e happiest of mortals; while, perhaps, the worm of sorrow is secretly
gnawing his heart, and preying upon his constitution. Honourable
sentiment, struggling with untoward circumstances, is destroying
his vitals; not having the courage to pollute his character by a
jail-delivery, or to condescend to _white-washing_, or some low bankrupt
trick, to extricate himself from difficulty, in order to stand upright
again.

"A _once-a-week man, or Sunday promenader_, frequently takes his way
through bye streets and short cuts, through courts and alleys, as it
were between retirement and a desire to see what is going on in the
scenes of his former splendour, to take a sly peep at that world from
which he seems to be excluded."

"And for all such men," replied Bob, "expelled from high and from good
society, (even though I were compelled to allow by their own imprudence
and folly) I ~31~~should always like to have a spare hundred, to send
them in an anonymous cover."

"You are right," rejoined Tom, catching him ardently by the hand,
"the sentiment does honour to your head and heart; for to such men, in
general, is attached a heart-broken wife, withering by their side in the
shade, as the leaves and the blossom cling together at all seasons, in
sickness or in health, in affluence or in poverty, until the storm beats
too roughly on them, and prematurely destroys the weakest. But I must
warn you not to let your liberality get the better of your discretion,
for there are active and artful spirits abroad, and even these
necessities and miseries are made a handle for deception, to entrap the
unwary; and you yet have much to learn--Puff lived two years on sickness
and misfortune, by advertisements in the newspapers."

"How?" enquired Bob.

"You shall have it in his own words," said Dashall.

"I suppose never man went through such a series of
"calamities in the same space of time! Sir, I was five
"times made a bankrupt and reduced from a state of
"affluence, by a train of unavoidable misfortunes! then
"Sir, though a very industrious tradesman, I was twice
"burnt out, and lost my little all both times! I lived
"upon those fires a month. I soon after was confined by a
"most excruciating disorder, and lost the use of my limbs!
"That told very well; for I had the case strongly attested,
"and went about col--called on you, a close prisoner
"in the Marshalsea, for a debt benevolently c