been illustrated by our artist. A young French gentleman, by name M.
Desonge, who, having expended his patrimony in a variety of taverns and
gaming-houses, was one day pondering upon the exhausted state of his
finances, and utterly at a loss to think how he should provide means for
future support, exclaimed, very naturally, "What the devil shall I do?"
He had no sooner spoken than a GENTLEMAN IN BLACK made his appearance,
whose authentic portrait Mr. Cruikshank has had the honor to paint.
This gentleman produced a black-edged book out of a black bag, some
black-edged papers tied up with black crape, and sitting down familiarly
opposite M. Desonge, began conversing with him on the state of his
affairs.

It is needless to state what was the result of the interview. M. Desonge
was induced by the gentleman to sign his name to one of the black-edged
papers, and found himself at the close of the conversation to be
possessed of an unlimited command of capital. This arrangement
completed, the Gentleman in Black posted (in an extraordinarily rapid
manner) from Paris to London, there found a young English merchant in
exactly the same situation in which M. Desonge had been, and concluded a
bargain with the Briton of exactly the same nature.

The book goes on to relate how these young men spent the money so
miraculously handed over to them, and how both, when the period drew
near that was to witness the performance of THEIR part of the bargain,
grew melancholy, wretched, nay, so absolutely dishonorable as to seek
for every means of breaking through their agreement. The Englishman
living in a country where the lawyers are more astute than any other
lawyers in the world, took the advice of a Mr. Bagsby, of Lyon's Inn;
whose name, as we cannot find it in the "Law List," we presume to be
fictitious. Who could it be that was a match for the devil? Lord ----