instance, over our grog,where every man pays for himself; but damn hurting yourself for anybodyelse, you know! No man should have more than two attachments--the first,to number one, and the second to the ladies; that's what I say--ha! ha!'Mr. Lowten concluded with a loud laugh, half in jocularity, and halfin derision, which was prematurely cut short by the sound of Perker'sfootsteps on the stairs, at the first approach of which, he vaulted onhis stool with an agility most remarkable, and wrote intensely.
And even with the vision at its wildest and worst, I could notsee why such a visionary should cut short his own career by collidingwith a common policeman, for killing one out of a million conventionalold fools, as he would have called them.