home and have my supper, which, in a child was nothing but human natur. [Puff, puff, puff.] Father and mother lived in a cellar; mother sold coals and 'tatoes, and father used to go out to work in the barges on the river. As soon as I was old enough, the schoolmissus sent word that I ought to larn to read and write, and that she must be paid threepence a week, so father took me away from school, because he thought I had had education enough; and mother perched me on a basket upside down, and made me watch that nobody took the goods while she was busy down below; and then I used to sit all day long watching the coals and 'tatoes, and never hardly speaking to nobody; so having nothing better to do, I used to think about this, and that, and every thing, and when dinner would be ready, and when I might get off the basket; for you see thinking be another of the senses, and when one has nothing to do,

and nothing to say, to think be nothing more than human natur. [Puff, puff, and a pause for a drink out of the pot.] At last, I grew a big stout boy, and mother said that I ate too much, and must earn my livelihood somehow or other, and father for once agreed with her; but there was a little difficulty how that was to be done; so until that was got over, I did nothing at all but watch the coals and 'tatoes as before. One day mother wouldn't give me wituals enough, so I helped myself; so she whacked me; so I being strong whacked she; so father coming home whacked me, so I takes to my heels and runs away a good mile before I thought at all about how I was to live; and there I was, very sore, very unhappy, and very hungry. [Puff, puff, puff, and a spit.] I walks on, and on, and then I gets behind a coach, and then the fellow whips me, and I gets down again in a great hurry, and tumbles into the road,

and before I could get up again, a gemman in a gig drives right over me and breaks my leg. I screams with the pain, which if I hadn't had the sense of feeling, of course I shouldn't have minded. He pulls up and gets out, and tells me he's very sorry. I tells him so am I. His servant calls some people, and they takes me into a public house, and lays me on the table all among the pots of beer, sends for a doctor who puts me into bed, and puts my leg right again; and then I was provided for, for at least six weeks, during which the gemman calls and axes how I feel myself; and I says, 'Pretty well, I thanky.' [Puff, puff-knock the ashes out, pipe refilled, relighted, a drink of beer, and go on.] So when I was well, and on my pins again, the gentleman says, 'What can I do for you?' and the landlord cuts him short, by saying, that he wanted a pot-boy, if I liked the profession. Now, if I didn't like the pots I

did the porter, which I had no share of at home, so I agrees. The gemman pays the score, gives me half a guinea, and tells me not to be lying in the middle of the road another time. I tells him I won't, so he jumps into his gig, and I've never cast eyes upon him since. I staid three years with my master, taking out beer to his customers, and always taking a little out of each pot for myself, for that's nothing but human natur, when you likes a thing; but I never got into no trouble until one day I sees my missus a kissing in the back parlour with a fellow who travels for orders. I never said nothing at first; but at last I sees too much, and then I tells master, who gets into a rage, and goes in to his wife, stays with her half an hour, and then comes out and kicks me out of the door, calling me a liar, and telling me never to show my face again. I shies a pot at his head, and showed him any thing but my face, for I took

to my heels, and ran for it as fast as I could, So much for seeing; if I hadn't seen, that wouldn't have happened. So there I was adrift,

and good-bye to porter. [Puff, puff; Mary, where's my 'baccy stopper?' poke down, puff, puff, spit, and proceed.] Well, I walks towards Lunnun, thinking on husbands and wives, porter and human natur, until I finds myself there, and then I looks at all the lighted lamps, and recollects that I haven't no lodging for the night, and then all of a sudden I thinks of my father` and mother, and wonders how they be going on. So I thought I'd go and see, and away I went; comes to the cellar, and goes down. There sits my mother with a quartern of gin before her, walking to and fro, and whimpering to herself; so says I, Mother, what's the matter now ?' at which she jumps up and hugs me, and tells me I'm her only comfort left. I looks at the quartern and thinks otherwise; so