all I had in
the world--and that did not last for long; and when it was gone I begged
in the streets, but I did not get much by that, except a month's hard
labour in the correction-house; and when I came out I knew not what to
do, but thought I would take a walk in the country, for it was spring-
time, and the weather was fine, so I took a walk about seven miles from
London, and came to a place where a great fair was being held; and there
I begged, but got nothing but a halfpenny, and was thinking of going
farther, when I saw a man with a table, like that of mine, playing with
thimbles, as you saw me. I looked at the play, and saw him win money,
and run away, and hunted by constables more than once. I kept following
the man, and at last entered into conversation with him; and learning
from him that he was in want of a companion to help him, I offered to
help him if he would pay me; he looked at me from top to toe, and did not
wish at first to have anything to do with me, as he said my appearance
was against me. 'Faith, Shorsha, he had better have looked at home, for
his appearance was not much in his favour: he looked very much like a
Jew, Shorsha. However, he at last agreed to take me to be his companion,
or bonnet as he called it; and I was to keep a look-out, and let him know
when constables were coming, and to spake a good word for him
occasionally, whilst he was chating folks with his thimbles and his pea.
So I became his bonnet, and assisted him in the fair, and in many other
fairs beside; but I did not like my occupation much, or rather my master,
who, though not a big man, was a big thaif, and an unkind one, for do all
I could I could never give him pleasure; and he was continually calling
me fool and bogtrotter, and twitting me because I could not learn his
thaives' Latin, and discourse with him in it, and comparing me with
another acquaintance, or bit of a pal of his, whom he said he had parted
with in the fair, and of whom he was fond of saying all kinds of
wonderful things, amongst others, that he knew the grammar of all
tongues. At last, wearied with being twitted by him with not being able
to learn his thaives' Greek, I proposed that I should teach him Irish,
that we should spake it together when we had anything to say in secret.
To that he consented willingly; but, och! a purty hand he made with
Irish, 'faith, not much better than I did with his thaives' Hebrew. Then
my turn came, and I twitted him ni