Crucifix Painting Prank on Bragwell
Slyboot, a painter, tells Bragwell he is working on a painting of Jesus on the cross at the moment the spear is thrust into his side, and asks Bragwell to allow him to observe Bragwell non-lethally stab someone in the left side so he can capture the natural agony of the moment for his artwork. Wagtail takes the request seriously, offering to explain the anatomy of the chest area to Bragwell to avoid lethal injury. Bragwell initially seems receptive before declining, claiming he only fights when his honor is engaged; the entire exchange is a prank designed to mock Bragwell’s dueling boasts.
Staged Paternity Accusation Against Wagtail
As the night wears on and drinking intensifies, a waiter enters to inform Wagtail a woman is waiting below to speak to him. The group pressures Wagtail to let her join them, and Ranter brings a tall sex worker into the room. The woman delivers a dramatic, fabricated speech accusing Wagtail of seducing her, stealing her virginity, fathering her unborn four-month child, and abandoning her to poverty, demanding he marry her to make amends. Wagtail is horrified and denies knowing her, but the group pretends to believe the accusation, mocking him throughout the interaction. Wagtail eventually agrees to pay the woman half a guinea to leave him alone, and when she demands a parting kiss, she bites his cheek hard before leaving the room.
Mock Treatment of Wagtail’s Alleged Bite
After the woman bites Wagtail’s cheek and leaves, the group pretends the bite is from a rabid person to continue mocking him. Banter suggests branding the wound with a hot poker, Ranter proposes Bragwell stab the affected area with his sword to scoop out the infected tissue, and Slyboot claims to have a surefire cure for mad dog bites. Slyboot pulls out a bladder of black paint and smears it over Wagtail’s cheek and most of his face, leaving him in a frightful state. Terrified and distraught, Wagtail is sent home in a chair at Random’s insistence, out of pity for his extreme distress.
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