"You look downcast, my lad," said Kirkton to me.
"Ay," added the corporal; "what is the matter? have you done aught that is likely to make you seek a healthier atmosphere?"
"Don't jibe the poor fellow, Jack," said the other on perceiving a flush of annoyance cross my face.
"Is love at the bottom of it?"
"See how he reddens—of course it is."
"You mistake," said I, with a bitter sigh; "my funds are at zero."
"Is that all?" observed the corporal, laughing; "mine have been so many times, for Fortune is a fickle wench; but, egad! the dice-box, a little prize money, a present from a pretty woman, or something else, always made the silver rise again to blood heat. Well—and so your purse is empty?"
"As you see—there is but a shilling in it."
"When mine was thus, I took another in the king's name, and then I had two—by that stroke I exactly doubled my fortune. What is your profession?"
"I have none."