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As was natural, the head-quarters and great gathering-place of

Monseigneur, in London, was Tellson's Bank. Spirits are supposed

to haunt the places where their bodies most resorted, and

Monseigneur without a guinea haunted the spot where his guineas

used to be. Moreover, it was the spot to which such French

intelligence as was most to be relied upon, came quickest. Again:

Tellson's was a munificent house, and extended great liberality

to old customers who had fallen from their high estate. Again:

those nobles who had seen the coming storm in time, and

anticipating plunder or confiscation, had made provident

remittances to Tellson's, were always to be heard of there by

their needy brethren. To which it must be added that every

new-comer from France reported himself and his tidings at

Tellson's, almost as a matter of course.