The Freemason's Daughter: A Novel — page 178: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE FREEMASONS DAUGHTER. 169 Such fellows are sure to be made trustees to orphans, executors to wills, and treasurers to charities —offices which fools only, according to their ideas, perform the duties of without contriving to get fat upon them. Our readers will recollect that Grindem had promised to call or send to Flin’s den by ten o’clock that same night—so that there was not much time to lose in re- flection. A hundred times did he imagine and reject as impracticable some project to obtain the papers with- out the sacrifice of his money. It was impossible— Flin was not a person to be trifled with; and Small, with a desperate resolution, finally made up his mind to forestall his partner; visit the cellar at nine, and obtain the papers, even at the sacrifice of that which he valued more than his worthless life—his gold—the dis- honest scrapings of his dishonest industry. Despite his long accumulated arrears of hatred against Grindem, it is more than probable that at the last moment avarice would have prevailed over revenge, had not his partner, during the day, treated him with more than usual insolence. It is the last drop which fills the cup: and Small swore, though it should cost him his last guinea, to pay him back scorn for scorn—force him to swallow, drop by drop, the gall and wormwood which had been his own daily draught for years. The little man had returned to the outer office, and was standing in his usual position by the fire, when COniiclooecl SS (SO