to the club fund, and will help up to get fires i'
winter. You'll soon break yourselves of it, it be only a trick. I did.
Mr. Merton told me that it was a bad habit and horrible to decent
people. I said I could never break myself o't. He said if I fined myself
a penny every time I did it, and put it in the poor box o' Sunday, I
should soon get out o' t'way. Well, the first day cost me thirteen
pence, the next fourpence, and afterwards it was only a penny now and
then. First and last it didn't cost me half a crown, and you never hear
me swear or use bad language now. Come, Bull-dogs, this will be the
first step toward improving yourselves, and when you find how easy it be
to do wi'out it here, you will soon do wi'out it outside."

The rule was finally agreed to, but during the first week it carried a
good deal of heart-burning in the club. One of the members left
altogether, but the rest soon found that the fines, which had been so
alarming for the first day or two, dwindled down.

It cost the Bull-dogs collectively over three pounds to cure themselves
of using bad language, and the fines kept them in firing, paper, pens,
and ink all the winter.

On the evening after the opening of the club-room the whole party
accompanied by Jack went to the night-school. They looked rather
shamefaced as they tramped in, but Jack introduced them one by one to
the master, who with a few cordial words put them at their ease. For the
first night he contented himself by finding out how much each knew, how
much he remembered of what he had formerly heard. For the last half hour
he gave them a short lecture on geography, drawing a map on the
black-board, taking a traveller from place to place, and telling them
what he saw there. Then he set them each a task to be learned and a few
sums to be done by the following Friday, and they returned to the
club-room greatly pleased with the first night's lessons.

It was not always so light, but the lads were in earnest and really
worked hard. Jack visited the room on the off nights, explained
questions they did not understand, and after nine o'clock generally read
aloud for half an hour while they smoked; that is to say, he read short
sentences and then one or other read them after him, Jack correcting
mistakes in dialect and pronunciation.

Mr. Merton had indeed been a friend to Jack Simpson, but there was
another friend to whom, according to his promise, Jack reported his
doings, not telling ev