despite, we say, these great acquisitions to British literature, "The
Asinaeum" tottered, fell, buried its bookseller, and crushed its author.
MacGrawler only,--escaping, like Theodore from the enormous helmet of
Otranto,--MacGrawler only survived. "Love," says Sir Philip Sidney.
"makes a man see better than a pair of spectacles." Love of life has a
very different effect on the optics,--it makes a man wofully dim of
inspection, and sometimes causes him to see his own property in another
man's purse! This _deceptio visus_, did it impose upon Peter MacGrawler?
He went to Ranelagh. Reader, thou knowest the rest!

Wine and the ingenuity of the robbers having extorted this narrative from
MacGrawler, the barriers of superfluous delicacy were easily done away
with.

Our heroes offered to the sage an introduction to their club; the offer
was accepted; and MacGrawler, having been first made drunk, was next made
a robber. The gang engaged him in various little matters, in which we
grieve to relate that though his intentions were excellent, his success
was so ill as thoroughly to enrage his employers; nay, they were about at
one time, when they wanted to propitiate justice, to hand him over to the
secular power, when Clifford interposed in his behalf. From a robber the
sage dwindled into a drudge; menial offices (the robbers, the lying
rascals, declared that such offices were best fitted to the genius of his
country!) succeeded to noble exploits, and the worst of robbers became
the best of cooks. How vain is all wisdom but that of long experience!
Though Clifford was a sensible, and keen man, though he knew our sage to
be a knave, he never dreamed he could be a traitor. He thought him too
indolent to be malicious, and--short-sighted humanity!--too silly to be
dangerous. He trusted the sage with the secret of the cavern; and
Augustus, who was a bit of an epicure, submitted, though forebodingly,