exorbitantly, for a pardoned man to remain within his domains
as if they had been the most costly and delightful hostel in the
kingdom.

Master Hope, who presently arrived, had to pay a high fee for leave to
bring Master Todd, the barber-surgeon, with him to see his brother; but
though he offered a mark a day, (a huge amount at that time), the
captain was obdurate in refusing to allow the patient to be attended by
his own old nurse, declaring that it was contrary to discipline, and,
(what probably affected him much more), one such woman could cause more
trouble than a dozen felons. No doubt it was true, for she would have
insisted on moderate cleanliness and comfort. No other attendant whom
Mr Hope could find would endure the disgrace, the discomfort, and alarm
of a residence in Newgate for Jasper's sake; so that the draper's
gratitude to Stephen Birkenholt, for voluntarily sharing the little
fellow's captivity, was great, and he gave payment to one or two of the
officials to secure the two lads being civilly treated, and that the
provisions sent in reached them duly.

Jasper did not in general seem very ill by day, only heavy, listless and
dull, unable to eat, too giddy to sit up, and unable to help crying like
a babe, if Stephen left him for a moment; but he never fell asleep
without all the horror and dread of the sentence coming over him. Like
all the boys in London, he had gazed at executions with the sort of
curiosity that leads rustic lads to run to see pigs killed, and now the
details came over him in semi-delirium, as acted out on himself, and he
shrieked and struggled in an anguish which was only mitigated by
Stephen's reassurances, caresses, even scoldings. The other youths,
relieved from the apprehension of death, agreed to regard their
detention as a holiday, and not being squeamish, turned the yard into a
playground, and there they certainly made uproar, and played pranks,
enough to justify the preference of the captain for full grown
criminals. But Stephen could not join them, for Jasper would not spare
him for an instant, and he himself, though at first sorely missing
employment and exercise, was growing drowsy and heavy limbed in his
cramped life and the evil atmosphere, even the sick longings for liberty
were gradually passing away from him, so that sometimes he felt as if he
had lived here for ages and known no other life, though no sooner did he
lie down to rest, and shut his eyes, than the tre