reater, he somehow could never manage to make his
money last out. I am afraid he was not always as careful as he might
have been, and I am sorry to say when he was spent up--which was very
often--he did what so many boys and young fellows do, borrowed money.
This is always foolish, for, of course, it cannot make things any
better, and indeed only makes them worse; because when the allowance
comes, the debts have to be paid, and there is little or no money left.
However, neither debt nor being short of money troubled Jack at this
time; indeed he said it was just as well to be poor, for there were so
many rogues at Oxford, that if you carried anything worth stealing, it
was not safe to be out at night.

One of his friends was once standing at the door of a coffee-house about
seven o'clock in the evening, and happening to look round, in an instant
his hat and his wig--they wore wigs in those days--were snatched off
his head by a thief, who managed to get clear off with his booty. Jack
writing home about this said: "I am safe from these rogues, for all my
belongings would not be worth their stealing."

When Jack had been four years at Oxford, and was about twenty-one, his
brother Samuel wrote to tell him he had had the misfortune to break his
leg. He also told him his mother was coming to London, and if he liked
he might go and meet her there.

It was a long, long time since Jack had seen his mother, and you may
imagine his delight when he got this letter. He wrote back:

"DEAR BROTHER SAMUEL,

"I am sorry for your misfortune, though glad to
hear you are getting better. Have you heard of the
Dutch sailor who having broken one of his legs by
a fall from the mast, thanked God that he had not
broken his neck? I expect you are feeling thankful
that you did not break both legs.

"I cried for joy at the last part of your letter.
The two things I most wished for of almost
anything in the world were to see my mother and
Westminster again. But I have been so often
disappointed when I have set my heart on some
great pleasure, that I will never again be sure of
anything before it comes.

"Your affectionate brother,
"JACK."

Poor Jack! it was well he did not anticipate this treat too much, for
when the