willletfallthechild。
Come，thisisasadtime；letmehelpyou’；
andimmediatelylaysholdofmybundletocarryitforme。
’No，’saysI；’ifyouwillhelpme，takethechildbythehand，
andleaditformebuttotheupperendofthestreet；I’llgo
withyouandsatisfyyouforyourpains。’
Shecouldnotaviodgoing，afterwhatIsaid；butthecreature，
inshort，wasoneofthesamebusinesswithme，andwanted
nothingbutthebundle；however，shewentwithmetothe
door，forshecouldnothelpit。
WhenwewerecomethereI
whisperedher，’Go，child，’saidI，’Iunderstandyourtrade；
youmaymeetwithpurchaseenough。’
Sheunderstoodmeandwalkedoff。
Ithunderedatthedoor
withthechildren，andasthepeoplewereraisedbeforebythe
noiseofthefire，Iwassoonletin，andIsaid，’Ismadam
awake？
PraytellherMrs——desiresthefavourofherto
takethetwochildrenin；poorlady，shewillbeundone，their
houseisallofaflame，’
Theytookthechildreninverycivilly，
pitiedthefamilyindistress，andawaycameIwithmybundle。
Oneofthemaidsaskedmeif
Iwasnottoleavethebundle
too。
Isaid，’No，sweetheart，’tistogotoanotherplace；it
doesnotbelongtothem。’
Iwasagreatwayoutofthehurrynow，andsoIwenton，
clearofanybody’sinquiry，andbroughtthebundleofplate，
whichwasveryconsiderable，straighthome，andgaveitto
myoldgoverness。
Shetoldmeshewouldnotlookintoit，
butbademegooutagaintolookformore。
Shegavemethelikecuetothegentlewomanofthenexthouse
tothatwhichwasonfire，andIdidmyendeavourtogo，but
bythistimethealarmoffirewassogreat，andsomany
enginesplaying，andthestreetsothrongedwithpeople，that
IcouldnotgetnearthehousewhateverIwoulddo；soIcame
backagaintomygoverness’s，andtakingthebundleupinto
mychamber，Ibegantoexamineit。
ItiswithhorrorthatI
tellwhatatreasureIfoundthere；’tisenoughtosay，that
besidesmostofthefamilyplate，whichwasconsiderable，I
foundagoldchain，anold-fashionedthing，thelocketofwhich
wasbroken，sothatIsupposeithadnotbeenusedsomeyears，
butthegoldwasnottheworseforthat；alsoalittleboxof
burying-rings，thelady’swedding-ring，andsomebrokenbits
ofoldlocketsofgold，agoldwatch，andapursewithabout
valueinoldpiecesofgoldcoin，andseveralotherthings
ofvalue。
ThiswasthegreatestandtheworstprizethateverIwas
concernedin；forindeed，though，asIhavesaidabove，Iwas
hardenednowbeyondthepowerofallreflectioninothercases，
yetitreallytouchedmetotheverysoulwhenIlookedinto
thistreasure，tothinkofthepoordisconsolategentlewoman
whohadlostsomuchbythefirebesides；andwhowouldthink，
tobesure，thatshehadsavedherplateandbestthings；how
shewouldbesurprisedandafflictedwhensheshouldfindthat
shehadbeendeceived，andshouldfindthatthepersonthat
tookherchildrenandhergoods，hadnotcome，aswaspretended，
fromthegentlewomaninthenextstreet，butthatthechildren
hadbeenputuponherwithoutherownknowledge。
Isay，Iconfesstheinhumanityofthisactionmovedmevery
much，andmademerelentexceedingly，andtearsstoodinmy
eyesuponthatsubject；butwithallmysenseofitsbeingcruel
andinhuman，Icouldneverfindinmyhearttomakeany
restitution。
Thereflectionworeoff，andIbeganquicklyto
forgetthecircumstancesthatattendedthetakingthem。
Nowwasthisall；forthoughbythisjobIwasbecome
considerablyricherthanbefore，yettheresolutionIhad
formerlytaken，ofleavingoffthishorridtradewhenIhad
gottenalittlemore，didnotreturn，butImuststillgetfarther，
andmore；andtheavaricejoinedsowiththesuccess，thatI
hadnomorethoughtofcomingtoatimelyalterationoflife，
thoughwithoutitIcouldexpectnosafety，notranquillityin
thepossessionofwhatIhadsowickedlygained；butalittle
more，andalittlemore，wasthecasestill。
Atlength，yieldingtotheimportunitiesofmycrime，Icastoff
allremorseandrepentance，andallthereflectionsonthathead
turnedtonomorethanthis，thatImightperhapscometohave
onebootymorethatmightcompletemydesires；butthoughI
certainlyhadthatonebooty，yeteveryhitlookedtowards
another，andwassoencouragingtometogoonwiththetrade，
thatIhadnogusttothethoughtoflayingitdown。
Inthiscondition，hardenedbysuccess，andresolvingtogoon，
IfellintothesnareinwhichIwasappointedtomeetwithmy
lastrewardforthiskindoflife。
Buteventhiswasnotyet，for
Imetwithseveralsuccessfuladventuresmoreinthiswayof
beingundone。
Iremainedstillwithmygoverness，whowasforawhilereally
concernedforthemisfortuneofmycomradethathadbeen
hanged，andwho，itseems，knewenoughofmygovernessto
havesentherthesameway，andwhichmadeherveryuneasy；
indeed，shewasinaverygreatfright。
Itistruethatwhenshewasgone，andhadnotopenedmouth
totellwhatsheknew，mygovernesswaseasyastothatpoint，
andperhapsgladshewashanged，foritwasinherpowerto
haveobtainedapardonattheexpenseofherfriends；buton
theotherhand，thelossofher，andthesenseofherkindness
innotmakinghermarketofwhatsheknew，movedmy
governesstomournverysincerelyforher。
Icomfortedher
aswellasIcould，andsheinreturnhardenedmetomerit
morecompletelythesamefate。
However，asIhavesaid，itmademethemorewary，and
particularlyIwasveryshyofshoplifting，especiallyamong
themercersanddrapers，whoareasetoffellowsthathave
theireyesverymuchaboutthem。
Imadeaventureortwo
amongthelacefolksandthemilliners，andparticularlyatone
shopwhereIgotnoticeoftwoyoungwomenwhowerenewly
setup，andhadnotbeenbredtothetrade。
ThereIthinkI
carriedoffapieceofbone-lace，worthsixorsevenpounds，
andapaperofthread。
Butthiswasbutonce；itwasatrick
thatwouldnotserveagain。
Itwasalwaysreckonedasafejobwhenweheardofanew
shop，andespeciallywhenthepeopleweresuchaswerenot
bredtoshops。
Suchmaydependuponitthattheywillbe
visitedonceortwiceattheirbeginning，andtheymustbevery
sharpindeediftheycanpreventit。
Imadeanotheradventureortwo，buttheywerebuttriflestoo，
thoughsufficienttoliveon。
Afterthisnothingconsiderable
offeringforagoodwhile，IbegantothinkthatImustgive
overthetradeinearnest；butmygoverness，whowasnot
willingtoloseme，andexpectedgreatthingsofme，brought
meonedayintocompanywithayoungwomanandafellow
thatwentforherhusband，thoughasitappearedafterwards，
shewasnothiswife，buttheywerepartners，itseems，inthe
tradetheycarriedon，andpartnersinsomethingelse。
Inshort，
theyrobbedtogether，laytogether，weretakentogether，and
atlastwerehangedtogether。
Icameintoakindofleaguewiththesetwobythehelpofmy
governess，andtheycarriedmeoutintothreeorfouradventures，
whereIrathersawthemcommitsomecoarseandunhandy
robberies，inwhichnothingbutagreatstockofimpudence
ontheirside，andgrossnegligenceonthepeople’ssidewho
wererobbed，couldhavemadethemsuccessful。
soIresolved
fromthattimeforwardtobeverycautioushowIadventured
uponanythingwiththem；andindeed，whentwoorthree
unluckyprojectswereproposedbythem，Ideclinedtheoffer，
andpersuadedthemagainstit。
Onetimetheyparticularly
proposedrobbingawatchmakerofthreegoldwatches，which
theyhadeyedinthedaytime，andfoundtheplacewherehe
laidthem。
Oneofthemhadsomanykeysofallkinds，thathe
madenoquestiontoopentheplacewherethewatchmaker
hadlaidthem；andsowemadeakindofanappointment；but
whenIcametolooknarrowlyintothething，Ifoundthey
proposedbreakingopenthehouse，andthis，asathingoutof
myway，Iwouldnotembarkin，sotheywentwithoutme。
Theydidgetintothehousebymainforce，andbrokeupthe
lockedplacewherethewatcheswere，butfoundbutoneof
thegoldwatches，andasilverone，whichtheytook，andgot
outofthehouseagainveryclear。
Butthefamily，beingalarmed，
criedout’Thieves，’andthemanwaspursuedandtaken；the
youngwomanhadgotofftoo，butunhappilywasstoppedat
adistance，andthewatchesfounduponher。
AndthusIhad
asecondescape，fortheywereconvicted，andbothhanged，
beingoldoffenders，thoughbutyoungpeople。
AsIsaidbefore
thattheyrobbedtogetherandlaytogether，sonowtheyhanged
together，andthereendedmynewpartnership。
Ibegannowtobeverywary，havingsonarrowlyescapeda
scouring，andhavingsuchanexamplebeforeme；butIhada
newtempter，whopromptedmeeveryday——Imeanmygoverness；
andnowaprizepresented，whichasitcamebyhermanagement，
sosheexpectedagoodshareofthebooty。
Therewasagood
quantityofFlanderslacelodgedinaprivatehouse，whereshe
hadgottenintelligenceofit，andFlanderslacebeingprohibited，
itwasagoodbootytoanycustom-houseofficerthatcould
comeatit。
Ihadafullaccountfrommygoverness，aswell
ofthequantityasoftheveryplacewhereitwasconcealed，
andIwenttoacustom-houseofficer，andtoldhimIhadsuch
adiscoverytomaketohimofsuchaquantityoflace，ifhe
wouldassuremethatIshouldhavemydueshareofthereward。
Thiswassojustanoffer，thatnothingcouldbefairer；sohe
agreed，andtakingaconstableandmewithhim，webesetthe
house。
AsItoldhimIcouldgodirectlytotheplace，heleft
ittome；andtheholebeingverydark，Isqueezedmyselfinto
