a watch on the outskirts of
Colstone Wood--I was seized by two of Sir John Latham's keepers and
taken away to the county gaol. I will not here attempt to describe the
days of misery and shame that followed, and the grief and anguish of my
parents; for although Sir John and the other county magistrates before
whom I was brought believed my tale when I weepingly told them that I
had no intention of poaching (and, indeed, I did not actually know that
my two companions were bent upon so dangerous an enterprise) and my
punishment was but light, yet the disgrace was too much for me to bear.
So ere the sting of the whipping I received had died away I had made up
my mind to run away to London and get some honest employment, and trust
to time for my father's forgiveness. My sister Judith--Heaven bless her
loving heart--to whom alone I made known my purpose, sought with tender
words and endearing caresses to overcome my resolution; but, finding her
pleading was of no avail, she made heart to dry her tears, and, giving
me half a guinea, which a month before had been given to her by Lady
Latham, she folded me in her arms, and, kissing me a last goodbye, as I
stood with her at midnight behind my father's barn, bade me God speed.

"'Goodbye, John,' she whispered, ''twill surely break mother's heart, I
fear, when she knows you have gone.'

"So, whispering back a promise that I would find some one in London
to write to her for me and tell her how I fared, I gently took poor
Judith's loving arms from around my neck, and ran as hard as I could
across the field into the high road; for every moment my courage was
failing me, and when I reached a hedge and lay down to rest awhile, my
mother's face rose before me, and I thought I heard her tender voice
crying, 'My boy, my boy! Has he gone without a last kiss from me?' Twice
did I rise up with tears running down my cheeks and resolve to go back
and at least receive her farewell kiss and blessing, but my boyish pride
came to my aid, and with a choking sob I lay down again and waited for
the morning.

"It took me some days to reach London, for it is a long journey from
Aylesbury, and then for nearly a week I endured much hardship and
misery, for my starved and dejected appearance was such that no
one would give me employment of any sort, and my half-guinea became
exhausted in buying food. But weak and wretched as I was, my courage to
go on in the course I had taken was still unshaken; and, al