Titmouse; his own guest, in violation of all the laws
of hospitality. Tag-rag furiously alleged the imposition which had been
practised on him by Titmouse; but seemed quite collapsed when Gammon
assured him that that circumstance would not afford him the slightest
justification. Having satisfied Tag-rag that he was entirely at the
mercy of Titmouse, who might subject him to both fine and imprisonment,
Mr. Gammon proceeded to open his eyes to their widest stare of
amazement, by assuring him that Titmouse had been hoaxing him, and that
he was really in the dazzling position in which he had been first
represented by Gammon to Tag-rag; that every week brought him nearer to
the full and uncontrolled enjoyment of an estate in Yorkshire, worth
L10,000 a-year at the very lowest; that it was becoming an object of
increasing anxiety to them (Messrs. Quirk, Gammon, and Snap) to keep him
out of the hands of money-lenders, who, as usual in such cases, had
already scented out their victim, and so forth. Tag-rag turned very
white, and felt sick at heart in the midst of all his wonder. Oh, and
his daughter had lost the golden prize! and through _his_ misconduct! He
could have sunk into the cellar!--Mr. Gammon declared that he could not
account for the singular conduct of Mr. Titmouse on the melancholy
occasion in question, except by referring it to the excellent wines
which he had too freely partaken of at Satin Lodge, added (said Gammon,
with an exquisite expression of features which perfectly fascinated
Tag-rag) to a "certain tenderer influence" which had fairly laid
prostrate the faculties of the young and enthusiastic Titmouse; that
there could be no doubt of his real motive in the conduct alluded to,
namely, a desire to test the sincerity and disinterestedness of a
"certain person's" attachment before he let all his fond and passionate
feelings go out towards her--[At this point the perspiration burst from
every pore in the devoted body of Tag-rag]--and that no one could
deplore the unexpected issue of his little experiment so much as now did
Titmouse.

Tag-rag really, for a moment, scarcely knew where he was, who was with
him, nor whether he stood on his head or his heels, so delightful and
entirely unexpected was the issue of Mr. Gammon's visit. As soon as his
faculties had somewhat recovered themselves from their temporary
confusion, almost breathless, he assured Gammon that no event in the
whole course of his life had occasio