$6 ' THE DANEBURY CONFEDERACY ' 



agreed to do. The horse won ; and the next day Hill 

 was asked for the money, according to custom, at the 

 White Hart, opposite the rooms, in the presence of a 

 motley group. 



'I did not put it on,' was the reply, 'and forgot to 

 declare so before the race.' 



The excuse was too lame to be admitted for a moment ; 

 and, in an intolerable if natural rage, Mr. Rayner de- 

 nounced him in no measured terms as a scoundrel, and 

 the very prince of the low profession he so ably repre- 

 sented. Hill made no reply. He stood mute and 

 motionless, his countenance blanched with fear. He 

 felt the accusation keenly, although it is likely it was 

 not the first occasion on which his word had been ques- 

 tioned. 



' The wretch that often has deceived, 

 Though truth he speak, is ne'er believed.' 



I do not introduce the couplet with any intention to 

 suggest that Hill was likely to be speaking the truth ; 

 but merely to show that, owing to his antecedents, he 

 would not have been believed if he had done so. The 

 truth of this incident is undoubted. I had it irom a 

 gentleman still living, who witnessed the scene and 

 heard every word that passed. This, with other things, 

 will give a pretty clear notion of what Mr. Hill's char- 

 acter was even in his business transactions, in which it 

 behoves men the most dishonest to be circumspect and 

 correct in their dealings with their customers, or they 

 would soon have none to deal with. 



From betting, and his other curious transactions on 

 the turf, Harry Hill soon amassed a princely fortune, 

 the whole of which, miser as he was, he did not retain 

 to the end. He was always to be seen in the evening 



