TWENTY-ONE. 261 



whom my father's injudiciously large ex- 

 penditure and liberality had set at liberty, 

 was the first to take advantage of his want 

 of penetration and knowledge of our spe- 

 cies or, to speak more plainly, of the arts 

 and villany of mankind. 



I have dwelt thus long upon the first 

 step towards the ruin of my hitherto 

 prosperous parent and his family; and as 

 in the course of this narrative I shall 

 have occasion to revert to this unhappy 

 subject, I will merely observe that 

 when he first entertained the offer of 

 his professed friend, it is more than 

 probable that a consideration for me 

 and my prospects influenced him to ac- 

 cept it. 



I had now arrived at the age of 

 twenty-one, when young men look for a 

 participation in the advantages their pa- 

 rents may have reaped for them, and 

 have it in their power, without difficulty 

 or inconvenience, to bestow. There was 



