, 'I wish you would leave off _taking_.
When you read of trials and executions in the newspapers, and when we
met that poor man to-day you don't know how I felt. I am very much
afraid, as well as Lady Anne, that we shall come to an untimely end.'

'You and Lady Anne are enough to drive a man mad,' replied her husband;
'but, however, I will make this bargain with you both. Whenever it
happens that I am taken up for theft, and am brought to within an inch
of my life, so that there seems no chance of escaping, then, if any
unforeseen circumstance arises and delivers me from the danger, then, I
give you my word, I swear to you, that from that day forward I will be
an honest man, and content myself with the profits of my trade.'

'Then the sooner it happens the better,' said his wife, 'for I am sick
of the life of jeopardy we lead.'

One would have thought that from the dreadful example that passed before
his eyes, and from what his wife said to him, that Mr. Sharpley would in
some degree have left off his bad practices; but he did quite the
contrary, and took more and more. Sometimes, after committing these
thefts, we were obliged instead of keeping along the road to cross the
fields and go for miles out of our way, and at night to sleep in
outhouses or barns, that we might not be seen before Mr. Sharpley had
come to some place where he could part with his stolen goods. On these
occasions I was truly miserable, and I determined, in my own mind, that
whenever we should travel near to London I would contrive to leave them,
and go to Mrs. Williams, who, I doubted not, would get me some
employment to enable me to live in an honest manner.

Things went on in this way till the beginning of June, when one day, as
we were passing a very fine park, we stopped to admire it. A broad
avenue planted on each side with trees led up to the house, which was
large and handsome.

'We will go in there,' said Mr. Sharpley; 'perhaps we may have the good
fortune to sell something.' He opened the gate, we entered, and walked
up the avenue to the house. As we passed one of the parlour windows he
peeped in, and said in a low voice:

'There is nobody there, the cloth is spread for dinner, and there is a
rare lot of plate.'

With an aching heart I followed him up the steps to the hall-door; there
he saw a woman servant, whom he began to persuade to look at some of his
goods. She said she would call the lady's maid, who she thought would
show s