In this tremendous result--lost to all intents and purposes--he
made a supreme effort to 'patch up' the ruin he had made. He
forged the name of General Tonyn; and so dexterously, that he
obtained from the Bank of England the sum of L10,000.
This huge robbery from Peter was not to pay Paul. Not a bit of
it. It was to try the fickle goddess of gaming once more--a
Napoleonic stroke for an Austerlitz of fortune.
He lost this L10,000 in two nights.
Did he despair at this hideous catastrophe? Did he tear his
hair--rush out of the room--blow his brains out or drown himself?
Not a bit of it. He 'set his wits to work' once more. He
procured a woman to personate General Tonyn's sister--forged
again--and again obtained from the Bank of England another large
supply of ready cash--with which, however, he 'went off' this
time.
He was caught; and then only he thought of self-murder, and cut
his throat--but not effectually. He recovered, was tried at the
Old Bailey, and hanged on the 6th of July, 1796.
No doubt the reader imagines that the man of such a career was an
OLD stager--some long-visaged, parchment-faced fellow the OTHER
side of forty at least. Well, this hero of the gaming table,
Henry Weston, was aged only TWENTY-THREE years! What terrible
times those must have been to produce such a prodigy!
To the judge who tried him Henry Weston sent a list of a number
of PROFESSIONAL GAMBLERS, among them was a person of high rank.
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