thinking_ be another of the senses, and
when one has nothing to do, and nothing to say, to think be nothing more
than human natur'." [Puff, puff, and a pause for a drink out of the
pot.] "At last, I grew a big stout boy, and mother said that I ate too
much, and must earn my livelihood somehow or other, and father for once
agreed with her; but there was a little difficulty how that was to be
done; so until that was got over I did nothing at all but watch the
coals and 'tatoes as before. One day mother wouldn't give me wituals
enough, so I helped myself; so she whacked me, so I, being strong,
whacked she; so father, coming home, whacked me, so I takes to my heels
and runs away a good mile before I thought at all about how I was to
live; and there I was, very sore, very unhappy, and very hungry."
[Puff, puff, puff, and a spit.] "I walks on, and on, and then I gets
behind a coach, and then the fellow whips me, and I gets down again in a
great hurry, and tumbles into the road, and before I could get up again,
a gemman, in a gig drives right over me, and breaks my leg. I screams
with pain, which if I hadn't had the sense of _feeling_, of course I
shouldn't have minded. He pulls up and gets out, and tells me he's very
sorry. I tells him so am I. His servant calls some people, and they
takes me into a public-house, and lays me on the table all among the
pots of beer, sends for a doctor, who puts me into bed, and puts my leg
right again; and then I was provided for, for at least six weeks, during
which the gemman calls and axes how I feel myself; and I says, `Pretty
well, I thanky.'" [Puff, puff--knock the ashes out, pipe refilled,
relighted, a drink of beer, and go on.] "So when I was well, and on my
pins again, the gentleman says, `What can I do for you?' and the
landlord cuts him short by saying that he wanted a pot-boy, if I liked
the profession. Now, if I didn't like the pots I did the porter, which
I had no share of at home, so I agrees. The gemman pays the score,
gives me half a guinea, and tells me not to be lying in the middle of
the road another time. I tells him I won't, so he jumps into his gig,
and I never cast eyes upon him since. I stayed three years with my
master, taking out beer to his customers, and always taking a little out
of each pot for myself, for that's nothing but human natur' when you
likes a thing; but I never got into trouble until one day I sees my
missus a-kissing in the back parlour with