Part 8 (2/2)

To this proposal Fathoames he had mentioned; but, in order to amuse Sir Stentor, he would play with him at lansquenet, for a trifle, as he had laid it down for aconsiderable at play ”Waunds!” answered the knight, ”I hope you don't think I coood landed estate worth five thousand a year, and owe no man a halfpenny; and I question whether there be many counts in your nation--no offence, I hope--that can say a bolder word As for your la of the uinea, cross or pile, as the saying is; or, if there's such a thing in this country as a box and dice, I love to hear the bones rattle so his joy at the mention of this last amusement, which had been one of his chief studies, and in which he had ress, that he could calculate all the chances with the utmost exactness and certainty However, he made shi+ft to contain hi indifference, consented to pass away an hour at hazard, provided the ily, the landlord was consulted, and their desire gratified; the dice were produced, and the table resounded with the effects of their lishman, as permitted by our adventurer to enty broad pieces; and he was so elated with his success, as to accohter, and other savage and si, in a tone so of a bull, ”Now for the main, Count,--odd! here they co, my yellow boys--odd's heart! I never liked the face of Lewis before”

Fathoes froed thean to avail hiht was obliged to refund the greatest part of his winning Then he altered his note, and becarin, as he had been before ieneration, d---ed his bad luck, staed Ferdinand to double stakes This was a very welcome proposal to our hero, who found Sir Stentor just such a subject as he had long desired to encounter with; the lishman laid, the more he lost, and Fathom took care to inflame his passions, by certain well-tith he becaeous, swore the dice were false, and threw the, and committed it to the flames, spoke with the most rancorous conte strippedthat, before they parted, he should not only look like a Pole, but also smell like a pole-cat

This was a spirit which our adventurer industriously kept up, observing that the English were dupes to all the world; and that, in point of genius and address, they were no adocios In short, another pair of dice was procured, the stakes were again raised, and, after several vicissitudes, fortune declared so ht, that Fatho to a pretty considerable suerness and i exultations of his antagonist, whos, in order to decide the contest Sir Stentor complied with this request; the dispute was reneith various success, till, towards daylight, Ferdinand saw this noisy, raw, inexperienced siether with his jewels, and al that was valuable about his person; and, to crown the whole, the victor at parting told him with a most intolerable sneer, that as soon as the Count should receive another ree

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

HE BEARS HIS FATE LIKE A PHILOSOPHER; AND CONTRACTS ACQUAINTANCE WITH A VERY REMARKABLE PERSONAGE

This was a proper subject for our hero to ly it did not pass without his remarks; he found hience in a foreign land, and, what he chiefly regretted, robbed of all those gay expectations he had indulged from his own supposed excellence in the wiles of fraud; for, upon a little recollection, he plainly perceived he had fallen a sacrifice to the confederacy he had refused to join; and did not at all doubt that the dice were loaded for his destruction But, instead of beating his head against the wall, tearing his hair, i other frantic symptoms of despair, he resolved to accommodate himself to his fate, and profit by the lesson he had so dearly bought

With this intention, he is, retired to an obscure street on the other side of the river, and, covering one eye with a large patch of black silk, presented himself in quality of aa trial of his skill, received him into the band without further question While he continued in this situation, he not only improved his taste and execution in music, but likewise found frequent opportunities to extend his knowledge of mankind; for, besides the employment he exercised in public, he was often concerned in private concerts that were given in the hotels of noblemen; by which means he became more and more acquainted with the persons, h life, which he contemplated with the ether unconcerned in the performance, is at more liberty to observe and enjoy the particulars of the entertainment

It was in one of those asse his friend Sir Stentor, dressed in thewith all the overstrained politesse of a native Frenchht and the abbe; and this triuave a most ludicrous detail of the finesse they had practised upon the Polish Count, to their entertainer, as ambassador from a certain court, and made himself extremely merry with the particulars of the relation Indeed, they made shi+ft to describe soht, that our adventurer hirace, could not help laughing in secret at the account He afterwards made it his business to inquire into the characters of the two British knights, and understood they were notorious sharpers, who had coood of their country, and now hunted in couple ah the public ordinaries, walks, and spectacles, in order to ers

The pride of Ferdinand was piqued at this infor reprisals upon this fraternity, froed to retrieve his honour and effects But the issue of his last adventure had reinforced his caution; and, for the present, he found means to suppress the dictates of his avarice and a to eround, before he should venture to take the field again He therefore continued to act the part of a one-eyed fiddler, under the naht save a purse for his future operations In thiswhich he acquired a coe of the city of Paris, when his curiosity was attracted by certain peculiarities in the appearance of ato the house in which he himself had fixed his habitation

This was a tall, thin,black beard, an aquiline nose, a brown co vivacity in his eyes He seee of fifty, wore the Persian habit, and there was a remarkable severity in his aspect and deers for so to the laudable custoed to one another, as if they had lived on opposite sides of the globe; but of late the Persian seeard our hero with particular attention; when they chanced to meet on the staircase, or elsewhere, he bowed to Ferdinand with great solemnity, and complimented him with the pas He even proceeded, in the course of this coood-morrow, and sometimes made the common remarks upon the weather Fathoe these advances On the contrary, he behaved to him with marks of particular respect, and one day desired the favour of his coer declined with due acknowledg out of order; and, in thethe landlord concerning his outlandish guest His curiosity was rather inflamed than satisfied with the information he could obtain from this quarter; for all he learned was, that the Persian went by the name of Ali Beker, and that he had lived in the house for the space of four months, in avisited by one living soul; that, for soroan dise, as if he had laboured under soh the first transports of his grief had subsided, it was easy to perceive he still indulged a deep-rooted melancholy; for the tears were frequently observed to trickle down his beard The commissaire of the quarter had at first ordered this Oriental to be watched in his outgoings, according to the ular and inoffensive, that this precaution was soon set aside

Any e of these particulars, would have been proer; but as our hero was devoid of all these infirmities of human nature, it was necessary that other motives should produce the same effect His curiosity, therefore, joined with the hopes of converting the confidence of Ali to his own emolument, effectually impelled hian to relish the conversation of each other For, as the reader may have already observed, Fathom possessed all the arts of insinuation, and had discernnity in the Persian, which the humility of his circuood understanding, not without a tincture of letters, perfectly well bred, though in a ceremonious style, extremely moral in his discourse, and scrupulously nice in his notions of honour

Our hero confored his discretion so as to pass upon hientleman reduced by ether unsuitable to his birth and quality He ood offices to the stranger, and pressed him to make use of his purse with such cordial perseverance, that, at length, Ali's reserve was overcome, and he condescended to borrow of him a small sum, which in all probability, saved his life; for he had been driven to the utmost extremity of want before he would accept of this assistance

Fathoan to take notice of hs that escaped him in the moments of their intercourse, and seeht oe; and, on pretence of aded leave to know the cause of his distress, observing, that his mind would be disburdened by such corief alleviated by soht jointly concert and execute in his behalf

Ali, thus solicited, would often shake his head, with marks of extreushed from his eyes, declared that his distress was beyond the power of any re our hero his confidant, he should only extend his unhappiness to a friend, without feeling the least re these repeated declarations, Ferdinand, ell enough acquainted with the mind of reeable, redoubled his instances, together with his expressions of syratify his curiosity and benevolence Having, therefore, secured the chaht, while all the rest of the family were asleep, the unfortunate Ali disclosed himself in these words

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

THE HISTORY OF THE nobLE CASTILIAN

I should be ungrateful, as well as unwise, did I longer resist the desire you express to know the particulars of that destiny which hath driven uise, and rendered me in all considerations the most wretched of men I have felt your friendshi+p, ah my misfortunes are such as can never be repaired, because I am utterly cut off from hope, which is the wretch's last comfort, yet I ree of fortitude and resignation

Know then, my name is not Ali; neither am I of Persian extraction I had once the honour to own o de Zelos, respected as the head of one of the e, then, how severe that distress must be, which compels a Spaniard to renounce his country, his honours, and his nalorious ease, neither did it waste unheeded in the rolls of fae of nineteen, I ounded in battle I once fortunately recovered the standard of the regied, after it had been seized by the enemy; and, at another occasion, made shi+ft to save the life of ed barbarian

He that thinks I recapitulate these particulars out of ostentation, does wrong to the unhappy Don Diego de Zelos, who, in having perfor, but si called a Castilian I mean only to do justice to my own character, and to make you acquainted with one of theiullo, bethoreat enentleman did not leave me without reason to believe he rejoiced at the opportunity of exercising his resentment upon his adversary's son; for he withheld from me that countenance which my fellow-officers enjoyed, and found means to subject me to divers mortifications, of which I was not at liberty to complain