en at hand and rescued her,
whereupon she was conveyed to the great house, lest she should attempt to
do herself farther mischief, for she had neither friends nor parents--and
there she died three months after, having first brought me into the
world. She was a sweet pretty creature, I'm told, but hardly fit for
this world, being neither large, nor fierce, nor able to take her own
part. So I was born and bred in the great house, where I learnt to read
and sew, to fear God, and to take my own part. When I was fourteen I was
put out to service to a small farmer and his wife, with whom, however, I
did not stay long, for I was half-starved, and otherwise ill treated,
especially by my mistress, who one day attempting to knock me down with a
besom, I knocked her down with my fist, and went back to the great
house.'

'And how did they receive you in the great house?'

'Not very kindly, young man--on the contrary, I was put into a dark room,
where I was kept a fortnight on bread and water; I did not much care,
however, being glad to have got back to the great house at any rate--the
place where I was born, and where my poor mother died; and in the great
house I continued two years longer, reading and sewing, fearing God, and
taking my own part when necessary. At the end of the two years I was
again put out to service, but this time to a rich farmer and his wife,
with whom, however, I did not live long, less time, I believe, than with
the poor ones, being obliged to leave for--'

'Knocking your mistress down?'

'No, young man, knocking my master down, who conducted himself improperly
towards me. This time I did not go back to the great house, having a
misgiving that they would not receive me; so I turned my back to the
great house where I was born, and where my poor mother died, and wandered
for several days I know not whither, supporting myself on a few halfpence
which I chanced to have in my pocket. It happened one day, as I sat
under a hedge crying, having spent my last farthing, that a comfortable-
looking elderly woman came up in a cart, and seeing the state in which I
was, she stopped and asked what was the matter with me; I told her some
part of my story, whereupon she said, 'Cheer up, my dear; if you like,
you shall go with me, and wait upon me.' Of course I wanted little
persuasion, so I got into the cart and went with her. She took me to
London and various other places, and I soon found that she was a
travell