Comines. Good-moruing, sir ; good-morning."

In the afternoon two more prisoners were brought into the
state side. They were the young Templar, the most zealous
republican of our club, and the atheist poet from Oxford, who
was equally zealous for the overthrow of everything. Like me,
these young gentlemen were now disowned by their parents
and were penniless. George paid for all. Had it not been for
him, we must all three have gone over to the common side, and
lived on the prison ration of a penny loaf a day. Mr. Quellet,
on the strength of a second promise, undertook also the defence
of these two. I looked daily for the arrest of Richard Archer,
but for some reason or other he escaped, though the most guilty
of all. Our president also escaped in a very simple^ manner, as
I afterwards learned. He had taken the precaution to give a
false name when he entered the society, and as he lived at the
other end of the town, somewhere near St. James's Street, he
was not known to anybody. The smaller fry, the mechanics
and tradesmen, who formed the bulk of our members, were suf-
fered to remain unmolested. Within the walls of Newgate



ST. KATHERINE^S BY TBS TOWSR. 251

Prison lay the four members whom the government had re-
solved to prosecute. To this end had we been brought through
our membership of the innocent and convivial club called the
Sublime Society of Snugs.
CHAPTER XV.
ON THE master's SIDE.
