Page:The Adventures of David Simple (1904).djvu/117

 man would have thought the greatest pleasure they could have had would have been in serving each other, were in a moment turned into enemies, and the winning of a guinea, or perhaps five, (according to the sum played for) was the only idea that possessed the minds of a whole company of people, none of whom were in any manner of want of it. This was a melancholy prospect for poor David; for nothing could be a stronger proof of the selfish and mercenary tempers of mankind, than to see those people whom fortune had placed in affluence, as desirous of gaining from each other, as if they really could not have had necessaries without it. The two gentlemen stayed till they were heartily weary, and then retired to spend the rest of the evening together at a tavern, where the whole conversation turned on what they had seen at the assembly. David asked his companion, if this was the manner in which people who have it in their power to spend their time as they pleased, chose to I employ it. "Yes, sir," answered Mr. Spatter, "I assure you I have very few acquaintance at this end of the town, who seem to be born for any other purpose but to play at whist, or who have any use or more understanding than what serves to that end." He then run through the characters of the whole company, and at the finishing of every one uttered a sentence with some vehemence (which was a manner peculiar to himself) calling them either fools or knaves; but as he had a great deal of wit, he did this in so entertaining a way that David could not help laughing sometimes, though he checked himself for it; thinking the faults or follies or mankind were not the proper objects of mirth. The next morning Mr. Spatter carried him to the toilette of one of the ladies who was of the