"Oh," I said quite carelessly, "you'll manage." And little did I think I should be the means of fulfilling my own prophecy. "The fact is, my dear Hawkins," said the wily intriguer, for such he was, "I'll tell you seriously how I stand. To-morrow morning I have bills becoming due amounting to £1,250, and I want you to be good enough to lend me that sum to enable me to meet them." I was perfectly astounded! This greatness to have come down to £1,250 on the wrong side of the ledger. "I have no such amount," said I, "and never had anything like it at my bank." I must say I pitied him, and began to wonder in what way I _could_ help him. He was so really and good-naturedly in earnest, and seemed so extremely anxious, that at last I said, "Well, I'll see what I can do," and asked him to meet me in court the following morning, when I would tell him whether I could help him or not. His gratitude was boundless; my kindness should never be forgotten--no, as long as he lived! and if he had been addressing a common jury he could not have used more flowers of speech or shed more abundant tears to water them with. I was the best friend he had ever had. And, as it seemed afterwards, very foolishly so, because he told me he had not one farthing of security to offer for the loan. A man who ought to have been worth from fifty to a hundred thousand pounds! However, I went to my bankers' and made arrangements to be provided with the amount. I met him at the place of appointment, and was quite surprised to see the change in his demeanour since the day before. He was now apparently in a state of deeper distress than ever, and thinking to soothe him, I said, "It's all right; you can have the money!" Once more he overwhelmed me with the eloquence of a grateful heart, but said it was of no use--no use whatever; that instead of £1,250 he had other bills coming in, and unless they could all be met he might just as well let the others go. "How much do you _really_ want to quite clear you?" I asked, with a simplicity which astonishes me to this day. "Well," he said, "nothing is of the least use under £2,500." I was a little staggered, but, pitying his distress of mind, went once more to my bankers' and made the further necessary arrangements. I borrowed the whole amount at five per cent., and placed it to the credit of this brilliant Queen's Counsel. The only terms I made with him on this new condition of things was that he should, out of his incoming fees, pay my clerk £500 a quarter until the whole sum was liquidated. This he might easily have done, and this he arranged to do; but the next day he pledged the whole of his prospective income to a Jew, incurred fresh liabilities, and left me without a shadow of a chance of ever seeing a penny of my money again. I need not say every farthing was lost, principal and interest. I say interest, because it cost me five per cent, till the amount was paid.