ied, 'I would sooner be as poor and as miserable as I
was at Mr. Smith's than I would be a thief.'

No more was at that time said on the subject, but Mr. Sharpley no longer
made a secret of his evil practices, and I was sorry to observe that
scarcely a day passed without his taking something from the people who
bought of him. His wife, I do believe, if she had not been influenced by
him, would have been very honest; indeed, I never knew her to take
anything herself, and sometimes, when he laid his plunder before her,
she would say:

'Ah, James, I am afraid these tricks of yours will one day bring you to
the gallows.'

Several more weeks thus passed away, and I have no cause of complaint
against them, except their taking other peoples' property, for they were
good-natured, paid very honestly for everything they had at the inns,
and often gave money to poor people they met on the roads.

Often of an evening Mr. Sharpley would amuse himself with what he called
a mock trial--that is, he would make believe he had been taken up for
theft, and I was to be examined before a judge to see if I had assisted
him or knew anything about it; then he sat as judge, and I was always to
deny having any knowledge of the theft, and when I did not answer right
Mrs. Sharpley said what I was to say. I always disliked these trials,
and could never go through them without tears, for I was always afraid
they would one day be a reality.

The winter months passed away, and spring again returned. One day, in
the month of April, as we were entering a large town, we were met by
such a vast crowd of people that we were obliged to stand up against the
houses to be out of the way while it passed. On Mr. Sharpley inquiring
what was the matter, he was told it was a man going to be hung for
privately stealing in a dwelling-house. My heart seemed to die within me
when I heard the answer, for I thought that it would very likely one day
be our own case. When we reached the inn where we were to dine, throwing
myself into a chair I covered my face with a handkerchief and wept most
bitterly.

'What is the matter?' said Mr. Sharpley. 'Are you ill?'

'No,' I replied; 'but that poor man was going to be hung. Oh, Mr.
Sharpley, we may some day be taken up and be hung too. I do wish that
you would be honest. Do not give me any more money, but keep it instead
of stealing, and I have ten shillings that I will give you back again.'

'Indeed, James,' said his wife