HARRY HILL BROUGHT TO BOOK. 73 



Hill to put him a pony on a certain horse, which the 

 latter 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 denounced him in no measured terms as a 

 scoundrel, and the very prince of the low profession 

 he so ably represented. 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 questioned. 



' 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. T had it from 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 character was even in his business transactions, 

 in which it behoves men the most dishonest to be 

 circumspect and correct in their dealings with their 



