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d in gymnastics, on the third or fourth floor of a burning house, with the branch in his hands, who is uncertain as to his means of escape, in the event of his return by the stair being cut off, will be too much concerned about his own safety to render much service, and will certainly not be half so efficient as the experienced gymnast, who, with a hatchet and eighty feet of rope at his waist, and a window near him, feels himself in comparative security, knowing that he has the means and the power of lowering himself easily and safely into the street"--a knowledge which not only gives him confidence, but enables him to give his undistracted attention to the exigencies of the fire. It was to attend this gymnastic class that Frank now turned aside, and proposed to bid Willie goodbye; but Willie begged to be taken into the room. Frank complied, and the boy soon found himself in an apartment fitted up with all the appliances of a gymnasium, where a number of powerful young men were leaping, vaulting, climbing, and in other ways improving their physical powers. Frank joined them, and for a long time Willie stood in rapt and envious contemplation of the busy scene. At first he could not avoid feeling that there seemed a good deal more of play than business in their doings; but his admiration of the scene deepened when he remembered the bold acts of the firemen at Beverly Square, and recognised some of the faces of the men who had been on duty there, and reflected that these very men, _who seemed thus to be playing themselves_, would on that very night, in all probability, be called upon to exert these powers sternly and seriously, yet coolly, in the midst of scenes of terror and confusion, and in the face of imminent personal danger. Brooding over these things, Willie, having at length torn himself away, hastened on his pilgrimage to London Bridge. CHAPTER TEN. DIFFICULTIES AND DISSIPATIONS. In a very small office, situate in a very large warehouse, in that great storehouse of the world's wealth, Tooley Street, sat a clerk named Edward Hooper. Among his familiar friends Edward was better known by the name of Ned. He was seated on the top of a tall three-legged stool, which, to judge from the uneasy and restless motions of its occupant, must have been a peculiarly uncomfortable seat indeed. There was a clock on the wall just opposite to Ned's desk, which that young gentleman was in the habit of consul
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