Biler whimpered, would he though? oh no he wouldn't--and what was he doing of--and why didn't he strangle somebody of his own size and not him: but Biler was quelled by the extraordinary nature of his reception, and, as his head became stationary, and he looked the gentleman in the face, or rather in the teeth, and saw him snarling at him, he so far forgot his manhood as to cry.

`I haven't done nothing to you, Sir,' said Biler, otherwise Rob, otherwise Grinder, and always Toodle.

`You young scoundrel!' replied Mr. Carker, slowly releasing him, and moving back a step into his favourite position. `What do you mean by daring to come here?'

`I didn't mean no harm, Sir,' whimpered Rob, putting one hand to his throat, and the knuckles of the other to his eyes. `I'll never come again, Sir. I only wanted work.'

`Work, young Cain that you are!' repeated Mr. Carker, eyeing him narrowly. `An't you the idlest vagabond in London?'

The impeachment, while it much affected Mr. Toodle Junior, attached to his character so justly, that he could not say a word in denial. He stood looking at the gentleman, therefore, with a frightened, self- convicted, and remorseful air. As to his looking at him, it may be observed that he was fascinated by Mr. Carker, and never took his round eyes off him for an instant.

`An't you a thief?' said Mr. Carker, with his hands behind him in his pockets.

`No, Sir,' pleaded Rob.

`You are!' said Mr. Carker.

`I an't indeed, Sir,' whimpered Rob. `I never did such a thing as thieve, Sir, if you'll believe me. I know I've been going wrong, Sir, ever since I took to bird-catching and walking-matching. I'm sure a cove might think,' said Mr. Toodle Junior, with a burst of penitence, `that singing birds was innocent company, but nobody knows what harm is in them little creeturs and what they brings you down to.'

They seemed to have brought him down to a velveteen jacket and trousers very much the worse for wear, a particularly small red waistcoat like a gorget, an interval of blue check, and the hat before mentioned.

`I an't been home twenty times since them birds got their will of me,' said Rob, `and that's ten months. How can I go home when everybody's miserable to see me! I wonder,' said Biler, blubbering outright, and smearing his eyes with his coat-cuff, `that I haven't been and drownded myself over and over again.'

All of which, including his expression of surprise at not having achieved this last scarce performance, the boy said, just as if the teeth of Mr. Carker drew it out of him, and he had no power of concealing anything with that battery of attraction in full play.

`You're a nice young gentleman!' said Mr. Carker, shaking his head at him. `There's hemp-seed sown for you, my fine fellow!'

`I'm sure, Sir,' returned the wretched Biler, blubbering again, and again having recourse to his coat-cuff: `I shouldn't care, sometimes, if it was growed too. My misfortunes all began in wagging, Sir; but what could I do, exceptin' wag?'

`Excepting what?' said Mr. Carker.

`Wag, Sir. Wagging from school.'

`Do you mean pretending to go there, and not going?' said Mr. Carker.