SOME GENTLEMAN'S AUTOBIOGIIAPHY. 169 



remainder of the week.' All this was done; or, rather, the Banker 

 was done the compliment of exchanging Bank-of-England and 

 Messrs. So-and-So's paper for his own fives,, dazzled him." 



" But where was the harm, Sir?" inquired Ralph. 



te That's the point" quoth Harry, who had crawled over the roof 

 and taken his seat beside me ; " how could things be more right, or 

 more squarerer ? The gemman seems to have been a gemman - 

 every inch of him, as / should say, and knocks about his hundreds 

 like nine-pins. If a few sich as him did but ride by thy coach eh, 

 Ralph?" 



" You're a couple of fools!" quoth the respectable Banker. 

 " You, Sir," added he, addressing his humble servant (myself) 

 " doubtless perceive " 



" Clearly," interrupted I : "he has now drawn a second time on 

 the London firm : first for four hundred-and-fifty, and now for five 

 hundred, although, apparently, he had not more than the latter 

 amount in their hands ! " 



" Just so ; and what do you think he did, at a place only ten 

 miles more westward ?" 



" Heaven knows where his effrontery would end !" 



" Why, Sir, he got a banker to come to his inn, as before, and 

 told the old story : 'I've opened two little accounts,' said he, ' at 

 A. and B. (naming the towns he had come through), but I am 

 advised that neither of them will be sufficiently centrical for my 

 purposes. I must, therefore, though with some reluctance, transfer 

 the two accounts to your house, which is more convenient to the 

 arena of my operations. And yet no upon reflection, as they've 

 been very civil, it would not be gentlemanly, at one fell swoop, to bring 

 matters to a balance. Let me see (exhibiting his vouchers) on the 

 first, instead of for four-hundred-and- fifty, I'll only write for three 

 hundred; from the second, instead of seven-hundred-and-fifty, I'll 

 only take five hundred ; and, to secure myself against any inconve- 

 nience that might arise from the deficiency, I'll draw in your favour 

 on my bankers in town for three or four hundreds. I paid in Jive 

 last night (shewing the receipt), in the event of an emergency. 

 Here are two fifties, Bank-of-England notes, for which you '11 oblige 

 me with your more negotiable paper. I '11 draw on you at once for 

 three hundred, and you '11 give me your acknowledgment for the 

 balance, which will be how much ? Three and five are eight, and 

 five are thirteen hundred pounds/ " 



" I begin to smoke," said Harry ; " he's made five hundred clear 

 booty, and increased what you calls his wouchers to nigh upon three 

 thousand. Crikey ! what a genus !" 



'' I suppose," quoth Ralph 4 " he went down along at the rate of 

 arithmetical progression drawing upon all, and sacking a large 

 amount at every town." 



" Precisely so," rejoined the Banker ; " and by the time he 

 reached the seaport, which was the preconcerted bourne of his 

 operations, he had nearly three thousand pounds in his pocket, which, 

 with the assistance of a Jew, and at a slight per centage, he turned 

 into gold, and embarked for the Continent/' 



M. M, No. 92. Z 



