But, to tell the honest truth, Mr. Severne had hitherto been pleasing his friend with a cold-blooded purpose. His preliminary gossip, that made the time fly so agreeably, was intended to oil the way to lubricate the passage of a premeditated pill. As soon as he had got Vizard into perfect good humor, he said, apropos of nothing that had passed, “By-the-by, old fellow, that five hundred pounds you promised to lend me!” Vizard was startled by this sudden turn of a conversation, hitherto agreeable. “Why, you have had three hundred and lost it,” said he. “Now, take my advice, and don't lose any more.” “I don't mean to. But I am determined to win back the three hundred, and a great deal more, before I leave this. I have discovered a system, an infallible one.” “I am sorry to hear it,” said Harrington, gravely. “That is the second step on the road to ruin; the gambler with a system is the confirmed maniac.” “What! because _other_ systems have been tried, and proved to be false? Mine is untried, and it is mere prejudice to condemn it unheard.” “Propound it, then,” said Vizard. “Only please observe the bank has got its system; you forget that: and the bank's system is to take a positive advantage, which must win in the long run; therefore, all counter-systems must lose in the long run.” “But the bank is tied to a long run, the individual player is not.” This reply checked Vizard for a moment and the other followed up his advantage. “Now, Vizard, be reasonable. What would the trifling advantage the bank derives from an incident, which occurs only once in twenty-eight deals, avail against a player who could foresee at any given deal whether the card that was going to come up the nearest thirty would be on the red or black?” “No avail at all. God Almighty could break the bank every afternoon. _Apre's?_ as we say in France. Do you pretend to omniscience?” “Not exactly.” “Well, but prescience of isolated events, preceded by no _indicia,_ belongs only to omniscience. Did they not teach you that much at Oxford?” “They taught me very little at Oxford.”