"Asmodeus at Large" by Bulwer-Lytton is a fascinating story of a conversation between the Devil and his partner on contemporary society and events. Excerpt: "I put on my hat and walked at once to the Doctor's house. "Yes," said I, musingly, "I am certainly in a consumption. I may as well, like Colonel Jones, leave my poor remains to the Surgeons at once, and enjoy the newspaper credit of my generosity before I die. The cholera, however, which is terror to others, is consolation to me. If I were not dying of a consumption, I should certainly die of the cholera..."