_The Com._ (_drily_). Seems to have been very final indeed! Was there
anything on the face of the notice to distinguish it from an ordinary
unstamped circular?

_Shareh._ No, I believe not. But, then, possibly, the account had been
submitted to him before.

_The Com._ How do you know? Speaking from my own experience, a
demand-note is generally left at the house when the master is away,
and the Collector does not take the slightest trouble to _collect_
the money. He leaves it to chance whether the money is _sent_ or not.
Surely _you_ must know that in your character of a householder?

_Shareh._ Well, yes; I fancy that the collector does sometimes act in
a very perfunctory manner.

_The Com._ And that servants frequently are unable to distinguish
between the open circular of a Gas Company asking for the settlement
of an account, and the open circular of a touting coal merchant asking
for custom? And when this happens, both find a home in the dust-hole.
Is not that so?

_Shareh._ Well, yes--very likely--but the law is--

_The Com._ (_sternly_). The Law and its name should not be lightly
taken in vain. I have seen on a Gas Company's circular the terrors of
a statute invoked to secure prompt payment of a few shillings! After
all, the Gas Companies (albeit monopolists) are merely traders, and
the Public are the customers. If a butcher, a baker, or a candle-stick
maker invariably attempted to secure immediate payment by reference