his father and mother?--that is the question. We believe that when a
road does thus divide, the wider of the two branches is generally
selected, as being supposed to be the continuation of the high road. We
shall ourselves act upon that principle; and, as the hero of the tale is
of more consequence than characters accessory, we shall follow up the
fortunes of little Joey. As soon as our hero had deposited the gun so
that it might be easily discovered by any one passing by, he darted into
the high road, and went off with all the speed that he was capable of,
and it was not yet light when he found himself at least ten miles from
his native village. As the day dawned, he quitted the high road, and
took to the fields, keeping a parallel course, so as to still increase
the distance; it was not until he had made fifteen miles, that, finding
himself exhausted, he sat down to recover himself.

From the time that he had left the cottage until the present, Joey had
had but one overwhelming idea in his head, which was, to escape from
pursuit, and by his absence to save his father from suspicion; but now
that he had effected that purpose, and was in a state of quiescence,
other thoughts rushed upon his mind. First, the scenes of the last few
hours presented themselves in rapid array before him--he thought of the
dead man, and he looked at his hand to ascertain if the bloody marks had
been effaced; and then he thought of his poor mother's state when he
quitted the cottage, and the remembrance made him weep bitterly: his own
position came next upon him,--a boy, twelve years of age, adrift upon
the world--how was he to live--what was he to do? This reminded him
that his mother had given him money; he put his hand into his pocket,
and pulled it out to ascertain what he possessed. He had 1 pound, 16
shillings; to him a large sum, and it was all in silver. As he had
become more composed, he began to reflect upon what he had better do;
where should he go to?--London. It was a long way, he knew, but the
farther he was away from home, the better. Besides, he had heard much
of London, and that every one got employment there. Joey resolved that
he would go to London; he knew that he had taken the right road so far,
and having made up his mind, he rose up, and proceeded. He knew that,
if possible, he must not allow himself to be seen on the road for a day
or two, and he was puzzled how he was to get food, which he already felt
would