had seen the letter which he then sent to his
mamma without the knowledge of his master, it was wrote so crooked
(i.e. not from side to side as it ought to have been, but from corner
to corner) and the strokes were all so coarse and uneven, and the whole
of the letter so awkwardly spelt, and so unmercifully blotted and
bedawbed, that you would have thought it had been the elegant epistle
of _Tony Clodhopper_ to his grandmother _Goody Linsey Woolsey_. As for
his mamma, poor gentlewoman! when she first opened it, she thought it
had been sent to her by some impudent shoe black or chimney sweeper;
but when she had directed her eyes to the bottom and read (though not,
I assure you, without the greatest difficulty)--"_from yr, loven ind
respactfle sun, Rickard Rostick_" she was so much oppressed with shame
and vexation, that she tore the letter into a thousand pieces, and was
ready to burst into tears. He was alike remarkable for the politeness
of his manners, and his agreeable address; for he had such a
treacherous memory, though he had been frequently reminded of the
propriety and indeed the necessity of observing those little punctilios
of good behaviour, that he seldom remembered when any company entered
the room in which he happened to be sitting, either to rise from his
chair or take off his hat; and when he was told of it either by his
parents or his master, he would bounce up, and snatch of his hat in
such an awkward hurry, grinning and leering the whole time, that you
would have thought he had just started from a dream; and even then he
would generally forget to finish the rude ceremony by making one of his
ducking bows. It is true, indeed, he had been under the hands of a
dancing master; but notwithstanding the utmost care and assiduity of
his teacher, who was esteemed a very excellent one; he was never able
to perform a whit better than he does in his present shape. In short,
you might as well have kept a hog in training for Newmarket races, or
an ox for his majesty to ride upon at a grand review, as have attempted
to initiate master _Dicky Rustick_ in the elements of politeness and
good breeding. With such a delicate disposition, and such amiable
talents, you will readily perceive that he must have been a most
agreeable play fellow. His favorite diversion was that which has been
distinguished by the vulgar, by the well known name of _Pully Hawly_,
in which he so much excelled that whenever he was invited by the youn