ey take up money upon and convert to their own use, without
the deluded person's knowledge; and by absconding, leave him to the
mortification of descanting on their roguery, and his own want of
foresight."

~31~~ The triumvirate were once more interrupted; a newcomer had
arrived, and the prisoners hailed his initiation with the first stanza
of an old song:--

"Welcome, welcome, brother debtor,
To this poor, but merry place,
Where no Bailiff, Dun, nor Setter,{1}
Dares to shew his frightful face:
But, kind Sir, as you're a stranger,
Down your garnish you must lay,
Else your coat will be in danger,--
You must either strip or pay!"

1 Setters--This appellation is applicable to others than
those-alluded to in the above stanza, as connected with Duns
and Bailiffs. They are a dangerous set of wretches, who are
capable of committing any villany, as well by trepanning a
rich heir into matrimony with a cast-off mistress or common
prostitute, as by coupling a young heiress with a notorious
sharper, down to the lowest scene of setting debtors for the
bailiff and his followers. Smitten with the first glance of
the lady, you resign your heart, the conjugal knot is tied,
and, like the Copper Captain, you find the promised land,
houses, and furniture, the property of another, and not of
yourself.

The novitiate, neither surprised at his reception, nor adverse to the
custom of the place, seemed quite at home, paid his garnish without
hesitation, and entered at once into the vacuum of indifference with his
new associates.

The attention of Dashall and Tallyho was attracted by the clank of
fetters, as one of the prisoners squatted himself on the pavement of
the yard. Leaning his back against the wall, he commenced darning an old
stocking, chanting at same time an old song from the Beggar's Opera,
as if predicting his own fate, yet with a manner indicating the most
callous indifference--

"Since laws were made for every degree,
To curb vice in others as well as in me,
I wonder we ha'n't better company
Upon Tyburn tree.----

But gold from law can take out the sting,
And if rich men like us were to swing,
'Twould thin the land, such numbers would string
Upon Tyburn tree.----

The irreclaimable depravity of thi