being
rejected after twenty-four hours' pleasantry, Mr Brass consented to
remain, and did remain, until a club of choice spirits called a Grand
jury (who were in the joke) summoned him to a trial before twelve other
wags for perjury and fraud, who in their turn found him guilty with a
most facetious joy,--nay, the very populace entered into the whim, and
when Mr Brass was moving in a hackney-coach towards the building where
these wags assembled, saluted him with rotten eggs and carcases of
kittens, and feigned to wish to tear him into shreds, which greatly
increased the comicality of the thing, and made him relish it the more,
no doubt.

To work this sportive vein still further, Mr Brass, by his counsel,
moved in arrest of judgment that he had been led to criminate himself,
by assurances of safety and promises of pardon, and claimed the
leniency which the law extends to such confiding natures as are thus
deluded. After solemn argument, this point (with others of a technical
nature, whose humorous extravagance it would be difficult to
exaggerate) was referred to the judges for their decision, Sampson
being meantime removed to his former quarters. Finally, some of the
points were given in Sampson's favour, and some against him; and the
upshot was, that, instead of being desired to travel for a time in
foreign parts, he was permitted to grace the mother country under
certain insignificant restrictions.

These were, that he should, for a term of years, reside in a spacious
mansion where several other gentlemen were lodged and boarded at the
public charge, who went clad in a sober uniform of grey turned up with
yellow, had their hair cut extremely short, and chiefly lived on gruel
and light soup. It was also required of him that he should partake of
their exercise of constantly ascending an endless flight of stairs;
and, lest his legs, unused to such exertion, should be weakened by it,
that he should wear upon one ankle an amulet or charm of iron. These
conditions being arranged, he was removed one evening to his new abode,
and enjoyed, in common with nine other gentlemen, and two ladies, the
privilege of being taken to his place of retirement in one of Royalty's
own carriages.

Over and above these trifling penalties, his name was erased and
blotted out from the roll of attorneys; which erasure has been always
held in these latter times to be a great degradation and reproach, and
to imply the commission of some ama