"Honour to whom honour is due;" so let us begin with the first on our list.
[CHAPTER II.]
THE GREEK OF FASHIONABLE LIFE.
Wonderful acuteness—Refined sleight-of-hand—Delicacy of touch.
The sharper of fashionable life is, without doubt, the most adroit and clever in his villany; he is, one may say, grand master of the art of cheating.
He is generally a man of the world, whose dress and manners leave nothing to be desired. If he does not dazzle by the brilliancy of his conversation, it is that he does not wish to eclipse others, but perhaps reserves his forces for the "mise en scène" of his villanies.
This "citizen of Athens" cares little to please in general society, but emulates only those qualities which may be of use to him in his profession; and whether he is thus gifted by nature, or has acquired the science by study, certain it is, that he has that delicacy of perception, exquisite tact, and above all, that marvellous talent of appreciation of character, of which I have already spoken in my work, "Confessions of a Wizard." When he is victimising his dupes, his eyes, seemingly fixed on his own cards, are casting furtive glances to see all that is passing around him. He knows, by the effect produced on his adversary's countenance, when the cards are turned up, as well as by the classification of the cards themselves, the nature of his play.
As a physiognomist, the Greek of fashionable life rivals the cleverest disciple of Lavater. It would be in vain to try and baffle him, by putting on a dull and stolid expression of countenance; the slightest movement of the nerves of the face, or an almost imperceptible contraction of the features, discovers to him your most hidden thoughts.
This quickness of perception is equally useful to him, in discovering if he is looked on with doubt or suspicion.