50 'OLD q' 



' " My Lord March has not one, but several devils. 

 He loves gambling, he loves horse-racing, he loves 

 betting, he loves drinking, he loves eating, he loves 

 money, he loves women, and you have fallen into bad 

 company, Mr. Warrington, when you lighted upon his 

 lordship. He will play you for every acre you have in 

 Virginia." 



' " With the greatest pleasure in life, Mr. Warring- 

 ton ! " interposes my lord. 



' " And for all your tobacco, and for all your spices, 

 and for all your slaves, and for all your oxen and asses," 



'"Unfortunately, my lord, the tobacco, and the 

 slaves, and the asses, and the oxen are not mine, as 

 yet. I am just of age, and my mother — scarce twenty 

 years older — has quite as good chance of long life as I 

 have." 



' " I will bet you that you survive her. I will pay 

 you a sum now against four times the sum to be paid 

 at her death. I will set you a fair sum over this table 

 against the reversion of your estate in Virginia at the 

 old lady's departure," ' etc. 



This extract is sufficient to show that Lord March's 

 propensities did not escape Thackeray's research for 

 imparting into works of fiction by the celebrated 



