invent; and she was, by his account, the damnedest infernal hell-cat that ever was born to curse an unhappy rascal like him.
From storming they went to upbraiding then they proceeded to the situation of their affairs, which were found to be plunged over head and ears in difficulties. This, in spight of them, brought on reflexion, and that upbraided them with the infamous practices they had been guilty of to serve an ungrateful wretch, who, after he had mounted to affluence by their means, had kicked down the p•…

that raised him! And here I cannot help remarking that the very devil for whom they had been so long toiling, his ends accomplished, spit in their faces, and forsook them.


THE reader will judge right if he fancies this reception of Mrs. O'Shocknesy was a concerted thing between my lord and his brother in law, who was now his steward, as was Flush his butler. Indeed, as every servant formerly in the house was by this time replaced by others, brought in at the instance of these two friends, his lordship was doomed to be as much in leading strings as ever his mother could have held him for the life of her; but as he was suffered in every thing to have his own way, he did not concern himself with what they did privately, but let them feather their nests in quiet, under the idea of taking all his affairs off his hands, because he was a man of rank, in whom it was vulgar to let business interfere with pleasure.
Mr. Tadpole and Mr. Kiddy understood one another very well, for the latter had, while they were in France, made a discovery, of which the reader shall some time hence participate.

A secret to a minister of state, or his type, a great man's butler, is a matter of some consequence.—Here then Flush set up his rest. It is true he balanced, when he first came to England, and was within a hair's breadth of destroying all Tadpole's hopes, by making the above discovery to his old master Standfast; but that gentleman making him some proposal or other that he did not like, he retracted before he had so explained himself as to betray Tadpole, and matters having since turned out so much to his advantage, he thanked his stars that he had now sat himself down comfortably for life.
Whether Kiddy was tired of his youthful follies, or whether his whirligig inclinations had wearied themselves with turning round, I know not, but he seemed like a worn-out weathercock