Sample of some Gentleman* a Autobiography. 27 



A bold project now occurred to me. Gideon had that morning given me 

 a taste of the hyaena cudgel, and my respect for him was at an end. Fol- 

 lowing my friend, I tapped him on the shoulder, and paid him a compli- 

 ment on his being alive after the affair on the hill. " What does the fellow 

 mean ?" said he. " Mr. Thornhose," I replied, " concealment 1 scorn ; 

 how is Miss Betsey ?" 



He recognized me at once ; and my candour, or, as he termed it, assur- 

 ance, quite disconcerted him. "I am in your debt, sir," I added, "and 

 may, perhaps, before we separate, find means, at least in part, to do the 

 needful." His face brightened, and he exclaimed, "Then you propose 

 of course to choke me off with the money you maced out of Mrs. Robin- 

 son or rather, I should say, her protector Lord Timothy." 



I turned ghastly, and enquired how he had become acquainted with 

 any transactions, in which my name was mixed up with those of the lady 

 and gentleman he had mentioned. 



" To be frank," he replied, " I act, occasionally, in very delicate mat- 

 ters, as agent and professional adviser for Lord Timothy, and assisted 

 him to raise the money with which you were paid. It was not until after 

 the mischief had been done, that I heard, accidentally, that you, even you, 

 were the plaintiff. Of course I saw directly that the job was a dead rob- 

 bery j and Mrs. Robinson, while in the whirlwind of her indignation at 

 your conduct, dropped some expressions that induced us to put your name 

 in The Hue and Cry. We soon heard of you at the Redstart, and went 

 down With a Bow-street officer, who, poor fellow, had his collar-bone 

 broken by the fall j while Lord Timothy and myself escaped with only a 

 few bruises. Raising the country at once, we soon laid hold of a young 

 fellow in your clothes, who gave us so accurate a description of the dress 

 you had exchanged with him, that we got upon your track, and, after 

 having been thrice thrown out, winded you again, and here we are. But 

 now about this money ?" 



I told him precisely how I had parted with it, and earnestly entreated 

 him to exert his genius against Gideon. " Give me," said I, " but a single 

 20L note, and you're welcome to the rest, if you can get it : and I think 

 (although I am no match for him single-handed), that between us we can 

 make something of him." He smiled complacently, and observing that 

 Lord Timothy, who now joined us, in some points was no fool, proposed 

 that we should immediately adjourn to the caravan, and see what could 

 be done. By the way, I mentioned some particulars as to Gideon, which 

 might be turned to advantage, without absolutely infringing the law 5 but 

 as to that, neither Thornhose nor Lord Timothy seemed at all over-nice. 



We found Gideon at put with a bumpkin, whom he speedily despatched 

 to make room for the promising victims I had picked up. I contrived to 

 let him know that one was a Lord of zoological notoriety (which was the 

 fact), and that both had money about them. After a few single games 

 between Gideon and Thornhose, on the dromedary's bunch, while Lord 

 Timothy inspected the collection, a proposal for a square game was made, 

 and we adjourned to a table in the caravan. Juno, of course, was 

 Gideon's partner, and Thornhose Lord Timothy's. I was amazed 

 to find that the two latter could play put Thornhose well, but Lord 

 Timothy capitally. He had studied, during his minority, among the 

 racing grooms at Newmarket, and, as I soon perceived, could beat Gideon 

 with ease, either at fair-play or cheating. As Lord Timothy and his 



