ld scarcely cover them over again, and soon after, as we were
walking home, with great civility and humility I ventured to remonstrate
with her on the great impropriety, and indeed danger, of her robbing the
garden.

'What business have you to look into my basket?' said she. 'If you do
not choose to take a little fruit yourself you have no right to meddle
with them that do; however, I shall tell mother, and I hope she'll turn
you into the wide world again as you were when you came to us.'

When we arrived at home Mr. Davis was in the house, and Susan did not
choose to say anything till he went out; she then opened the basket,
showed the peaches to her mother, and made a heavy complaint of my
impertinence in telling her she ought not to take them, that it was
stealing, and would, if discovered, most likely be the cause of her
being discharged from the garden.

Mrs. Davis was in such a passion that she struck me several times, and
said I should be the cause of her children being turned out of work.

'Don't say me, mother,' said Tommy, 'for I shall not steal. The
Catechism says I am to keep my hands from picking and stealing, and
father says if I steal I shall come to be hanged, so that you may depend
upon it I shall not steal, and I wish sisters would not.'

'You are a little blockhead,' replied his mother; 'and as for Lady Anne,
if she does not mind what she is about I shall turn her out of doors,
and she may go a-begging.'

The peaches were then put out of sight. Soon after this Mr. Davis came
in; we had our supper, and at ten o'clock went to bed.

In the course of the following day the peaches were missed at the
garden, for Mr. Freeman had counted the fruit on some of the principal
trees, and this day he found that three peaches had been taken from one
tree and two from another. We were all questioned about it, and all our
baskets were examined, but as all denied the theft and no fruit could be
found, no one could be charged with it. Mr. Freeman was very angry on
this occasion, as he well might, and ordered Mr. Joseph to keep a strict
watch over all the workpeople, as he was determined to make an example
of whoever should be detected robbing him, let it be who it might. I was
anxious to know what the children did with the fruit, as I never saw
them eating it, and I soon found that when their father was out of the
house (for they did not dare to let him know of their ill practices) the
fruit was exposed in the wi