Secret Service or Recollections of a City Detective — Andrew Forrester

ABOUT twelve years ago there was an election anticipated in the Borough of N--. It was a notorious place for bribery, as I, who have been professionally concerned in many elections, perfectly well knew. It was an extraordinary town. It had once been a very flourishing place. A staple trade had been carried on there, and almost nowhere else; but an evil spirit of gentility pervaded its corporation in those days.