as she laid
her knitting down and ruefully regarded the development of the search.
But at this game, owing to the restricted area, I always won.

I went away on a visit; soon after my return I went to call on Old
Mary. To my surprise, there stood the brown earthenware sugar-bowl,
half-full, unconcealed upon the table. After a few minutes I stretched
forth my hand to help myself to its contents. Old Mary looked at me,
and said in a deep, serious voice

"Masther Willie."

"Yes," I replied.

"I always spits in me sugar."

Horror-struck, I rose and fled.

It was, I think, in my tenth year that I determined to join the Royal
Navy. An uncle of mine had presented me with Captain Marryat's novels
complete in one immense volume. I felt that a life on the ocean wave
was the only one worth living. Accordingly I offered my services to the
Admiralty as a midshipman. As I could not write (a fact I felt myself
justified in concealing from the First Lord), I got old Micky Nolan,
who was employed as a clerk in the village bakery, to pen the
application for me. Micky, who had seen better days, was quite a
capable scribe when sober.

My qualifications for the post applied for were set forth in full. I
was, I said, quite an expert navigator, my experience having been
gained in a boat on the Springfield lake. But I candidly confessed that
my parents were unaware of the step I had determined to take, and
accordingly requested that a reply might be sent to Michael Nolan, Esq.
For several weary weeks I trudged daily to the bakery, vainly hoping
for an answer.

Having for some time felt the pinch of increasing poverty, I was keenly
anxious to obtain some lucrative employment. One day I read an
advertisement in the Freeman's Journal which seemed to offer an opening
towards a competence. For the moderate sum of one shilling (which might
be remitted in postage stamps if convenient to the sender) a plan for
earning a liberal livelihood would be revealed. There was no room for
any doubt; the thing was described as an absolute certainty. An easy,
congenial, reputable employment, not requiring any special educational
qualifications, why, the thing would have been cheap at hundreds of
pounds. Yet here it was going begging for a shilling. In my case,
however, the shilling was the great difficulty. My sole sources of
pocket-money were the sale of holly-berries for Christmas festivities;
florists used to send carts from Dublin and pay as much