gentlemen, the vehement exertions that I made to save that misguided
creature, whom I had made exertions no less earnest to instruct. But he
chose to swindle under the name of the 'Honourable Captain Smico;' the
Peerage gave him the lie at once; his case was one of aggravation, and he
was so remarkably ugly that he 'created no interest.' He left us for a
foreign exile; and if as a man I lament him, I confess to you, gentlemen,
as a 'tax-collector' I am easily consoled.

"Our third loss must be fresh in your memory. Peter Popwell, as bold a
fellow as ever breathed, is no more! [A movement in the assembly.]
Peace be with him! He died on the field of battle; shot dead by a Scotch
Colonel, whom poor Popwell thought to rob of nothing with an empty
pistol. His memory, gentlemen,--in solemn silence!

"These make the catalogue of our losses," resumed the youthful chief, so
soon as the "red cup had crowned the memory" of Peter Popwell; "I am
proud, even in sorrow, to think that the blame of those losses rests not
with me. And now, friends and followers! Gentlemen of the Road, the
Street, the Theatre, and the Shop! Prigs, Tobymen, and Squires of the
Cross! according to the laws of our Society, I resign into your hands
that power which for two quarterly terms you have confided to mine, ready
to sink into your ranks as a comrade, nor unwilling to renounce the
painful honour I have borne,--borne with much infirmity, it is true, but
at least with a sincere desire to serve that cause with which you have
intrusted me."

So saying, the captain descended from his chair amidst the most
uproarious applause; and as soon as the first burst had partially
subsided, Augustus Tomlinson rising, with one hand in his breeches'
pocket and the other stretched out, said,--