prevented him sending the young delinquent for trial, and thereby
rescuing him from an ignominious death, and told Mrs. Priscilla, who
was all modesty, that he was convinced she had perjured herself,--and
not to exult at her own escape from transportation, a reward he could
not help considering she richly merited, and which in due season she
would doubtless receive.

The hardened child laughed during the hearing, and on being sentenced,
by the oath of the officers, as a reputed thief, spit at his accuser,
and exclaimed, as he was taken from the bar to be conveyed to
Brixton,--"Is this all? I'll torment you yet!"

To add one more case, I may state that, at the Exeter Sessions, some
time since, two children were convicted, who, it is believed, were not
above ten years of age. Previously to this they had been convicted of
felony, and had suffered six months imprisonment at Bodmin; and it
appears that two years before, they started alone from Bristol on this
circuit of youthful depredation.

Having collected the foregoing instances of juvenile delinquency, and
presented them to the public, I cannot refrain from adducing a few
other cases which came under my own observation.

Whilst conducting the Spitalfields' Infant School, several instances
of dishonesty in the children occurred. On one occasion the mother
herself came to complain of a little boy, not more than four years
old, on the following grounds. She stated, that being obliged to
be out at work all day, as well as her husband, she was under the
necessity of leaving the children by themselves. She had three besides
the little boy of whom she was complaining. Having to pay her rent,
she put eighteen-pence for that purpose in a cup at the top of a
cupboard. On stepping home to give the children their dinners, she
found the boy at the cupboard, mounted on a chair, which again was
placed on the top of a table. On looking for the money, she found
four-pence already gone; one penny of this she found in his pocket,
the rest he had divided amongst the other children, that they might
not tell of him. After this relation I kept a strict watch on the
child, and three or four days afterwards the children detected him
opening my desk, and taking half-pence out of it. They informed me of
this, and while they were bringing him up to me the half-pence dropped
out of his hand. I detected him in many other very bad actions, but
have reason to hope, that, by suitable discipline and