Israel Potter His 50 Years Of Exile Author:Herman Melville When chair-bottoming would fail, resort was had to matchmaking. That business being overdone in turn, next came the cutting of old rags, bits of paper, nails, and broken glass. Nor was this the last step. From the gutter he slid to the sewer. The slope was smooth. In poverty,--"Facilis descensus Averni."