Sentence:  £10,000 apiece; and, if all fall out right, the latter to come to our good friend [Secretary Winwood]'s share, who had rather have met with somebody else, and set me on work to win the <WSD>dry-handed</WSD> Knight (you know who I mean), who though he be ambitious enough, yet covetousness is the more predominant. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Snobbish; concerned more with social standing than actual worth.