e manner. Sometimes they have forced themselves upon me and
insisted upon my seeing much of them, and "knowing all about them" they
would tell me of their struggles and endeavours to "go straight" and
would put their difficulties and hopes before me. Specious clever
rascals many of them were, far too clever for me, as I sometimes found
out to my cost. One young fellow who has served a well-earned and richly
merited sentence of five years' penal servitude, quite overpowered me
with his good intentions and professions of rectitude. "No more prison
for me," he would say; he brought his wife and children to see me,
feeling sure that they would form a passport to my sympathy and pocket.

He was not far wrong, for I substantially and regularly helped the wife.
I had strong misgivings about the fellow, consequently what help I gave
I took care went direct to his wife.

Sometimes he would call at my office, and with tears would thank me
for the help given to his wife and children. I noticed a continual
improvement in his clothing and appearance till he became quite a
swell. I felt a bit uneasy, for I knew that he was not at work. I soon
discovered, or rather the police discovered that he had stolen a lot of
my office note-paper of which he had made free use, and when arrested on
another charge several blank cheques which had been abstracted from my
cheque book were found upon him. He had made himself so well known to
and familiar with the caretaker of the chambers, that one night when
he appeared with a bag of tools to put "Mr. Holmes' desk right," no
questions were asked, and he coolly and quite deliberately, with the
office door open, operated in his own sweet way. Fortunately, when
trying the dodge in another set of chambers, he was arrested in the act,
and my blank cheques among many others were found upon him.

Another term of penal servitude has stopped his career and put an end
to, I will not say a friendship but an acquaintance, that I am not at
any rate anxious to renew.

They come a long way to see me do some of my friends, and put themselves
to some trouble in the matter, and not a little expense if they are to
be believed. Why they do so I cannot imagine, for sometimes after a long
and close questioning I fail to find any satisfactory reason for their
doing so. I have listened to many strange stories, and have received not
a few startling confessions! Some of my friends have gone comforted
away when they had made