s he found himself as badly off as before; and being almost
starved again, he laid himself down at the door of Mr. Fitzwarren, a
rich merchant. Here he was soon seen by the cook-maid, who was an
ill-tempered creature, and happened just then to be very busy dressing
dinner for her master and mistress; so she called out to poor Dick:
"What business have you there, you lazy rogue? there is nothing else but
beggars; if you do not take yourself away, we will see how you will like
a sousing of some dish-water; I have some here hot enough to make you
jump."

Just at that time, Mr. Fitzwarren himself came home to dinner; and when
he saw a dirty ragged boy lying at the door, he said to him: "Why do you
lie there, my boy? You seem old enough to work; I am afraid you are
inclined to be lazy."

"No, indeed, sir," said Dick to him, "that is not the case, for I would
work with all my heart, but I do not know anybody, and I believe I am
very sick for the want of food." "Poor fellow, get up; let me see what
ails you."

Dick now tried to rise, but was obliged to lie down again, being too
weak to stand, for he had not eaten any food for three days, and was no
longer able to run about and beg a halfpenny of people in the street. So
the kind merchant ordered him to be taken into the house, and have a
good dinner given him, and be kept to do what dirty work he was able for
the cook.

Little Dick would have lived very happy in this good family if it had
not been for the ill-natured cook, who was finding fault and scolding
him from morning to night, and besides, she was so fond of basting, that
when she had no meat to baste, she would baste poor Dick's head and
shoulders with a broom, or anything else that happened to fall in her
way. At last her ill-usage of him was told to Alice, Mr. Fitzwarren's
daughter, who told the cook she should be turned away if she did not
treat him kinder.

The ill-humor of the cook was now a little amended; but besides this
Dick had another hardship to get over. His bed stood in a garret, where
there were so many holes in the floor and the walls that every night he
was tormented with rats and mice. A gentleman having given Dick a penny
for cleaning his shoes, he thought he would buy a cat with it. The next
day he saw a girl with a cat, and asked her if she would let him have it
for a penny. The girl said she would, and at the same time told him the
cat was an excellent mouser.

Dick hid his cat in the garr