after this picture of an inclement night, behold us seated by a great blazing fire, which looked so comfortable and delicious that i felt inclined to lie down and roll among the hot coals. the usual furniture of a lawyer's office was around us, rows of volumes in sheepskin, and a multitude of writs, summonses, and other legal papers, scattered over the desks and tables. but there were certain objects which seemed to intimate that we had little dread of the intrusion of clients, or of the learned counsellor himself, who, indeed, was attending court in a distant town. a tall, decanter-shaped bottle stood on the table, between two tumblers, and beside a pile of blotted manuscripts, altogether dissimilar to any law documents recognized in our courts. my friend, whom i shall call oberon, it was a name of fancy and friendship between him and me, my friend oberon looked at these papers with a peculiar expression of disquietude.