o be said of him: in spite of his peculiarities, he
was a man who would never depart from his word, and that Mr Schank knew
very well. But that in no way detracted from the Lieutenant's
generosity, for he had made up his mind to take charge of the Little
Lady, whether the Captain assisted him or not. Highly as he esteemed my
father and mother, he considered perhaps justly, that they were not in a
position to bring up a little girl whose parents were evidently
gentlefolks. Be that as it may, it was settled that she was to be sent
off as soon as an opportunity should occur, to old Mrs Schank's
residence, in the village of Whithyford, Lincolnshire. The difficulty
of sending her there was solved by the offer of my mother to convey her
herself, with the sanction of my father; indeed, he proposed to go down
also, provided the journey could be delayed till the ship was paid off.

"Two children, you see, sir," he said to Mr Schank, "would be rather
too much for my good woman to take charge of alone, and I suppose, sir,
it would not just do for you to go and help her. People might think
what was not the case."

Mr Schank laughed. He had never thought of that, and certainly had not
bargained either to take care of one child himself, or to assist my
mother in taking care of two.

"By all means, Burton," he said. "I have some business in London which
will keep me for a few days, and the Little Lady will give interest and
amusement enough to my family till I make my appearance."

The heavy coach took us to London under the escort of Lieutenant Schank,
who saw us off for Whithyford in another, far heavier and more
lumbering. My father and I went outside; my mother and the Little Lady
had an inside place. Behind sat a guard with a couple of blunderbusses
slung on either side of him, dressed in an ample red coat, and a brace
of pistols sticking out of his pockets. There were a good many
highwaymen about at the time, who robbed occasionally on one side of
London, and sometimes on the other, and an armed guard, from his
formidable appearance, gave the passengers confidence, though he might
possibly have proved no very efficient protector if attacked. My father
was in high spirits, and pointed out everything he thought worth
noticing to me on the road. Each time the coach stopped he was off his
seat with me clinging to his back, and looking in at the window to
inquire if my mother or the Little Lady wanted anything. Now he