wn I
sold readily. I begged some more straw of a man at a stable, and set to
work again. I sold off my baskets and fancy articles much quicker than I
could make them. I soon got so well known that I excited some attention;
but one day being at a public tavern, where I had gone to deliver a
basket ordered, the word 'Liverpool' fell upon my ears and caused me to
tremble. Near me sat two men who looked like drovers. They were talking
about Liverpool affairs: one of them told the other that there had been
lately a great fire near the dock, where a quantity of provisions had
been burnt, and much property destroyed besides. They then spoke of the
escape of my companions and myself, and for the first time I heard of
their fate, and how, one by one, they had been recaptured or willingly
returned. I then heard of their trials and the miseries they had
encountered. The drovers also spoke of one prisoner who had disappeared
and got away completely, but that there was a hot search after him, as
he, it was supposed, was the ringleader in the late outbreak, and that it
was planned and carried out by him. I felt that they alluded to myself,
and that this place would grow too warm for me, as I knew that I was
already an object of public remark, owing to my supposed infirmities and
the extraordinary dexterity of my fingers. It will be recollected that I
bought some bread at a little shop near the market-place. Passing there
the day after I arrived, I saw a bill in the window bearing the words
"_lodgings to let_." I, therefore, by signs made the woman of the shop
comprehend that I wanted such accommodation. I took the bill out of the
window, pointed to the words, and the to myself; then I laid my hand on
my head as if in the attitude of sleep. The good woman quite
comprehended me, and nodding her head to my dumb proposition led the way
up a small flight of stairs, and at once installed me in the vacant room.
It was small and poorly furnished, but very clean. I soon made myself at
home; and never wanted anything doing for me, so that the widow's
intercourse with me was very limited. I knew I could not write without
betraying my foreign origin, so the way I did first was to get a book and
pick out words signifying what I wanted, and from these words the good
woman made out a sentence. I wanted so little that we had no difficulty
in making out a dialogue. After hearing the talk of the drovers I
determined to leave the town w