his reverence; the
ould thaif knew every trick that I knew, and one or two more; but in
daling out the cards I nicked his reverence; scarcely a trump did I ever
give him, Shorsha, and won his money purty freely. Och, it was a purty
quarrel! All the delicate names in the 'Newgate Calendar,' if ye ever
heard of such a book; all the hang-dog names in the Newgate histories,
and the lives of Irish rogues, did we call each other--his reverence and
I! Suddenly, however, putting out his hand, he seized the cards, saying,
'I will examine these cards, ye cheating scoundrel! for I believe there
are dirty marks on them, which ye have made in order to know the winning
cards.' 'Give me back my pack,' said I, 'or m'anam on Dioul if I be not
the death of ye!' His reverence, however, clapped the cards into his
pocket, and made the best of his way to the door, I hanging upon him. He
was a gross, fat man, but like most fat men, deadly strong, so he forced
his way to the door, and, opening it, flung himself out, with me still
holding on him like a terrier dog on a big fat pig; then he shouts for
help, and in a little time I was secured and thrust into a lock-up room,
where I was left to myself. Here was a purty alteration. Yesterday I
was the idol of the religious house, thought more on than his reverence,
every one paying me court and wurtship, and wanting to play cards with
me, and to learn my tricks, and fed, moreover, on the tidbits of the
table; and to-day I was in a cell, nobody coming to look at me but the
blackguard porter who had charge of me, my cards taken from me, and with
nothing but bread and water to live upon. Time passed dreary enough for
a month, at the end of which time his reverence came to me, leaving the
porter just outside the door in order to come to his help should I be
violent; and then he read me a very purty lecture on my conduct, saying I
had turned the religious house topsy-turvy, and corrupted the scholars,
and that I was the cheat of the world, for that, on inspecting the pack,
he had discovered the dirty marks which I had made upon the trump cards
for to know them by. He said a great deal more to me, which is not worth
relating, and ended by telling me that he intended to let me out of
confinement next day, but that if ever I misconducted myself any more, he
would clap me in again for the rest of my life. I had a good mind to
call him an ould thaif, but the hope of getting out made me hold my
tongu