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one wins and another loses: why there have been as many moves among titled persons, kings, queens, bishops, lords and knights, within the last century, as there are in a game at chess. pawns have been taken and restored in all classes, from the sovereign, who pawns or loses his crown, to the lady whose reputation is in pawn, and becomes at last not worth half a crown. shuffling, cutting, dealing out and dealing in, double dealing and double faces, have long been the order of the day. some mens cards are all trumps, whilst others have carte blanche; some honours count, whilst others stand for nothing. for instance, did not the little man who cast up his final accounts a short time back at st. helena, like a corsican conjurer, shuffle and cut about among kings and queens, knaves and asses, aces i mean dealing out honours when he liked, and taking trumps as he thought fit did he not deal and take up again almost as he pleased, having generally an honour in his sleeve to be played at command, or un roi dans le marche; by which cheating, it was scarcely possible for any one to get fair play with him, till, flushed by success, and not knowing how to bear his prosperity, he played too desperately and too long the tables were turned upon him, and his enemies cheated him, first of his liberty, and ultimately of his life. at this moment tallyho, who was listening in close attention to his cousin, struck his foot against a brown paper parcel which rolled before him. hallo exclaimed he, what have we here somebody has dropped a prize. it is mine, sir, said an old woman, dropping them a curtsey with a smile which shone through her features, though thickly begrimed with snuff. a bite, said tom. i droppd it from my pocket, sir, just now. and pray, inquired tom, what does it contain picking it up. snuff, sir, was the reply; a kind, good hearted gentleman gave it to me god bless him, and bless your honour too with an additional smile, and a still lower curtsey. upon examining the paper, which had been broken by the kick, tom perceived, that by some magic or other, the old womans snuff had become sugar. zounds said he, they have played some trick upon you, and given you brimstone instead of snuff, or else you are throwing dust in our eyes. the parcel, which contained a sample of sugar, was carefully rolled up again and tied, then dropped to be found by any body else who chose to stoop for it. this, said dashall, does not turn out to be what i first expected; for the practices of ring and money dropping have, at various times, been carried on with great success, and to the serious injury of the unsuspecting. the persons who generally apply themselves to this species of cheating are no other than gamblers who ingeniously contrive, by dropping a purse or a ring, to draw in some customer with a view to induce him to play; and notwithstanding their arts have frequently been exposed, we every now and then hear of some flat being done by these sharps, and indeed there are constantly customers in london to be had one way or another. then you had an idea that that parcel was a bait of this kind, rejoined bob. i did, replied his cousin; but it appears to be a legitimate letter from some industrious mechanic to his friend, and is a curious speciment of epistolary correspondence; and you perceive there was a person ready to claim it, which conspired rather to confirm my suspicions, being a little in the style of the gentry i have alluded to. they vary their mode of proceeding according to situation and circumstance. your money dropper contrives to find his own property, as if by chance. he picks up the purse with an exclamation of hallo what have we here zounds if here is not a prize im in rare luck to day ha, ha, ha, lets. have a peep at it it feels heavy, and no doubt is worth having. while he is examining its contents, up comes his confederate, who claims a share on account of having been present at the finding. nay, nay, replies the finder, you are not in it. this gentleman is the only person that was near me was not you, sir by this means the novice is induced to assent, or perhaps assert his prior claim. the finder declares, the practice of ring dropping is not wholly confined to london, as the following paragraph from the glasgow courier, a very short time ago, will sufficiently prove: on monday afternoon, when three highland women, who had been employed at a distance from home in the harvest, were returning to their habitations, they were accosted by a fellow who had walked out a short way with them, till he picked up a pair of ear rings and a key for a watch. the fellow politely informed the females that they should have half the value of the articles, as they were in his company when they were found. while