mind yar! Now the basin. The next I shall do,' he added, having fixed the basin upon his head, with the view of conveying an idea of the petasus, 'is Mercury. Now, Mercury, mind yar, was an out-and-out thief. He began werry early. We hear a great talk in the present day about juvenile delinquency, but what do you think of him? he stole a whole lot of cows the very day he was born! Look at that. He couldn't have began much earlier, mind yar!But he rayley was howdacious; indeed, so howdacious they made him a god. He is what they call, mind yar, the tutelary god of pickpockets and merchants. He presides over the artful classes of the community. "On the fifteenth of every blessed May it was regular for the Merchants of Rome to hold a festival in honor of him, mind yar, when they sacrificed a whole lot of animal's tongues, to induce him to whitewash them, mind yar, from all the artful measures they had used and all the falsehoods they had uttered in the regular way of business. This shows yer how much he was respected for being an ingenious swell, and ingenuity will be respected, not only among merchants and pick-pockets, mind yar, but wherever it is to be found. Now then,' he added, this is him! What d'yer think of that, Petar?' Again he was loudly applauded, and having remained in Mercury's most approved position for a sufficient length of time, he half extinguished the immortal Peter with the basin, and said: Now Petar! the sarcepan lid and the carvingknife, mind yar!' But Peter, who had been more than half strangled, declined the honor of approaching the ta ble again; Cavendish, however, handed the articles in question, and the Beauty returned. 'Now, mind yar,' said he, this Achilles was a warrior, which his mother plunged into the Styx when a child, and made every inch of him inwulnerable, except the heel by which she held on. Now as his mother didn't like him to go to war, she disguised him as a female; but as he made himself familiar with the ladies about the court he was soon discovered, mind yar; and when she had got Vulcan to make him a suit of armor, proof against all weapons in the world, he went to war, and did great execution. Well, after cutting away for about ten years, he fell in love with a girl which Paris thought he'd the best right to; and therefore while Achilles was courting her in the temple, Paris stuck an arrow into his wulnerable heel, and thus settled his business. But that's not the pint. The pint is when he's fighting, and then he stood in this way, mind yar, and a capital position it is.' Having sufficiently illustrated the beauty of this position, he descended amidst loud applause; and while he was carefully putting on his clothes behind the screen, the immortal Peter was engaged in reloading the table. George, however, felt that it was then high time for them to separate; and as this feeling appeared to be generally prevalent, they almost simultaneously rose, and having expressed themselves delighted with the evening's entertainment, had bumpers round and parted. PART 4. CHAPTER VI. "The fighting gladiator, mind yar, is the next. Now the gladiators of Rome were all werry brave fellows, but they never had a fair stand-up fight. They knowed little or nothing about real science. They wouldn't fight with their naked fists, they would have something in them, which, mind yar, was not at all the thing. It was all werry well, you know, when Spartacus led 'em on to knock down the soldiers, because they de- GEORGE COMMENCES A SPECULATION WITH HIS served it; but, had they lived in the present day, they wouldn't have been suffered to enter the ring. This is the way they used to spar; but come up here, Petar!-let you into a secret!' The Immortal declined this polite invitation, and the Beauty proceeded Now,' said he, when he had done with the gladiator, 'I shall now show yar Hercules a struggling with the Neman lion. This Hercules was a rattler. There was no mistake about him When an infant in the cradle, he settled the business of a couple of sarpents by taking and squeeging 'em to death. After that he killed a lion, but it wasn't the other lion, it was another, and then what they call his twelve labors, commenced. Well, the first of these labors was the catching and killing of the out-and-out lion of Nemæa, and when he had caught him, this here is the position in which he then stood.' He then suddenly seized the immortal Peter by the throat, with the view of illustrating this position with the greatest possible effect, and it cannot be denied that it was most effective. 'Now the last I shall give yar is Achilles,' he continued, having let the Immortal loose. HIGHNESS THE CAZIQUE OF POYAIS." There is probably nothing which tends to destroy the business of professional swindlers more than the practice of imprisoning persons for debt. It is a wise law which says in effect, 'Make many rogues that roguery may not be confined to a few:' it is wise, because by confining roguish practices to a few, you create a monopoly, and monopolies being pernicious, ought not to be upheld. Trade ought to be open, it ought to be free,competition ought clearly to be unlimited; and to prove that our rulers have for ages understood and appreciated the importance of this proposition, they have established and supported various beautiful prisons designed exclusively for debtors, in the perfect conviction that they are the only universities in England in which the education of men possessed of rotten principles, can be rendered complete. Nor is the benefit confined to men whose principles may be said to be too far gone to be restored;the instruction imparted comprehends even the elements of roguery; tyros are taught with amazing expedition; nay, even those who have no wish to learn, get in a short time so thorough flights of stone steps, and when at length he had arrived at the particular door to which he had been directed, he gave not a loud but a most decided knock. 'Come in,' cried a person in a deep commanding tone; and George on entering discovered the Prince of Poyais-a fine, tall, handsome fellow in a Highland dress-carefully cooking a couple of mutton chops. [See Illustration on next page.] General McGregor I believe I have the henor to address?' said George, bowing. 'Mc Gregor is my name.' 'My name is Julian. I have called at the sug gestion of Mr. Cavendish, with the view of ascertaining if any thing can be done with the land which I understand you have on the Mosquito shore. But I beg you'll not allow me to interrupt you,' added George, waving his hand towards the chops, I am quite a domestic man myself.' ly grounded in the science, that it may with per Now George, who had studied this subject rather deeply, and who would have had fraud punished by imprisonment, but not poverty, which he conceived was sufficiently punished by the evils it engendered, did not, when he went to see the Prince of Poyais, expect to find an immaculate man. He knew that he had been in the Fleet for some months, while he also knew that a single week's residence there was enough te corrupt any man breathing, however spotless he might have been when he entered, unless, indeed, he possessed sufficient strength of mind to spurn the specious sophistries with which in a prison the imagination teems. But who could tell that this Prince of Poyais was not a strong minded man! He had evidently been a man of courage! He had distinguished himself, moreover, in a profession in which honor is held to be dearer than life. It was probable, highly probable, that he had escaped contamination, and George, who was not too prone to prejudice, allowed this probability to have its full weight when he called upon him in order to see what could be done. Having entered the Fleet, he ascended several You are very polite,' said McGregor, as he placed a chair with his right hand, while holding one of the chops on a fork in his left, 'I cannot, of course, prevail upon you to join me?' 'Oh! I'll take a chop with you with pleasure Me Gregor, who was then extremely poor, held this to be about as bad as robbing a church. He, nevertheless, did—as well as he could under the existing circumstances-screw up a smile, with the view of conveying some idea of the extent to which he felt himself honored; and proceeded to cook the very chop which, being the finest, he felt that he should be, as a matter of common courtesy, compelled to surrender. 'As you have not, I presume, your servant here, General,' said George, you will probably allow me to order the porter?" "Oh, by no means; I beg you'll not trouble yourself. Oh, dear me, no; I'm ashamed-' 'Oh, allow me. The chops will be done by the time I return, and then we can sit down comfortably together.' McGregor offered no farther opposition. He did not, in fact, feel himself justified in doing so, considering that he had not a single shilling in his pocket. 'It will not be so bad, after all, as I expected,' thought he, as George quitted the room. 'I don't see how he can order less than a pot, and that's fivepence, while the chop cost only threepence halfpenny. It's a very fair set off, I mustn't grumble; I only wish he'd at the same time order a loaf of bread.' While he was thus engaged with his own private thoughts, George, who had heard of his being, in a pecuniary point of view, in a wretched condition, ordered not only porter, but a bottle of sherry, trusting to his own tact to open it without wounding McGregor's feelings. Having paid for these articles, he returned to the room, and found the General, who had just done cooking, very anxious to make every thing on the table appear to the best advantage. 'These are the places,' said he, as George entered, 'to subdue à man's pride, Mr. Julian.' 'A man can be more independent,' returned George, 'in a place like this than he can be at home, which at all events is an advantage. But are you an artist, General?' he added, pointing to the walls, which were adorned with a number of highly grotesque sketches. 'No, they were not done by me, but they are very amusing. They were done by an extremely clever fellow who used to occupy this room, a man of genius, sir, the first artist in his time of the day. But prisons appear to be the home of genius it is strange, but it is so; mark my words.' At this moment the man brought the porter and the wine, and when McGregor saw the bottle, he brightened up, but felt bound to ask what George had been doing. 'Mr Julian,' he added, on perceiving 'Sherry' stamped upon the cork, I must not allow this! It is not right at all; You surely have not paid for it?' 'Why, General, as you so politely invited me to take a chop with you, how could I do less?" 'Mr. Julian, it is really too bad. It is, indeed, much too bad. However, I'll not be offended; but I'll have my revenge, mark my words.' world. But it is not the land alone I look at, although that, if employed for agricultural purposes only, would yield a brilliant fortune-it is at the mines of wealth beneath sir, for, mark my words, there is not such a place in the universe for mines as Poyais.' 'It is, I presume, absolutely your own?' "Oh! that I can prove beyond doubt,' replied McGregor, drawing a document from his writing desk. Here is the grant." George looked at this document, which was signed George Frederic Augustus, King of the Musquito-shore,' in favor of 'His Highness McGregor, Cazique of Poyais.' This appears to be perfectly correct,' said George, having perused it with care. 'Well; what are your views?' 'Why, I am anxious to raise money upon the property in some way, depositing this as security; or I should not be indisposed even to sell it out and out.' 'It will be difficult, I apprehend, to find a purchaser,' said George; and I fear that upon such security alone you will never be able to raise a shilling. But what sort of people are the inhabitants civilized or savage?' 'Why, they have not had the advantage of European institutions, of course, but they are a fine, energetic, intelligent people, equal to anything; bold, courageous, full of activity and spirit.' And the country itself; is the climate salubrious?' "The finest climate in the world!-it never rains, the dews of night alone supply sufficient moisture; you may live there for years without seeing a cloud. It is a lovely country-I have travelled much in my time, as you must be aware, but I never in my life was in a country more beautiful than that.' 'It would be then an excellent place for British emigrants?' 'Admirable! mark my words, sir, that is the very country to which they ought to go,—the very country.' Well!' said George, who conceived the idea of raising the benighted Indians in the social scale, by imparting to them the blessings of civilization; 'in that case it strikes me that something may be done. Is this king an intellectual man?' 'Highly intellectual.' 'A man of comprehensive views?' 'He has a mind, sir, capable of grasping the affairs of an entire world." 'And you acquired, I presume, considerable influence over him while you were there?' 'So much that I could induce him to do any thing 1 pleased; in fact he had, although I say it, the most perfect confidence in my judgment.' All which is decidedly in our favor. Now, General, do you think that by explaining to him the mode by which civilized states amass wealth, by pointing out to him the advantages which spring from the introduction of artificial wants, and by proving to him how easily they may be taxed when they become real, you could prevail upon him to join you in an honorable scheme, whereby his revenues might be greatly increased, and the condition of his people materially improved?' 'I have not the slightest doubt of it.' 'If he can be induced to do that, I see my way in this matter pretty clearly.' "Oh! I'd stake my existence that he would not for a moment hesitate. But how do you propose to proceed?' 'First, to obtain his full and formal authority for raising a loan, and when that has been obtained, I'll undertake to raise it.' 'Exactly cried McGregor, whose countenance in an instant brightened up into an expression of rapture. Exactly; I see!—oh, I'll write to him at once!' 'But it cannot be done by writing. 'Not to be done by writing, eh? How then is it to be done?' 'He must be seen and consulted!-an affair of this kind is not to be accomplished by a letter! The better plan will be for you to go over to him, and bring back with you his authority, and all the security he can offer.' 'Go over?-Go over to Poyais' cried Mc Gregor, whose countenance fell; 'can it not be done without that "' 'No other course can be effectual. 'But how can I go over, my good friend? In the first place, you must have forgotton where we are. 'No, I have not. But I presume that you are not here for a very heavy sum?' No;, it isn't very heavy; and yet it is under the circumstances too-it is nearly sixty pounds Sixty pounds. Well, that must be managed. Do you see any other objection?' 'Mr Julian, you deal so ingenuously with me, that you compel me to be equally candid with you. The fact is, sir, I cannot go over; 1 haven't a shilling. The dress I now wear is the only one I have in my possession, and that claymore which you see standing yonder, and which has saved my life fifty times, must follow the rest of my property in the morning. I am not, therefore, in a position to go. The trip alone would cost nearly a hundred pounds. "Well, believing you to be a strictly honorable man-believing that throughout this business you intend to deal as justly with me as 1 mean to deal with you, I'll venture to say that even that may be managed. At all events, you may calculate on being out of this place in the course of to-morrow. Let me have the address of your detaining creditor, and I'll do the best I can with him; but, McGregor, as I am not a rich man, as I am struggling through life like yourself you must pledge me your honor that, whether failure or success be the result of our project, you will be firm in the adherence to that just course which can alone permanently bind man to man. 'My dear friend,' said McGregor, who was nearly overcome by the ingenuous earnestness of George, 'what can I say-by what can I swear? Propose your own oath, and I'll most freely take it.' 'Me Gregor,' said George, he who does not feel sufficiently bound by his own word of hon or can be secured by no oath. 1 believe you, as I said before, to be a strictly honorable man, but I am anxious to impress upon your mind that if you deceive me, situated as 1 am, you may involve me in ruin. Pledge me your honor, my friend, and I shall be satisfied that, what. ever may occur, that pledge will not be broken.' "Then I give you that pledge, Mr. Julian, with perfect sincerity; I give it unreservedly, sir, with all my heart! By my sacred honor, Mr. Julian, I swear that you shall never, on any point, however minute or apparently unimportant, be deceived in this or any other matter by me.' 'I am satisfied,' said George, 'quite satisfied. I firmly believe that I shall not be deceived, and I shall therefore do all in my power to serve you. I might have felt myself secure in the full con viction of your being bound by interest to deal justly with me, seeing that this is no pitiful project, but one which, if successful, will be the means of placing us both in a position of independence; but as men will sometimes take strangely erroneous views of their own interest, I have learned to regard that as no security at all. But we have said quite enough on this subject-you understand my object in pressing it so far. I am perfectly satisfied with the pledge you have given, and to-morrow I think you may fairly calculate upon being a free man. I will first call upon an influential friend of mine in the city, who, I have no doubt, will join us in this speculation, and then I will go direct to this person this creditor of yours, and come to some arrangement with him. In the mean time,' he added, taking a five pound note ont of his pocket-book, 'I want you to make use of that. Nay! nay!-I merely lend it-and that for my own sake as well as yours. You'll certainly catch cold if you come out in that kilt, and a cold might be the means of delaying our proceedings.' Mr. Julian,' said McGregor, taking the hand of George and looking at him earnestly, 'I don't know how to thank you.' 'Well then, don't attempt to do it at all. shall be quite as well satisfied.' I 'But I do thank you-ay, from my heart, and my actions shall prove to you how highly I appreciate your kindness.' Well, well, let us say no more about it; let us direct all our thoughts to the object proposed. For the present I leave you: I may look in again in the course of the evening, to let you know how I get on.' McGregor again and again expressed his thanks as he accompanied George to the gate, where he described the anxiety he should feel during his absence. Pray let me see you this evening' said he 'I shall be on the rack until I see you again.' I will at all events write,' returned George, if I find it impossible to come; but depend upon it, General, if I can, I will be here.' Thank you! God bless you, my good friend, adieu.' George then took his leave, and with the feel George smiled, and that smile lighted up Bull's countenance in an instant, Have you any thing fresh?' he inquired. 'Why I do think of raising a loan!" "Ah!-yes!-well!-well!-What is it?' 'Have you any appointment here?' 'No, my dear boy; and if I had-but 1 havn't: come, where shall we go?' To your office, if you like.' "Very well, let's be off,' said Bull, impatiently thrusting his arm in George's, and dragging him along. Is it a good thing, my boy? Is it a good thing?' 'I think so.' Then I'm sure of it, I am. I can't guess what it is, but I feel that it's good, I do. What's the loan for, and about what amount?' "Oh, perhaps half a million or more: we shall see.' They now reached the office, and having passed into Bull's private room, George related the substance of what had transpired between him and McGregor. With this relation Bull was delighted. 'Oh!' he exclaimed, we'll get up the loan, my dear boy, and then I'll introduce it to the house.' The Stock Exchange you mean?' "Of course.' "That will be of great importance.' 'It will take, it will. Nothing could be better. It'll do, my dear boy: it's a hit! this McGregor must be off as soon as possible, he must. Let. me see sixty pounds to get him out, and a hundred to send him over, and then he wants a few pounds himself, say the whole will amount to two hundred: two hundred-can he give no security? How do we know he'll come back again? Deep dogs these Scotchmen, very slippery they are. We ought to have some security what do you think?" Decidedly, if he has any to offer: but if he has not?' It's a large sum of money, is two hundred pounds; and he's a stranger to us, he is.' True; but I nevertheless feel disposed to trust him. Besides, in the event of success, it will be an excellent thing for him as well as for us.' "We have him there; yes, I think we have him there; still there's nothing like tangible security. He may die on his passage, he may, there's no telling.' "Then we had better, perhaps, insure his life before he starts,' said George, smiling. You see that'll cost five or six pounds!' 'I think we may risk it! At all events, we must in this case either do that or nothing.' |