man, I will give you a letter; but none of your governors and commanders; never do you any good in the least except it be first-rate government interest-ministerial-somebody high in office who can do your governor a good turn when he goes home again, that's your only interest; but come, I'll give you a letter to a friend, worth a score of. Well, I'll introduce you to Dr. Nicholas Fitz-simon."

"Dr. Nicholas Fitz-simon-thank you, sir: who is he?"

"Ha! ha" returned Mr. Havethelacks, chuckling, "don't know Nicholas Fitz-simon, what a precious griff you must be!"

"You forget, sir," suggested Peregrine Pultuney, "that I have not yet been in India."

Nicholas

"Ah! true; well then, I'll tell you. Fitz-simon, every body knows him in India-finest fellow in the world-kind, generous, trump of a fellow. Now I'll tell you; go to him-give you breakfast, tiffin, dinner, shelter, advice, every thing. If you are sick, go to him, sure to cure you -sure to be kind to you-saved more lives than the invention of the life-boat-a most excellent fellow-good Samaritan-sure to love him-hand me that writing-book-put that tepoy before me."

"I hope," said Peregrine Pultuney "that you won't call me a griff again, if I ask what is a teapoy?"

"Well, to be sure, it does seem odd-very odd;"

and the old gentleman chuckled; "most odd to find a person who don't know what a tepoy is, I suppose you have learnt Hindostanee."

"A little, sir," returned Peregrine Pultuney, and he might have said "a very little," without exaggeration; for the Hindoostanee usually learnt at Addiscombe, is the smallest possible quantum in the world.

Well, then, a tepoy or tinpoy is a thing with three feet, used in India to denote a little table, such as that just at your right."

"Why, that table has four legs," cried Peregrine.

"It's a tepoy all the same," said Mr. Have

thelacks.

Peregrine did not dispute the point, but moved the table towards the old gentleman, who wrote a letter to his friend in Calcutta, and gave Peregrine the following advice. "Wear flannel-never go snipe shooting-avoid arracan-don't get into debt-rise early-drink plenty of tea-be kind to nativesdon't eat pastry-get a staff-appointment-marry before you are too old, and give this letter to Nicholas Fitz-simon."

How far Peregrine Pultuney followed this advice, our story will show as it advances.

CHAPTER VI.

In which Peregrine Pultuney gives further proof of a
chivalrous disposition.

PEREGRINE PULTUNEY, after leaving Mr. Havethelacks, made the best of his way to St. Martin'splace, in which, as every body knows is situated that famous philanthropical establishment of Captain Grindaway's, where company's officers get all manner of things done for them, without having any thing to pay.

Peregrine Pultuney walked up stairs, entered the reading-room, looked about him, saw nobody he knew, and finally settled himself with his back to the fire, the tails of his Petersham under his arms, and his rearward man in the full enjoyment of half-a-chaldron of blazing coals. This posture of affairs, to all outward appearance, was favourable to the serenity of mind, which Peregrine Pultuney, like a true philosopher, took especial delight in encouraging, for he was in no wise inclined to disturb himself or to take the least notice of certain black looks, which an elderly gentleman, who had

just come in with a Prussian blue cloak and a nose of the same colour, seemed very much inclined to cast at him. On the contrary, he appeared perfectly satisfied with his position, and began with the utmost placidity of countenance to scrutinize the scene before him. He looked about, and saw two or three tables, on which were two or three dozen books relating to India, six directories, four army lists, several newspapers, and half a quire of writingpaper with a lithographed advertisement in the corner of each sheet. At these tables were seated a number of odd-looking men, most of them writing letters, for it is a singular fact that at least twothirds of the letters written by the East India Company's furlough establishment, emanate from Captain Grindaway's Agency Rooms-a phenomenon only to be accounted for by the circumstance that at this emporium of gratuitous advantages, paper to any amount is to be had for nothing.

Hung round the walls were various painted maps of the continent of India, which Peregrine Pultuney regarded with an intense interest, only to be equalled by that with which he saw a number of men, upon first entering the room, peruse, or pretend to peruse, an interminable sheet of parchment which was sprawling over one of the tables. Peregrine, who was a youth of the keenest observation, was particularly struck by a remarkable feature in the behaviour of all the gentlemen who stopped before the parchment expanse, and that consisted in the single

ness of purpose, which they all exhibited in writing, one after another, certain words at the bottom of the parchment, the object of which he could not for the life of him define. Curiosity at last triumphed, and he abandoned his position before the half-chaldron of coals, very much to the satisfaction of the bluenosed gentleman, who instantly drew his chair close to the fire, and put his heels up on the grate.

Peregrine Pultuney was not long in ascertaining that the mysterious parchment document, on the table near the door, was a thing that is called a memorial, like lucus à non lucendo, because it never reminds any body of any thing. A little time sufficed our hero to learn that the object of the memorial was to induce the company to pay their army a little better, which Peregrine Pultuney esteemed so very rational a request on the part of the army, that he forthwith added his name to the document, after which he made his way towards a sort of high reading-desk, whereon was a file of Calcutta papers the Bengal Hurkaru, or something; and after wondering whether Hurkaru meant a newspaper, he turned over the leaves before him and ascertained, amongst other interesting facts, that Messrs. Tulloh and Co. were to have sold by auction, six months before, a new batch of Pine cheesesthat the Last Reunion was to have taken place about the same time-that Ensign Snooks had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant-that Mrs. Pereira had got a little boy, and Miss De Souza a little hus