the benefit of the landlord of the hotel, who, on
opening them, found them to contain nothing but stones and rubbish.
This was a new species of holy alliance, but the _ruse_ was by no means
ill advised. When you hear a man constantly proclaiming the roguery of
another, you are too apt to give him credit for honesty in his own
person. Thus, with those whom each party associated and dealt with,
they obtained a credit for honesty, which enabled them to succeed in
their roguish endeavours.

CHAPTER TWENTY.

Ostend.
From Spa to Liege, from Liege to Brussels, from Brussels to Ostend, how
detestable it is to go over the same ground again and again! only to be
imposed upon and cheated again and again. What a weary world this is,
and what a rascally one! How delightful a little honesty would be, by
way of a change! Of all the rascality spread like butter on bread over
the surface of the globe, certainly the butter lies thicker on the
confines of each territory. There is a concentration of dishonesty at
the ports of embarkation and debarkation. Take London when you land
from a steam-boat, or Dover, or Calais, or Ostend. It is nothing but a
system of extortion or over-reaching. And why so? because in the hurry,
the confusion, the sickness, and the ignorance of what is right,
everything that is wrong can be practised with impunity. These preyers
upon mankind at the confines, remind you of the sharks in India, who
always ply _in the surf_, where their motions cannot be seen, and the
unwary are invariably their prey. I have knocked three down already,
and one would imagine they would hasten for redress; but they will not,
for that would take hours, and during these hours they will lose the
opportunity of making their harvest, so they get up again, and pocket
the affront, that they may not lose time in filling their pockets.
Talking about roguery, there was a curious incident occurred some time
back, in which a rascal was completely outwitted. A bachelor gentleman,
who was a very superior draftsman and caricaturist, was laid up in his
apartments with the gout in both feet. He could not move, but sat in an
easy chair, and was wheeled by his servant in and out of his chamber to
his sitting-room. Now a certain well-known vagabond ascertained the
fact, and watched until the servant was sent upon a message. The
servant came out of the front door, but left