any other time. Who would go to
church when they could come to my pit? Religion! why, the parsons
themselves come to my pit; and I have now a letter in my pocket from one
of them, asking me to send him a dog.'

'Well, then, politics,' said I.

'Politics! Why, the gemmen in the House would leave Pitt himself, if he
were alive, to come to my pit. There were three of the best of them here
to-night, all great horators.--Get on with you, what comes next?'

'Why, there's learning and letters.'

'Pretty things, truly, to keep people from dog-fighting. Why, there's
the young gentlemen from the Abbey School comes here in shoals, leaving
books, and letters, and masters too. To tell you the truth, I rather
wish they would mind their letters, for a more precious set of young
blackguards I never seed. It was only the other day I was thinking of
calling in a constable for my own protection, for I thought my pit would
have been torn down by them.'

Scarcely knowing what to say, I made an observation at random. 'You
show, by your own conduct,' said I, 'that there are other things worth
following besides dog-fighting. You practise rat-catching and
badger-baiting as well.'

The dog-fancier eyed me with supreme contempt.

'Your friend here,' said he, 'might well call you a new one. When I
talks of dog-fighting, I of course means rat-catching, and
badger-baiting, ay, and bull-baiting too, just as when I speaks
religiously, when I says one I means not one but three. And talking of
religion puts me in mind that I have something else to do besides
chaffing here, having a batch of dogs to send off by this night's packet
to the Pope of Rome.'

But at last I had seen enough of what London had to show, whether strange
or commonplace, so at least I thought, and I ceased to accompany my
friend in his rambles about town, and to partake of his adventures. Our
friendship, however, still continued unabated, though I saw, in
consequence, less of him. I reflected that time was passing on--that the
little money I had brought to town was fast consuming, and that I had
nothing to depend upon but my own exertions for a fresh supply; and I
returned with redoubled application to my pursuits.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

OCCUPATIONS--TRADUTTORE TRADITORE--ODE TO THE MIST--APPLE AND
PEAR--REVIEWING--CURRENT LITERATURE--OXFORD-LIKE MANNER--A PLAIN
STORY--ILL-REGULATED MIND--UNSNUFFED CANDLE--DREAMS

I compiled the Chronicles of Newgate