rity under him. The reader knows that he was a regular attendant at
Church, and by that means was in high favour. Nor was his mother behind
hand in this respect, especially in the weeks before Christmas; and truly
her religion brought its reward even in this world in the shape of Parish
Gifts.

No doubt Joe was fond of the chase, but in this respect he but imitated
his superiors, except that I believe he occasionally went beyond them in
the means he employed.

Assembled in this common room at the Goose on the night in question, were
a number of persons of various callings and some of no calling in
particular. Most of them were acquainted, and apparently regular
customers. One man in particular became a great favourite with Joe, and
that was Jacob Wideawake the Birdcatcher; and it was interesting to
listen to his conversation on the means of catching and transforming the
London Sparrow into an article of Commerce.

Joe's dress no doubt attracted the attention of his companions when he
first made his appearance, for it was something out of the ordinary
style: and certainly one might say that great care had been bestowed upon
him to render his personal appearance attractive in the witness-box. He
wore a wideawake hat thrown back on his head, thus displaying his brown
country-looking face to full advantage. His coat was a kind of dark
velveteen which had probably seen better days in the Squire's family; so
had the long drab waistcoat. His corduroy trousers, of a light green
colour, were hitched up at the knees with a couple of straps as though he
wore his garters outside. His neckerchief was a bright red, tied round
his neck in a careless but not unpicturesque manner. Take him for all in
all he was as fine a specimen of a country lad as one could wish to
meet,--tall, well built, healthy looking, and even handsome.

Now Mr. Bumpkin, being what is called "a close man," and prone to keep
his own counsel on all occasions when it was not absolutely necessary to
reveal it, had said nothing about his case before the Lord Mayor; not
even Mrs. Oldtimes had he taken into his confidence. It is difficult to
understand his motive for such secrecy, as it is impossible to trace in
nine instances out of ten any particular line of human conduct to its
source.

Acting probably on some vague information that he had received, Mr.
Bumpkin looked into the room, and told Joe that he thought they should be
"on" to-morrow. He had le