He had a good part of one floor: a bedroom, a sitting room, with a liberal
provision of bookshelves, and a kind of large closet which he had made into
a "cabinet." There are all sorts of cabinets, but this was a cabinet for
his "collection." His collection was not without some measure of local
fame; if not strictly valuable, it was at least comprehensive. After all,
he collected to please himself. He was a collector in Churchton and a
stockbroker in the city itself. The satirical said that he was the most
important collector in "the street," and the most important stockbroker in
the suburbs. He was a member of a somewhat large firm, and not the most
active one. His interest had been handed down, in a manner, from his
father; and the less he participated the better his partners liked it. He
had no one but himself, and a sister on the far side of the city, miles and
miles away. His principal concern was to please himself, to indulge his
nature and tastes, and to get, in a quiet way, "a good deal out of life."
But nobody ever spoke of him as rich. His collection represented his own
preferences, perseverance and individual predilections.
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