ered by
Mrs Chopper, she and Joey returned home; and, after their tea, Mrs
Chopper desired Joey to hand her one of the account-books, which she put
upon her knees and opened.

"There," said she, looking at the page, "I know that account well; it
was Tom Alsop's--a fine fellow he was, only he made such a bad marriage:
his wife was a very fiend, and the poor fellow loved her, which was
worse. One day he missed her, and found she was on board another
vessel; and he came on shore, distracted like, and got very tipsy, as
sailors always do when they're in trouble, and he went down to the
wharf, and his body was picked up next day."

"Did he drown himself?"

"Yes, so people think, Peter; and he owed me 1 pound, 3 shillings, 4
pence, if I recollect right. Aren't that the figure, Peter?"

"Yes, ma'am," replied Joey; "that's the sum total of the account,
exactly."

"Poor fellow!" continued Mrs Chopper, with a sigh, "he went to his long
account without paying me my short one. Never mind; I wish he was
alive, and twice as much in my debt. There's another--I recollect that
well, Peter, for it's a proof that sailors are honest; and I do believe
that, if they don't pay, it's more from thoughtlessness than anything
else; and then the women coax all their money from them, for sailors
don't care for money when they do get it--and then those Jews are such
shocking fellows; but look you, Peter, this is almost the first bill run
up after I took up the business. He was a nice fair-haired lad from
Shields; and the boy was cast away, and he was picked up by another
vessel, and brought here; and I let him have things and lent him money
to the amount of a matter of 20 pounds, and he said he would save all
and pay me, and he sailed away again, and I never heard of him for nine
years. I thought that he was drowned, or that he was not an honest lad;
I didn't know which, and it was a deal of money to lose; but I gave it
up; when one day a tall, stout fellow, with great red whiskers, called
upon me, and said, `Do you know me?' `No,' said I, half-frightened;
`how should I know you? I never see'd you before.'--`Yes, you did,'
says he, `and here's a proof of it;' and he put down on the table a lot
of money, and said, `Now, missus, help yourself: better late than never.
I'm Jim Sparling, who was cast away, and who you were as good as a
mother to; but I've never been able to get leave to come to you since.
I'm boatswain's mate of a man-of-wa