ed upon some
abstruse calculation of chances, he contrived to gain considerable sums.
All the gamblers envied him his luck, and many made it a point to watch
his play, and stake their money on the same chances. In affairs of
gallantry he was equally fortunate; ladies of the first rank smiled
graciously upon the handsome Scotchman--the young, the rich, the witty,
and the obliging. But all these successes only paved the way for reverses.
After he had been for nine years exposed to the dangerous attractions of
the gay life he was leading, he became an irrecoverable gambler. As his
love of play increased in violence, it diminished in prudence. Great
losses were only to be repaired by still greater ventures, and one unhappy
day he lost more than he could repay without mortgaging his family estate.
To that step he was driven at last. At the same time his gallantry brought
him into trouble. A love affair, or slight flirtation, with a lady of the
name of Villiers,[1] exposed him to the resentment of a Mr. Wilson, by
whom he was challenged to fight a duel. Law accepted, and had the ill
fortune to shoot his antagonist dead upon the spot. He was arrested the
same day, and brought to trial for murder by the relatives of Mr. Wilson.
He was afterwards found guilty, and sentenced to death. The sentence was
commuted to a fine, upon the ground that the offence only amounted to
manslaughter. An appeal being lodged by a brother of the deceased, Law was
detained in the King's Bench, whence, by some means or other, which he
never explained, he contrived to escape; and an action being instituted
against the sheriffs, he was advertised in the Gazette, and a reward
offered for his apprehension. He was described as "Captain John Law, a
Scotchman, aged twenty-six; a very tall, black, lean man; well shaped,
above six feet high, with large pock-holes in his face; big nosed, and
speaking broad and loud." As this was rather a caricature than a
description of him, it has been supposed that it was drawn up with a view
to favour his escape. He succeeded in reaching the Continent, where he
travelled for three years, and devoted much of his attention to the
monetary and banking affairs of the countries through which he passed. He
stayed a few months in Amsterdam, and speculated to some extent in the
funds. His mornings were devoted to the study of finance and the
principles of trade, and his evenings to the gaming-house. It is generally
believed that he re