The Works of George W. M. Reynolds — page 246: what you’re looking at

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

THE KING’S BENCH 229 standing this negus in so handsome a manner, I shouldn't mind letting you have my room for about a couple of guineas a week.’ But before the colonel had leisure to answer a single one of the above questions, or give any reply to the proposal concerning the room, the waiter made his appearance with the negus; and the conversation thereupon seemed to take a new impulse and flow into a variety of other channels. “Now, my good fellow,” said the foremost of the party, addressing himself to the colonel in terms as familiar as i he had known him from childhood, ‘“‘ while drinking your health I must beg of you not to take on too much on account of this imprisonment. Lord bless you! it’s nothing when you are accustomed to it. Look at me now.” Colonel Malpas did as he was desired, but could not help thinking that there was nothing very agreeable or pleasant to contemplate in the appearance of a bloated, dissipated, rakish-looking fellow, with long, dry, dirty hair, and linen that seemed to imply that he had forfeited the confidence of his washerwoman. ‘Well, you see me?” continued this individual; ‘ and such as you see me, so J am,” he added, thus enunciating a self-evident proposition. ‘‘ J am just twenty-seven years old, and I’ve been six years in this place. When I came of age I had twenty thousand pounds, all of which I spent in nine months. For three months I played at hide-and-seek; then I got taken and locked up here, and here I’ve been ever since, and am likely to remain God knows how much longer. That’s what I call life;’’ and he burst out into a fit of up- roarious laughter, in which his five companions as boister- ously joined. ‘Well, I’ve seen a little of life, too,’’ remarked the second. “When I came of age I had a thousand pounds, and made everybody believe that I had got a fortune of fifty thousand. So I lived in glorious style, got into debt as much as people would let me, kept hunters, race-horses, and hounds, drove my four-in-hand, gave champagne parties, had a town-house, a country-house, a crib down at Newmarket, another at Melton, and a shooting-box in the Highlands, and thus. kept up a roaring game for two years. At last the smash came. Hverything went to the dogs, and I was brought over here. I’hat was eight years ago, and here I’ve been ever CORNICE OOO Ss (CO)