His dress was magnificent; his gold lace
unlimited, his coats ever new; his hat alone was always of the same
colour--_white_; and as the emperor Alexander was distinguished by his
purple tunic and Brummell by his bow, Emperor Nash was known all England
over by his white hat.
It is due to the King of Bath to say that, however much he gained, he
always played fair. He even patronized young players, and after fleecing
them, kindly advised them to play no more. When he found a man fixed
upon ruining himself, he did his best to keep him from that suicidal
act. This was the case with a young Oxonian, to whom he had lost money,
and whom he invited to supper, in order to give him his parental advice.
The fool would not take the Beau's counsel and 'came to grief.' Even
noblemen sought his protection. The Duke of Beaufort entered on a
compact with him to save his purse, if not his soul. He agreed to pay
Nash ten thousand guineas, whenever he lost the same amount at a
sitting. It was a comfortable treaty for our Beau, who accordingly
watched his grace. Yet it must be said, to Nash's honour, that he once
saved him from losing eleven thousand, when he had already lost eight,
by reminding him of his compact.
Pages:
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283