Page 189 of 896

It had once been noted at the Bar, that while Mr. Stryver was a

glib man, and an unscrupulous, and a ready, and a bold, he had

not that faculty of extracting the essence from a heap of

statements, which is among the most striking and necessary of the

advocate's accomplishments. But, a remarkable improvement came

upon him as to this. The more business he got, the greater his

power seemed to grow of getting at its pith and marrow; and

however late at night he sat carousing with Sydney Carton, he

always had his points at his fingers' ends in the morning.