and pressing foe, to care much
about dirt, and no doubt deemed a wash of tears now and then sufficient.
Lumpy himself seemed to agree with her as to this, for he washed
himself in that fashion frequently.

Having sought for his parents in vain, with the aid of the police, Mrs
Lumpy quietly kept the boy on; gave him her surname, prefixed that of
Timothy, answered to the call of mother, and then left him to do very
much as he pleased.

In these circumstances, it was not surprising that little Tim soon grew
to be one of the pests of his alley. Tim was a weak-eyed boy, and
remarkably thin, being, as his friend had said, composed chiefly of legs
and arms. There must have been a good deal of brain also, for he was
keen-witted, as people soon began to find out to their cost. Tim was
observant also. He observed, on nearing the age of ten years, that in
the great river of life which daily flowed past him, there were certain
faces which indicated tender and kindly hearts, coupled with defective
brain-action, and a good deal of self-will. He became painfully shrewd
in reading such faces, and, on wet days, would present himself to them
with his bare little red feet and half-naked body, rain water, (doing
duty for tears), running from his weak bloodshot eyes, and falsehoods of
the most pitiable, complex, and impudent character pouring from his thin
blue lips, whilst awful solemnity seemed to shine on his visage. The
certain result was--coppers!

These kindly ones have, unwittingly of course, changed a text of
Scripture, and, for the words "_consider_ the poor," read "throw coppers
to the poor!" You see, it is much easier to relieve one's feelings by
giving away a few pence, than to take the trouble of visiting, inquiring
about, and otherwise _considering_, the poor! At all events it would
seem so, for Tim began to grow comparatively rich, and corrupted, still
more deeply, associates who were already buried sufficiently in the
depths of corruption.

At last little Tim was met by a lady who had befriended him more than
once, and who asked him why he preferred begging in the streets to going
to the ragged school, where he would get not only food for the body, but
for the soul. He replied that he was hungry, and his mother had no
victuals to give him, so he had gone out to beg. The lady went straight
to Mrs Lumpy, found the story to be true, and that the poor half-blind
old woman was quite unable to support the boy and he