nds. And I have known him
fulfil his boast, with a heart as light, too, as became a man who thus
made the credulous fools of the world his bankers.

I was needy, desperate, and an outcast; and I linked my destiny with
Fitzroy's. He had my confidence; such confidence as confederates in
knavery can bestow. When he obtained his liberty, which he did shortly
after my own was accomplished, he introduced me to his companions; men
who, like himself, lived by plundering the unwary, and who looked up to
him as their _Magnus Apollo_. I was soon initiated in all their
mysteries; and played my part to admiration at the gaming-table, on the
race course, and in the ring.

Fitzroy was master of the secret that festered near my heart; the
increased and increasing hatred towards my uncle. I regarded him as
my evil genius; for not only had he thwarted me in two of the dearest
objects of my life; but his prediction of my boyhood had clung to me
like a poisoned garment. I could not shake it off; and now, more than
ever, it seemed accomplishing itself with rapid strides. It made me mad
when I reflected upon the polluted channels through which _my_
precarious means flowed, and thought of the luxurious enjoyments which
_his_ opulence commanded. It was true, I had dashed his cup with
bitterness; but it was no less true, that it still flowed with sweets,
while mine was brimming with gall. Fitzroy would often talk to me upon
this subject, and devise schemes for a successful inroad upon his purse.
At length a plan was matured between us, in which I could not appear,
but which Fitzroy, and a picked few of our associates, undertook to
execute.

My uncle had always been passionately fond of the course, and prided
himself upon his stud of racers. He betted largely, and was generally
fortunate, probably because he selected his men with a wary eye.
The race course, then, was the arena chosen for the enterprise; but
admirable as were the projected plans, and skilfully as they were
executed, such was his luck, or so profound were his calculations, that
they failed _five_ successive seasons. Fitzroy, however, was one of
those men who, when satisfied that what they engage in ought to succeed,
according to the means employed, only derive fresh vigour from every
fresh defeat. He played his game a _sixth_ time, and won. The same
day that saw my uncle rise with thousands, saw him seek his pillow at
night, a frantic beggar! He was too proud a man, too honour