I had broken a
china bowl, the pride and idol of both their hearts; and as
an unmerciful beating was the least I had to depend on at
their hands, in the silliness of those tender years I left
the house, and, at all adventures, took the road to London.
How my loss was resented I do not know, for till this instant
I have not heard a syllable about them. My whole stock was
too broad pieces of my grandmother's, a few shillings, silver
shoe-buckles and a silver thimble. Thus equipp'd, with no
more cloaths than the ordinary ones I had on my back, and
frighten'd at every foot or noise I heard behind me, I
hurried on; and I dare swear, walked a dozen miles before I
stopped, through mere weariness and fatigue. At length I
sat down on a stile, wept bitterly, and yet was still rather
under increased impressions of fear on the account of my
escape; which made dread, worse than death, the going back
to face my unnatural parents. Refresh'd by this little
repose, and relieved by my tears, I was proceeding onward,
when I was overtaken by a sturdy country lad who was going to
London to see what he could do for himself there, and, like
me, had given his friends the slip. He could not be above
seventeen, was ruddy, well featur'd enough, with uncombed
flaxen hair, a little flapp'd hat, kersey frock, yarn stock-
ings, in short, a perfect plough-boy.
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