than any they had passed, being ten times more fierce and
unmanageable.

He led them next to that quarter where those reside who, as they are
not dangerous to themselves or others, enjoy a certain degree of
freedom, according to the state of their distemper.

Harley had fallen behind his companions, looking at a man who was
making pendulums with bits of thread and little balls of clay. He
had delineated a segment of a circle on the wall with chalk, and
marked their different vibrations by intersecting it with cross
lines. A decent-looking man came up, and smiling at the maniac,
turned to Harley, and told him that gentleman had once been a very
celebrated mathematician. "He fell a sacrifice," said he, "to the
theory of comets; for having, with infinite labour, formed a table
on the conjectures of Sir Isaac Newton, he was disappointed in the
return of one of those luminaries, and was very soon after obliged
to be placed here by his friends. If you please to follow me, sir,"
continued the stranger, "I believe I shall be able to give you a
more satisfactory account of the unfortunate people you see here
than the man who attends your companions."

Harley bowed, and accepted his offer.

The next person they came up to had scrawled a variety of figures on
a piece of slate. Harley had the curiosity to take a nearer view of
them. They consisted of different columns, on the top of which were
marked South-sea annuities, India-stock, and Three per cent.
annuities consol. "This," said Harley's instructor, "was a
gentleman well known in Change Alley. He was once worth fifty