ds will be paid to the watermen, upon their delivering up the same
to Messrs. James and John White, of Number 14 Lincoln's Inn Fields. As
no other parties are authorised to receive the said tin box of papers,
all other applications for it must be disregarded. An early attention
to this advertisement will oblige."

"There must be papers of no little consequence in that box, Jacob,
depend upon it," said Mr Turnbull; "however, here they are, and here
they shall remain until I know more about it; that's certain. I intend
to try what I can do myself with the old woman, for I perceive the villa
is to be let for three months--here is the advertisement in the last
column. I shall go to town to-day, and obtain a ticket from the agent,
and it is hard but I'll ferret out something. I shall see you
to-morrow. Now you may go, Jacob."

I hastened away, as I had promised to be down to old Tom's to breakfast;
an hour's smart pulling brought me to the landing-place, opposite to his
house.

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE.

A TEN-POUND HOUSEHOLDER OCCUPIED WITH AFFAIRS OF STATE--THE ADVANTAGE OF
THE WORD "IMPLICATION"--AN UNEXPECTED MEETING AND A RECONCILIATION--
RESOLUTION VERSUS BRIGHT BLACK EYES--VERDICT FOR THE DEFENDANT, WITH
HEAVY DAMAGES.

The house of old Tom Beazeley was situated on the verge of Battersea
Fields, about a mile-and-a-half from the bridge bearing the same name;
the river about twenty yards before it--the green grass behind it, and
not a tree within half-a-mile of it. There was nothing picturesque in
it but its utter loneliness; it was not only lonely, but isolated, for
it was fixed upon a delta of about half-an-acre, between two creeks,
which joined at about forty yards from the river, and ran up through the
fields, so that the house was at high water upon an island, and at low
water was defended by an impassable barrier of mud, so that the advances
to it could be made only from the river, where a small _hard_, edged
with posts worn down to the conformation of decayed double-teeth,
offered the only means of access. The house itself was one storey high;
dark red bricks, and darker tiles upon the roof; windows very scarce and
very small, although built long before the damnable tax upon light, for
it was probably built in the time of Elizabeth, to judge by the
peculiarity of the style of architecture observable in the chimneys; but
it matters very little at what epoch was built a tenement which was
rented at on