The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 260: what you’re looking at

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

THE KING’S BENCH 233 that his Royal Highness was no mean adept at securing a die, — or, in other words, cheating most flagrantly. But who could tell a prince that he was a downright sharper, — es- pecially such a gracious prince as that, who robbed you be- fore your very eyes in astyleso well becoming the first gentle- man in Europe! As a matter of course I submitted with the best possible grace to be thus graciously fleeced of all I possessed; and after five or six select little suppers at Carlton House, I was as thoroughly cleaned out by that same gracious prince as it was possible for man to be. Finding myself thus agreeably and pleasantly ruined, and calling to mind the numerous promises which his Royal Highness had so gra- ciously made to provide for me, I ventured to call at Carlton House and explain my exact position to that gracious prince. He listened with his wonted suavity of look while I frankly declared how penniless I was and besought him to lose no time in fulfilling his generous intentions by bestowing a situation upon me. ‘ And so you have got no more money? ’ his Royal Highness was most graciously pleased to observe. ‘ Not a farthing, sir,’ I answered. ‘ Then, damn your eyes,’ he exclaimed, becoming quite purple in the face, ‘ what the devil business have you here?’ and, turning upon his heel, he rang the bell for me to be shown out. Reduced to despair by this proceeding, and being painfully brought to the conviction that his Royal Highness was the most ungracious prince in the world, I plunged headlong into all kinds of dissipation to drown care. Dissipation led to extravagance, extravagance to debt, and debt to the King’s Bench, where I have been for the last four years, and mean to stop because I can manage to pick up a guinea by hook or by crook within these walls, which I should be somewhat puzzled to do out- side.” Our readers will not have failed to observe that despite all their previous blusterings, vapourings, and boastings about well-filled purses, lost purses, lent money, cheque- books, and so forth, the half-dozen gentlemen really and truly were reduced to the sad alternative of living upon their wits, even within the walls of a debtors’ gaol, where it might be thought that everybody’s wits were too sharp to permit the possibility of being lived upon by any save their owners. It will likewise have been observed that when once the half-dozen comrades had induced the colonel to COUN (A) LOOKS (CO)