his daughter,
just held a small bed each, and the kitchen and my room below were to
match; neither were the tenements in the very best repair, the parlour
especially, hanging over the river, being lop-sided, and giving you the
uncomfortable idea that it would every minute fall into the stream
below. Still, the builder declared that it would last many years
without sinking further, and that was sufficient. At all events, they
were very respectable accommodations for a waterman, and Stapleton paid
for them 10 pounds per annum. Stapleton's daughter was certainly a very
well-favoured girl. She had rather a large mouth; but her teeth were
very fine, and beautifully white. Her hair was auburn--her complexion
very fair, her eyes were large, and of a deep blue, and from her figure,
which was very good, I should have supposed her to have been eighteen,
although she was not past fifteen, as I found out afterwards. There was
a frankness and honesty of countenance about her, and an intellectual
smile, which was very agreeable.

"Well, Mary, how do you get on?" said Stapleton, as we ascended to the
sitting-room. "Here's young Faithful come to take up with us."

"Well, father, his bed's all ready; and I have taken so much dirt from
the room that I expect we shall be indicted for filling up the river. I
wonder what nasty people lived in this house before us."

"Very nice rooms, nevertheless; ain't they, boy?"

"O yes, very nice for idle people; you may amuse yourself looking out on
the river, or watching what floats past, or fishing with a pin at high
water," replied Mary, looking at me.

"I like the river," replied I, gravely; "I was born on it, and hope to
get my bread on it."

"And I like this sitting-room," rejoined Stapleton; "how mighty
comfortable it will be to sit at the open window, and smoke in the
summer time, with one's jacket off!"

"At all events you'll have no excuse for dirtying the room, father; and
as for the lad, I suppose his smoking days have not come yet."

"No," replied I; "but my days for taking off my jacket are, I suspect."

"O yes," replied she, "never fear that; father will let you do all the
work you please, and look on--won't you, father?"

"Don't let your tongue run quite so fast, Mary; you're not over fond of
work yourself."

"No; there's only one thing I dislike more," replied she, "and that's
holding my tongue."

"Well, I shall leave you and Jacob to make it out together; I am go