
temper understood by those with whom he had to deal, and so jealous were they of
his absence, that they required a kind of friendly bond to be entered into by
two substantial housekeepers, in the sum of fifteen hundred pounds a-piece,
before they would suffer him to quit their hospitable roof - doubting, it
appeared, that he would return, if once let loose, on any other terms. Mr.
Brass, struck with the humour of this jest, and carrying out its spirit to the
utmost, sought from his wide connection a pair of friends whose joint
possessions fell some halfpence short of fifteen pence, and proffered them as
bail - for that was the merry word agreed upon on both sides. These gentlemen
being rejected after twenty-four hours' pleasantry, Mr. Brass consented to
remain, and did remain, until a club of choice spirits called a Grand Jury (who
were in the joke) summoned him to trial before twelve other wags for perjury and
fraud, who in their turn found him guilty with a most facetious joy, - nay, the
very populace entered into the whim, and when Mr. Brass was moving in a
hackney-coach towards the building where these wags assembled, saluted him with
rotten eggs and carcases of kittens, and feigned to wish to tear him into
shreds, which greatly increased the comicality of the thing, and made him relish
it the more, no doubt.
    To work this sportive vein still further, Mr. Brass, by his counsel, moved
in arrest of judgment that he had been led to criminate himself, by assurances
of safety and promises of pardon, and claimed the leniency which the law extends
to such confiding natures as are thus deluded. After solemn argument, this point
(with others of a technical nature, whose humorous extravagance it would be
difficult to exaggerate) was referred to the judges for their decision, Sampson
being meantime removed to his former quarters. Finally, some of the points were
given in Sampson's favour, and some against him; and the upshot was, that,
instead of being desired to travel for a time in foreign parts, he was permitted
to grace the mother country under certain insignificant restrictions.
    These were, that he should, for a term of years, reside in a spacious
mansion where several other gentlemen were lodged and boarded at the public
charge, who went clad in a sober uniform of grey turned up with yellow, had
their hair cut extremely short, and chiefly lived on gruel and light soup. It
was also required of him that he should partake of their exercise of
