hem. Jenny did not think fit to speak to
them, but dogging them privately home, called upon her sister the next
day and was mighty well received. The couple now took every opportunity
(notwithstanding the allowance of the book-keeper) to enable Alice to
stroll out with her together, and wandered about nightly in quest of
adventures, till it began to grow towards ten o'clock, and the fear of a
visit from her keeper drove Alice to her lodgings.

This trade, without any remarkable accident, was practised for about
three months, when on a sudden the book-keeper vanished, and for three
weeks' time Alice heard not a word of him. This threw both the sisters
into a heavy peck of troubles, and the more because he had always kept
it a secret in whose family he lived and went to the people where Alice
lodged by another name than his own. However they got money enough by
sparks they picked up to live pretty easily together, and that no
misfortune might go too near their hearts, they fell to drinking a quart
of brandy a day. It seems the woman at whose house they lodged was
herself given to drinking, and so by treating her they fell into the
same vice. The landlady in return was mighty civil to them, and every
now and then invited them downstairs to drink with her.

One evening when they were below stairs, there happened to be some
discourse about a trial at the Sessions House, whereupon Alice expressed
her desire of seeing the trials, and her sister agreeing in the request,
their landlady agreed to carry them the next morning. Accordingly they
were at Sessions House by the time the Court was set, and the two young
sluts were exceedingly merry at the wretched appearances the poor
creatures made at the bar. In the midst of their mirth, a man was
brought up to plead to his indictment, who had only a blanket wrapped
over his shirt to keep him from the weather; they were laughing and
talking to some of the people behind them, when Jenny patted her sister
to take notice of what the man was charged with. Alice listened and
heard the indictment read, which was for breaking open an escritoire and
taking out of it ninety guineas, two diamond rings and a good tweezer.
When the clerk had done reading, the criminal answered with a low voice,
_Not Guilty_, and the keeper thereupon took him from the bar. As he
turned, his face being towards them, Alice saw that it was the
book-keeper who had lived with her, and in a low voice whispered her
siste