 pass the ordeal of his satire, without
subjecting himself to a long series of sarcastic hints and doubtful allusions,
which he could not endure. He accordingly took the first opportunity of telling
him, that he was absolutely ruined by the perfidy of his patron, and desired
that he would not aggravate his affliction, by those cynical remarks which were
peculiar to men of his misanthropical disposition. Cadwallader listened to this
declaration with internal surprize, which, however, produced no alteration in
his countenance; and, after some pause, observed, that our hero had no reason to
look for any new observation from him upon this event, which he had long
foreseen, and daily expected; and exhorted him, with an ironical sneer, to
console himself with the promise of the minister, who would doubtless discharge
the debts of his deceased bosom-friend.
 

                                   Chapter CI

Peregrine commits himself to the Publick, and is admitted Member of a College of
Authors
 
The bitterness of this explanation being passed, our young gentleman began to
revolve within himself schemes for making up the deficiencies of his yearly
income, which was now so grievously reduced, and determined to profit, in some
shape or other, by those talents which he owed to nature and education. He had,
in his affluence, heard of several authors, who, without any pretensions to
genius, or human literature, earned a very genteel subsistence, by undertaking
work for booksellers, in which reputation was not at all concerned. One (for
example) professed all manner of translation, at so much per sheet, and actually
kept five or six amanuenses continually employed, like so many clerks in a
compting-house; by which means, he was enabled to live at his ease, and enjoy
his friend and his bottle, ambitious of no other character than that of an
honest man, and a good neighbour. Another projected a variety of plans for new
dictionaries, which were executed under his eye by day-labourers; and the
province of a third was history and voyages, collected or abridged by
understrappers of the same class.
    Mr. Pickle, in his comparisons, paid such deference to his own capacity, as
banished all doubts of his being able to excel any of those undertakers, in
their different branches of profession, if ever he should be driven to that
experiment: but his ambition prompted him to make his interest and glory
coincide, by attempting some performance which should do him honour with the
publick, and at the same time establish his importance among the copy-purchasers
in town. With this view, he worshipped the muse; and, conscious of
