s. He passed over the
delicacies, and went to the side-table, and began cutting himself some
cold roast beef. Tom Cogit ran up, not to his Grace, but to the baron,
to announce the shocking fact, that the Duke of St James was enduring
great trouble; and then the baron asked his Grace to permit Mr Cogit to
serve him.

'Our hero devoured--we use the word advisedly, as fools say in the House
of Commons--he devoured the roast beef, and rejecting the hermitage with
disgust, asked for porter.

'They set to again, fresh as eagles. At six o'clock, accounts were so
complicated, that they stopped to make up their books. Each played with
his memorandums and pencil at his side. Nothing fatal had yet happened.
The duke owed Lord Dice about L5000, and Temple Grace owed him as many
hundreds. Lord Castlefort also was his debtor to the tune of 750, and
the baron was in his books, but slightly.

'Every half-hour they had a new pack of cards, and threw the used ones
on the floor. All this time Tom Cogit did nothing but snuff the candles,
stir the fire, bring them a new pack, and occasionally made a tumbler
for them.

'At eight o'clock the duke's situation was worsened. The run was greatly
against him, and perhaps his losses were doubled. He pulled up again
the next hour or two; but, nevertheless, at ten o'clock owed every one
something. No one offered to give over; and every one, perhaps, felt
that his object was not obtained. They made their toilets, and went
down-stairs to breakfast. In the mean time the shutters were opened, the
room aired; and in less than an hour they were at it again.

'They played till dinner-time without intermission; and though the duke
made some desperate efforts, and some successful ones, his losses were,
nevertheless, trebled. Yet he ate an excellent dinner, and was not at
all depressed; because the more he lost the more his courage and his
resources seemed to expand. At first, he had limited himself to 10,000;
after breakfast, it was to have been 20,000; then 30,000 was the
ultimatum; and now he dismissed all thoughts of limits from his mind,
and was determined to risk or gain everything.

'At midnight he had lost L48,000.

'Affairs now began to be serious. His supper was not so hearty. While
the rest were eating, he walked about the room, and began to limit his
ambition to recovery, and not to gain.

'When you play to win back, the fun is over: there is nothing to
recompense you for your bodily tort