lady has the bad taste to be obstinate, and will
none of me, I still think that her happiness, or her peace of mind,
will be as dear to Martigny, as Gibraltar is to the Spaniards, and
that he will sacrifice a great deal to induce me to give up my
pretensions. Now, I shall want some one to act as my agent in
communicating with this fellow; for I will not deny that my old
appetite for cutting his throat may awaken suddenly, were I to hold
personal intercourse with him. Come thou, therefore, without delay,
and hold my back-hand--Come, for you know me, and that I never left
a kindness unrewarded. To be specific, you shall have means to pay
off a certain inconvenient mortgage, without troubling the tribe of
Issachar, if you will be but true to me in this matter--Come,
therefore, without further apologies or further delay. There shall,
I give you my word, neither be risk or offence in the part of the
drama which I intend to commit to your charge.

"Talking of the drama, we had a miserable attempt at a sort of
bastard theatricals, at Mowbray's rat-gnawed mansion. There were two
things worth noticing--One, that I lost all the courage on which I
pique myself, and fairly fled from the pit, rather than present
myself before Miss Clara Mowbray, when it came to the push. And upon
this I pray you to remark, that I am a person of singular delicacy
and modesty, instead of being the Drawcansir and Daredevil that you
would make of me. The other memorabile is of a more delicate nature,
respecting the conduct of a certain fair lady, who seemed determined
to fling herself at my head. There is a wonderful degree of
freemasonry among us folk of spirit; and it is astonishing how soon
we can place ourselves on a footing with neglected wives and
discontented daughters. If you come not soon, one of the rewards
held out to you in my former letter, will certainly not be
forthcoming. No schoolboy keeps gingerbread, for his comrade,
without feeling a desire to nibble at it; so, if you appear not to
look after your own interest, say you had fair warning. For my own
part, I am rather embarrassed than gratified by the prospect of such
an affair, when I have on the tapis another of a different nature.
This enigma I will explain at meeting.

"Thus finishes my long communication. If my motives of action do not
app