The Mysteries of the Court of London — page 363: what you’re looking at

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

330 THE COURT OF LONDON the dinner served up in the evening as he had shown toward the lunch in the afternoon, and Horace happened to be in one of those humours when the rattling, offhand, miscellaneous conversation of such a man as Tash was welcomed as the means of dispelling ennui. The captain, keeping in view the mission which he had received from the Marquis of Leveson, failed not to speak of all the pleasures, delights, and enjoyments of London life in the most rapturous terms, and he described various places of recreation and amusement with which Horace was previously unacquainted except by name. Tash like- wise made his noble host understand that it was absolutely necessary for him to have an excellent stud of horses, in order to sustain the dignity of his position, and Horace, well knowing that his gallant friend was a good judge of horse- flesh, at once gave an order to procure a few thoroughbreds. After continuing in this strain for some time, the captain — who, by the bye, was drinking his wine out of tumblers, he having a mortal contempt for such ‘“ thimblefuls”’ as wine-glasses — launched forth into the most magniloquent praises of Lady Sackville, and at length, slapping his noble entertainer familiarly upon the shoulder, he exclaimed, ““'You possess a treasure of a wife, my lord, a veritable treasure, my lord. And mark, I, Rolando Tash, tell you so. If anybody dares deny it, I will flay him alive. My man Robin admires her, and he is no bad judge, let me tell you, and all the world admires her, which is of course very flatter- ing for your lordship. But when I say that her ladyship is a treasure, I mean what I say. In fact — and here, my lord, I can’t do better than drink my nineteenth tumbler of port to her ladyship’s health — in fact,’’ continued Tash, having drained the capacious glass, “ her ladyship is a treasure of beauty and a treasure of wealth. Depend upon it, that whatever money your lordship might require for your own purposes, her ladyship can obtain it.” ‘“ What on earth do you mean? ”’ demanded Horace, not knowing whether the captain meant to allude to Venetia’s somewhat equivocal position or not. ‘“Never do you mind, my lord, what I mean,” answered the captain, as he despatched his twentieth tumbler. “I mean what I say, and you may be assured that I know what I mean. Only just try the next time you want money, Gomicbooks (E(0)