enforce obedience, nor prudence to maintain order among his
scholars: so that the school degenerated into anarchy and confusion, and
he himself dwindled in the opinion of his employers, who looked upon him
as superannuated, and withdrew their children front his tuition.

Peregrine seeing this dissolution of their society, and finding himself
every day deprived of some companion, began to repine at his situation,
and resolved, if possible, to procure his release from the jurisdiction
of the person whom he both detested and despised. With this view he went
to work, and composed the following billet, addressed to the commodore,
which was the first specimen of his composition in the epistolary way:--

"Honoured and Loving Uncle,--Hoping you are in good health,
this serves to inform you, that Mr. Jennings is gone, and
Mr. Keypstick will never meet with his fellow. The school
is already almost broke up, and the rest daily going away;
and I beg of you of all love to have me fetched away also,
for I cannot bear to be any longer under one who is a perfect
ignoramus, who scarce knows the declination of musa, and is
more fit to be a scarecrow than a schoolmaster; hoping you
will send for me soon, with my love to my aunt, and my duty
to my honoured parents, craving their blessing and yours. And
this is all at present from, honoured uncle, your well-beloved
and dutiful nephew and godson, and humble servant to command
till death,
"Peregrine Pickle."

Trunnion was overjoyed at the receipt of this letter, which he looked
upon as one of the greatest efforts of human genius, and as such
communicated the contents to his lady, whom he had disturbed for the
purpose in the middle of her devotion, by sending a message to her
closet, whither it was her custom very frequently to retire. She was
out of humour at being interrupted, and therefore did not peruse this
specimen of her nephew's understanding with all the relish that the
commodore himself had enjoyed; on the contrary, after sundry paralytical
endeavours to speak (for her tongue sometimes refused its office), she
observed that the boy was a pert jackanapes, and deserved to be severely
chastised for treating his betters with such disrespect. Her husband
undertook his godson's defence, representing with great warmth that he
knew Keypstick to be a good-for-nothing pimping old rascal, and that
Perry showe