He was therefore driven to take another in the same way, and had to look about for some excuse which might support him in his difficulty.
An excuse it must be, not only new, but very valid; one so strong that it could not be overset; one so well avouched that it could not be doubted.

Accordingly, after mature consideration, he sat down after leaving his office, and wrote the following letter, before he started on an evening cruising expedition with some others of the party to prepare for the next day's festivities.
'Thursday morning,--July, 185-.
'MY DEAR SIR, 'I write from my bed where I am suffering a most tremendous indiggestion, last night I eat a stunning supper off pork chopps and never remembered that pork chopps always does disagree with me, but I was very indiscrete and am now teetotally unable to rise my throbing head from off my pillar, I have took four blu pills and some salts and sena, plenty of that, and shall be the thing to-morrow morning no doubt, just at present I feel just as if I had a mill stone inside my stomac--Pray be so kind as to make it all right with Mr.Oldeschole and believe me to remain, 'Your faithful and obedient servant, 'VERAX CORKSCREW.
'Thomas Snape, Esq., &c., 'Internal Navigation Office, Somerset House.' Having composed this letter of excuse, and not intending to return to his lodgings that evening, he had to make provision for its safely reaching the hands of Mr.Snape in due time on the following morning.

This he did, by giving it to the boy who came to clean the lodging-house boots, with sundry injunctions that if he did not deliver it at the office by ten o'clock on the following morning, the sixpence accruing to him would never be paid.

Mr.Corkscrew, however, said nothing as to the letter not being delivered before ten the next morning, and as other business took the boy along the Strand the same evening, he saw no reason why he should not then execute his commission.

He accordingly did so, and duly delivered the letter into the hands of a servant girl, who was cleaning the passages of the office.
Fortune on this occasion was blind to the merits of Mr.
Corkscrew, and threw him over most unmercifully.