t, notwithstanding this, a thrill of terror
nearly paralysed his limbs, when, while exploring the dungeon into which
he had been thrown, his feet came in contact with an object, which, on
examination, he discovered to be a human skeleton. The dread of being
left to starve and perish in that dismal den, in such awful company,
well nigh overcame both his philosophy and courage; and seating himself
upon the damp earth, he abandoned himself to those feelings of
despondency naturally engendered by his situation.

A man placed in such circumstances, in the midst of intense darkness,
can "take no note of time." An hour of horror will sometimes seem an
age, while a week of unalloyed pleasure will often glide by seemingly
with the same rapidity as a few fleeting moments. It may have been one
hour--it may have been ten--that the Corporal sat on the floor of his
dungeon; when suddenly he was startled by the noise of the trap-door
above his head being opened, and looking up, he beheld Sow Nance gazing
down upon him, holding in her hand a lantern. After regarding him
intently for a few moments, she thus addressed him:--

"Say, old chap, what'll yer give me if I help yer to 'scape from this
hole? Yer don't look as if yer had any money--but if yer have, pay me
well, and I'll get you out."

"Lower down a ladder or a rope, and raise me from this infernal trap,
and you shall have this purse--see, 'tis full of gold!" replied the
Corporal, at the same time producing from his pocket a purse which was
evidently well lined with the "needful."

Nance uttered an exclamation of surprise and pleasure, and then
disappeared; in a few minutes she returned and lowered a ladder into the
pit; the Corporal rapidly ascended, and soon stood at the side of his
deliverer, whom he could not avoid thanking warmly, as he gave her the
purse. Bidding him follow her, she conducted him through the dark
passage; they entered the "Pig Pen," which was empty--passed through the
dance cellar without attracting any attention, and to the intense joy of
the Corporal, he found himself standing in the open air, with the sun
shining brightly, and no one to hinder his departure from those corrupt
regions of sin and horror.

He distinctly remembered that Sow Nance had boasted of having enticed a
young girl to the abode of Mr. Tickels in South street. Now this latter
individual was known to him as a libertine and a villain; and inwardly
praying that he might not be too lat