I'm reading a novel written at the beginning of the XX century and I've come across this sentence:
Half paralysed, over head and ears in debt, having gone the pace all his life--or so they said!--till at last that mine in Ecuador had done for him--before the secretary's day, of course, but he had heard of it.
From the context, I'm guessing "go the pace" means something like "having a really good time", "being successful" or "conquering your goals", but I haven't found the expression in any dictionary. Could anyone help me understand this?