y-seven
guineas.

Pushing back the coin and dice box, William proposed another throw, which
was smilingly consented to by the "child of Fortune," and grasping the box,
the Bard clicked the "ivories" and flung on the table three aces, which by
the rule of the game, gave all the coin to the "Royal" dealer.

William never winced or hesitated, but pulling from his waist a buckskin
belt, threw it on the table, exclaiming, "There's fifteen guineas I wager
on the next throw."

The polite Jack replied, "All right, sir, take your word for it."

William frantically said:

_"I have set my life upon a cast,
And will stand the hazard of the die!"_

Then, with a round whirl, he threw three "aces" again, rose from the table
and bolted out of the room like a shot from a blunderbuss.

I immediately followed in his footsteps and found him joking with the
landlady about a couple of infant bull pups she was fondling in her
capacious lap.

At this juncture, who should appear on the scene but Dick Field, the first
cousin of William, who had been in London a few years engaged in the
printing and publishing business.

If he had dropped out of the clouds William could not have been more
pleased or surprised, and the feeling was reciprocal.

The printing shop of Field was only a short distance from the Devil's
Tavern, and we were invited to visit the establishment. On our way we
passed by the Blackfriars, Curtain, In Yard, Paris and Devil theatres,
interspersed with hurdy-gurdy concert hall, sailor and soldier, gin and
sack vaults, where blear-eyed belles and battered beaux vied with each
other in fantastic intoxication.

Field did a lot of rough printing for the various theatres, issuing bill
posters, announcing plays, and setting up type sheets for actors and
managers, in their daily concerts and dramas for the public amusement.

As luck would have it, old James Burbage and his son Dick were waiting for
Field, with a lot of dramatic manuscript that must be put in print at once.

We were casually introduced to the great theatrical magnate Burbage, as
relatives from Stratford who were just then in search of work.

James Burbage gazed for a moment on the manly form of William and blurted
out in his bluff manner, "What do you know?"

Quick as a flash William replied: "I know more than those who know less,
and know less than those who know more."

"Sharp answer, 'boy.' See me to-morrow at the Blackfriars at noon."

We t