coincide with my fair friend on the right, that there are very obvious objections to any very intimate intimacy with the party in question; yet, God forbid! that in a commercial country like this, I should prohibit the privileges of society to any one, simply for being deficient in descent and of poor parentage. I am most happy to harmonize with our hospitable host in many of his remarks, while it affords me singular satisfaction to subscribe to the sentiments of the respected young lady on the left, as to the needlessness of any necessity for particular precipitation."

During the delivery of this empty exordium, the party addressed by the name of Old Nick, who, in spite of his years affected to play the wag, placed himself behind the orator, put a handkerchief hastily around his head, and pretending to fall fast asleep, nodded in accordance with the measured cadence of the speaker; while the Squire himself, who dreaded nothing worse than these long-winded harangues, suddenly cried out, "Question! question!" and slapping his friend roughly on the back, ex

claimed, “Zooks! Sir Ambrose, you are in the Rookery, not the House of Commons: we all perfectly coincide in all that you were going to say, for we know that you meant to agree with every individual present, and so we may as well put the question to the vote at once. All you who are of opinion that the candle-dipper should dine at the Rookery on Wednesday next, hold up your hands; on the contrary, yours. The ayes have it; so Nick, prepare to act as our ambassador. Icod! we'll have rare work with the old fox when we can fairly give the view-holla. Hey! whoop! tantivy! yoicks! tallyho! Sink me if I was ever in such prime spirits in all my life.-Haugh! haugh! haugh!”

The betraying tone of this forced merriment, and the haggard look that instantly succeeded to the flash of laughter, belied his assertion; but it passed muster with all his auditors except his sister, who only noticed it with a sigh; the rest presently dispersed in pursuit of their respective amusements, and the deputed messenger, after promising the party to make fine sport with the queer old prig, set off to execute his mission.

VOL. I.

F

Nicholas Chinnery, the ambassador in question, better known in London by the diminutive of old Nick, having long ago ruined himself by gaming, now prowled about his old haunts for the purpose of ruining others. For some time he had been a bolter of Alsatia, as it was termed, that is to say, one who made occasional sorties from the debtor's sanctuary of White Friars, and fled back to that refuge when close pressed by the bailiffs. Latterly he had become a tavern rook, looking out for culls and bubbles, whom he generously offered to treat with a pottle of sack, if he thought he could entice them to try their luck at dice, of which he always carried a bale in each sleeve of his coat, well prepared for his purpose, whether it was expedient to use High Fullams or Low Fullams. Much of the slang he had picked up in Alsatia he still retained in his familiar dialect; he could croak a smutty song upon occasion, he was an adept at the low pastime of dumfounding and selling bargains, and set himself up for a bit of a mimic and buffoon--a combination of qualities which had appeared to the Squire so well cal

culated to keep up his flagging spirits, and cheer the tedium of the country out of the sporting season, that he had given him an invitation to the Rookery.

It was Nick's full intention to perform his promise by "bamboozling the old codger properly," but one penetrating look from Isaac's large stern eye convincing him that there might be some danger in the experiment, while, from the absence of witnesses, there would be little glory, even in its success, he proceeded at once to unfold the purpose of his visit. The little treaty which he came to negociate proved to be much more difficult of accomplishment than he had anticipated. Disdaining to truckle to aristocratical prejudices, which he despised, Goldingham had determined never to make the first visiting overtures in his own person, and to exact from those who sought his acquaintance a rigorous compliance with etiquette. All difficulties, however, being at last removed, it was only necessary to know the geographical position of the Rookery.

"Your coachman is well acquainted with the

road," said Chinnery; "it is merely a pleasant drive of eight or nine miles along the coast. You turn out of the high road by the turnpike, go along by the edge of the Chalk Pits, down Slopperton Lane, and so on by Abbotsbury Cliffs till you see the Rookery down in the valley."

"I don't much like the sound of it," said Goldingham, shaking his head. "I suppose the road is neither watched nor lighted. Ah! London is the place for that-I have little fancy for Cliffs, and Chalk Pits, and Slopperton Lanes. -Is there no other way?"

"You may go round by the sands, if it's low water, and so up Seaford Gap."

"Worse and worse," cried Goldingham; “to be nabbed perhaps by the tide as I'm coming home, floated ashore next morning, and my body found by some poor shrimp-woman, half covered with sand, an oyster-shell in my mouth, and a bit of sea-weed in my hand!"

"You will be perfectly safe by the high road," resumed Chinnery, "for it is the night of the full moon."-This fact being verified by a reference to Lilly's Ephemeris, and Timothy,