about two in the morning
We will never let these fellows go away with our money in this manner ; for we have so much the advantage , that if the knowing ones were here they would lay odds of our side . '' But if this was really Mr. Rent 's opinion , he was very much mistaken ; for the other two honourable gentlemen were not only greater masters of the game , and somewhat soberer than poor Booth , having , with all the art in their power , evaded the bottle , but they had , moreover , another small advantage over their adversaries , both of them , by means of some certain private signs , previously agreed upon between them , being always acquainted with the principal cards in each other 's hands . It can not be wondered , therefore , that Fortune was on their side ; for , however she may be reported to favour fools , she never , I believe , shews them any countenance when they engage in play with knaves . The more Booth lost , the deeper he made his bets ; the consequence of which was , that about two in the morning , besides the loss of his own money , he was fifty pounds indebted to Trent : a sum , indeed , which he would not have borrowed , had not the other , like a very generous friend , pushed it upon him . Trent 's pockets became at last dry by means of these loans . His own loss , indeed , was trifling ; for the stakes of the games were no higher than crowns , and betting -LRB- as it is called -RRB- was that to which Booth owed his ruin . The gentlemen , therefore , pretty well knowing Booth 's circumstances , and being kindly unwilling to win more of a man than he was worth , declined playing any longer , nor did Booth once ask them to persist , for he was ashamed of the debt which he had already contracted to Trent , and very far from desiring to encrease it .