“Your fortune, but you av no fortune.”

“I am afraid not; and recollect, Mr Emmanuel, that I never told you that I had.”

“Vill you pay me my monish, Mr Newland, or vill you go to prison?”

“You can’t put me in prison for an agreement,” replied I.

“No; but I can prosecute you for a swindler.”

“No, you confounded old rascal, you cannot; try, and do your worst,” cried I, enraged at the word swindler.

“Veil, Mr Newland, if you have not de ten tousand a year, you have de house and de monish; you vill not cheat a poor man like me.”

“I have sold my house.”

“You have sold de house—­den you have neither de house nor de monish.  Oh! my monish, my monish!  Sare, Mr Newland, you are one d——­d rascal;” and the old wretch’s frame quivered with emotion; his hand behind his back shaking as much as the other which, in his rage, he shook in my face.

Enraged myself at being called such an opprobrious term, I opened the door, twisted him round, and applying my foot to a nameless part, he flew out and fell down the stairs, at the turning of which he lay, groaning in pain.  “Mine Got, mine Got, I am murdered!” cried he.  “Fader Abraham, receive me.”  My rage was appeased, and I turned pale at the idea of having killed the poor wretch.  With the assistance of Timothy, whom I summoned, we dragged the old man upstairs, and placed him in a chair, and found that he was not very much hurt.  A glass of wine was given to him, and then, as soon as he could speak, his ruling passion broke out again.  “Mishter Newland—­ah, Mish-ter New-land, cannot you give me my monish—­cannot you give me de tousand pound, without de interest? you are very welcome to de interest.  I only lend it to oblige you.”

“How can you expect a d——­d rascal to do any such thing?” replied I.

“D——­d rascal!  Ah! it vash I who vash a rascal, and vash a fool to say the word.  Mishter Newland, you vash a gentleman, you vill pay me my monish.  You vill pay me part of my monish.  I have de agreement in my pocket, all ready to give up.”

“If I have not the money, how can I pay you?”

“Fader Abraham, if you have not de monish—­you must have some monish; den you will pay me a part.  How much vill you pay me?”

“Will you take five hundred pounds, and return the agreement?”

“Five hundred pounds—­lose half—­oh!  Mr Newland—­it was all lent in monish, not in goods; you will not make me lose so much as dat?”

“I’m not sure that I will give you five hundred pounds; your bond is not worth two-pence, and you know it.”

“Your honour, Mishter Newland, is worth more dan ten tousand pounds:  but if you have not de monish, den you shall pay me de five hundred pounds which you offer, and I will give up de paper.”

“I never offered five hundred pounds.”

“Not offer; but you mention de sum, dat quite enough.”