His card-rack was a complete memorandum-book, for there he read the names of every individual whom he had ever seen or spoken to, and besides them a great many more. What could be more natural than for Mr. Jackson to say to Dr. Smith, “I am going to call on Markham?” And what could be more natural than for Dr. Smith to say, “I will go with you, and you may introduce me?” So then Markham’s friend, Jackson, leaves his card, and Jackson’s friend, Dr. Smith, leaves his card too. Markham had never been of a covetous disposition; but now he felt most especially and peculiarly delighted, that there was no foundation for the intemperate and extravagant reports concerning his immense wealth. A paradoxical friend of ours, who makes it a rule to believe every thing that all the world disbelieves, and to disbelieve all that the rest of the world believes, has started an ingenious theory concerning the “_fortunate youth_,” who made such a noise some years ago. It is our friend’s theory, that the story of his immense wealth was perfectly true, but that he found so much trouble in the disposal of it, and was annoyed by and threatened with such a host of applications, dependents, and acquaintances, that to get rid of all trouble he destroyed all the documents of his wealth, and sunk back for the sake of ease and quiet into his original insignificance and obscurity. There is some plausibility in this theory; and it must be acknowledged that such was Markham’s state of mind at those symptoms of botheration which he saw in his chambers, in his card-racks, and on his table, that it would not have been much to be wondered at, if, on the supposition that his wealth was really so great as it was reported to be, he had adopted the same plan to get rid of his annoyances. Knowing, however, that so great a weight of responsibility did not rest upon him, he perused and glanced over these solicitations of attention with a much more calm and composed mind. Very few of them appeared to him deserving of notice; and as far as concerned the callers, whose cards adorned his racks, there were not above five per cent that needed any return. With respect to some of them he thought, rather humorously indeed, that it might be advisable to send them back to their owners accompanied with an affidavit sworn before the Lord Mayor, that Horatio Markham’s legacy did not exceed twenty thousand pounds.