The Devil's Gould

"Uncle Sam's gould has in this respect a quality of enchantment like that of the devil's wages. Whoever touches it should look well to himself, or he may find the bargain to go hard against him," writes Sir Samuel-Smith. "It is sadly curious to observe how slight a taste of office suffices to inject a poor fellow with this singular disease." 'I began to grow melancholy and restless, continually prying into my mind to discover which of its poor properties had already accrued to the remainder,' adds Mr Smith.