Then,
with a start, he remembers that he has no friends. When he crawls out in
the morning to steady his hand he will be greeted with filthy
public-house cordiality by the animals to whose level he has dragged
himself, but of friends he has none. Now, is it not marvellous? Drink is
so jolly; prosperous persons talk with such a droll wink about vagaries
which they or their friends committed the night before; it is all so
very, very lightsome! The brewers and distillers who put the
mirth-inspiring beverages into the market receive more consideration,
and a great deal more money, than an average European prince;--and yet
the poor dry-rotted unfortunate whose decadence we are tracing is like a
leper in the scattering effects which he produces during his shaky
promenade. He is indeed alone in the world, and brandy or gin is his
only counsellor and comforter. As to character, the last rag of that
goes when the first sign of indolence is seen; the watchers have eyes
like cats, and the self-restrained men among them have usually seen so
many fellows depart to perdition that every stage in the process of
degradation is known to them. No! there is not a friend, and dry, clever
gentlemen say, "Yes.
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