The  suppression  of  these  four  hundred  tickets  assisted
the  speculators'  trade  immensely,  and  before  the  sale
had  progressed  two  hours  the  speculators  were  selling
the  best  seats  at  enormous  premiums.  One  man  (one
of  the  first  purchasers),  who  wished  to  be  present
at  the  first  Reading  only,  sold  the  remaining  three
tickets  for  the  first  Reading  and  two  tickets  for  the
second,  third,  and  fourth,  for  fifty  dollars  and  a
brandy  cock-tail  (about  £7  los.),  a  profit  of  ten  dollars,


i68  CHARLES  DICKENS,

not  to  mention  the  advantage  of  getting  his  ticket  for
the  first  Reading  for  nothing,  with  four  tickets  in  hand
for  the  other  Readings.
