r, Mr. Precepts, began to quiz his
junior, Mr. Jones, with, "Well, Jones must never joke friend Discount
anymore about usury. Just imagine," he continued, addressing me, "Jones
has himself been discounting a bill for a lady; and a deuced pretty one
too. He sat next her at dinner in Grosvenor Square, last week. Next day
she gave him a call here, and he could not refuse her extraordinary
request. Gad, it is hardly fair for Jones to be poaching on your domains
of West-End paper!"

Mr. Jones smiled quietly, as he observed, "Why, you see, she is the niece
of one of our best clients; and really I was so taken by surprise, that I
did not know how to refuse."

"Pray," said I, interrupting his excuses, "does your young lady's name
begin with S.? Has she not a very pale face, and cold gray eye?"

The partners stared.

"Ah! I see it is so; and can at once tell you that the bill is not
worth a rush."

"Why, you don't mean--?"

"I mean simply that the acceptance is, I'll lay you a wager, a forgery."

"A forgery!"

"A forgery," I repeated as distinctly as possible.

Mr. Jones hastily, and with broken ejaculations, called for the cash-box.
With trembling hands he took out the bill, and followed my finger with
eager, watchful eyes, as I pointed out the proofs of my assertion. A long
pause was broken by my mocking laugh; for, at the moment, my sense of
politeness could not restrain my satisfaction at the signal defeat which
had attended the first experiment of these highly respectable gentlemen
in the science of usury.

The partners did not have recourse to the police. They did not propose a
consultation with either Mr. Forrester or Mr. Field; but they took
certain steps, under my recommendation; the result of which was that at
an early day, an aunt of the Honorable Miss Snape was driven, to save so
near a connection from transportation, to sell out some fourteen hundred
pounds of stock, and all the forgeries were taken up.

One would have thought that the lady who had thus so narrowly escaped,
had had enough--but forgery, like opium-eating, is one of those charming
vices which is never abandoned, when once adopted. The forger enjoys not
only the pleasure of obtaining money so easily, but the triumph of
befooling sharp men of the world. Dexterous penmanship is a source of the
same sort of pride as that which animates the skillful rifleman, the
practiced duellist, or well-trained billiard-player. With a clean Gillott
he fet