As the petition and decree had
gone on the express ground that the application for the return
of the manuscript was made by Mr. Bayard, not in his official,
but only in his private capacity, as he had employed counsel
at my request, and I had been responsible for their fees,
I was, at first, inclined to be a little vexed at the answer.
On a little reflection, however, I saw that it was not best
to be too curious on the subject; that where there was a will
there was a way, and probably there was no thought, in getting
the decree, on the part of anybody concerned, to be too strict
as to legalities. I was reminded, however, of Silas Wegg's
answer to Mr. Boffin, when he read aloud to him and his wife
evening after evening "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,"
which Silas had spoken of at first, as "The Decline and Fall
of the Russian Empire." Mr. Boffin noticed the inconsistency,
and asked Mr. Wegg why it was that he had called it "The Decline
and Fall of the Russian Empire" in the beginning. To which
Mr. Wegg replied that Mrs. Boffin was present, and that it
would not be proper to answer that question in the presence
of a lady.
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