at the
proposition, and lent himself to the scheme, informing me of the whole
circumstances--well, all right--we determined to give the old one
a benefit--dined with him to-day--a very snug party--devilish good
dinner--superb wines--drank freely--punished his claret--and having
knocked about Saint Hugh's bones{7} until I was five thousand in pocket,
politely took my leave, without giving the parties their revenge. Never
saw a finer scene in the course of my life-such queer looks, and long
faces, and smothered wailings when they found themselves done by a brace
of gudgeons, whom they had calculated upon picking to the very bones!
Come, old fellows, a toast: Here's Fishmonger's Hall, and may every
suspected gudgeon prove a shark."

The bottle now circulated freely, and the open-hearted Rattle delighted
us with the relation of some college anecdotes, which I shall reserve
for a hearty laugh when we meet. The company continued to increase
with the appearance of morning; and here might be seen the abandoned
profligate, with his licentious female companion, completing the
night's debauch by the free use of intoxicating liquors--the ruined
spendthrift, fresh from the gaming-table, loudly calling for wine, to
drown the remembrance of his folly, and abusing the drowsy waiter only
to give utterance to his irritated feelings. In a snug corner might be
seen a party of sober, quiet-looking gentlemen, taking their lobster and
bucellas, whose first appearance would impress you with the belief of
their respectability, but whom, upon inquiry, you would discover to be
Greek banditti, retired hither to divide their ill gotten spoils. It was
among a party of this description that Rattle pointed out a celebrated
writer, whose lively style and accurate description of

7 Saint Hugh's bones, a cant phrase for dice.

~214~~ men and manners display no common mind. Yet here he was seen
associated with the most depraved of the human species--the gambler by
profession, the common cheat! What wonder that such connexions should
have compelled him for a time to become an exile to his country, and on
his return involved him in a transaction that has ended in irretrievable
ruin and disgrace? "By the honour of my ancestry," said Lionise,
"yonder is that delectable creature, old Crony, the dinner many that
is the most surprising animal we have yet found among the modern
discoveries--polite to and point--always well dressed--keeps the best
society-