of than honesty, and where the child was educated to believe that clever deceit was more to be admired than steady industry, the beggar was not the less successful in alms-seeking on account of being known as an impostor, but had halfpence given to him with some coarse jest, expressing that the donors were cognizant of the trick he was practising. On the day to which our story now refers, the beggar was crouched in the angle of the door of the gin-palace, as if to screen himself from the beains of the sun, which was powerfully shining; he had been esconced there for several hours, undisturbed by the threats and imprecations of the low persons in whose way he was, and at whom he looked up sulkily as they passed. It might have been observed that he regarded with especial attention those from whom he heard the Irish brogue, and that when some Hibernians passed into the liquor-shop, he was so far interested as to be induced to peep in after them, and to listen to their conversation. Mrs. Mallalieu's protégé, Barney, was just then coming down the street, and the beggar, hearing approaching footsteps upon the causeway, suddenly resumed his old attitude, and crouched again into his corner. It was but for a second, however; his eye lighted upon Barney, and his countenance expressed a singular joy as he watched the man along the path; the second afterwards he sprang from his corner with uncrippled agility into the street, but as suddenly, when Barney, attracted by the noise, turned round to see who followed, he again assumed his wonted hobble. He was not quick enough to deceive the sharp eye of the thief, who saw through the imposture. "Ah! by the powers, now, ye're not sharp enough, mister Scaramouch," said Barney, laughing, "ye needn't try that dodge wid me."

While he said this, the beggar pressed close up to him, and said, in a low tone, but with a manner that evidently surprised Barney-"I have been patiently looking for you for a month." This statement seeming to startle the thief more than the speaker intended, he added-"Don't be alarmed, I am your friend, or, at least, will be, if you will be mine. If I wanted to get you into any harm, I should have gone a different way about it, and should have arrested you as soon as I found you now."

"What is it that ye want wid me, then ?” said the thief, with an oath, and a suspicious scowl.

"I want to speak with you about some business, in which you and I will go partners, if you will consent to do part of the work."

"Faix, it's not the work that I'm fond of," said Barney, stepping away, with the apparent intention of concluding the inter view, "work's not my fancy at all at all.”

"It is not work, exactly," replied the other, following the thief: "where can we hold some private communication?”

The Irishman looked at the man, as if to measure what physical strength would be opposed to his, in case of any encounter; and after a moment's consideration, added, with a peculiar laugh—“ Humph! ye're a queer sort of a beggar, ye are; maybe ye'll have no objection to step into Mistress Mallalieu's back parlour, though it's not 'xactly sich a place as ye've been accustomed to, if a body can judge by yer spaach." With this the two men turned to walk in the direction indicated, but Barney, observing a change in his companion's gait, thought it necessary to add " Ye'll oblige, howiver, if ye'll jist hobble as usual as far as we go i'the street.".

The beggar assented by a nod, and followed Barney as desired.

Mrs. Margaret Mallalieu was sitting on her door-step, smoking a short pipe as black with use as the hideous doll which hung in the blazing sunshine above its not less ugly proprietress. The place seemed in no wise cleaner or more orderly than when it was visited by Gregory and Sam; if any change could be perceived, it was that the old iron looked rustier, and the hag tawdrier, and the windows more cracked and dusty. The spider of wickedness seemed still to sit there between her rawi edged eyes, and to have woven a dirtier web on her yellow face. The creature rose as Barney approached, and rolled her bleared eye horribly as he whispered a few words of slang in her ear. What he said imme diately changed the defiant look she had at first bestowed upon the beggar into a servile attention.

3

"Och !" said the hag, "the gintleman's welcome, entirely welcome, and it is Mrs. Margaret Mallalieu that's proud to see the gintleman; for he's inganious, and

knows how to make a livin'. Barney, how dareye to turn yer back on the gintleman, ye dirty blagaird? Och, ye must'nt mind him, sir, he's a fine lad, but ye persave he's no manners same time Barney knows how to respect ab gintleman. Ah! walk in, sir; be asy, walk in; though it's not sich asplace ass I'd wish to show ye into; more's the pity in sich hard times when folks can't get an honest livin' any how." Taking little notice of the hag's volubility, the beggar and Barney passed into the room at the back of the shop, which has been before described. The stranger without ceremony closed and bolted the door, and then seated himself on a box on one side of the hearth, while Barney on the other commenced rocking himself in the ricketty and solitary chair which the room contained, and waited for his odd visitor to open the conversation. A minute passed before a word was spoken on either sides At length, Barney, picking up one of the rags from the corner near him, lighted his pipe, and remarked, with a view to break the silence

Arrah! by the powers, we will not be taken up for kickin' up a row, that's sartin

sure.

There was another long pause, till the other, leaning forward, said in a solemn voice" I could hang you, young man." "Maybe not," replied the other, coolly blowing a cloud of smoke to the chimney, "maybe I'm not quite sich a fool as to give ye the chance."

"I have had the chance," answered the beggar," and I could have been well paid for the job, and been safe too."

"Then why didn't ye do it?" sneered the other ferociously.

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Because I don't want to hang you," said the stranger; "I want you to serve me and yourself too. To prove to you that I come as your friend, let me warn you of danger."

6 There was something about the man's appearance and language that commanded Barney's attention as he continued"Capel-I see you know him-the rich swindler, has you in his power."

"The boot is on the other leg," answered the other, "he is in mine, or I am much mistaken."

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You are mistaken," replied the mysterious visitor, in the same thick voice he had

used all along, "and you will find out your error to the cost of your life, if you trust your safety to Mr. Capel." The speaker pushed up his slouched hat, the more clearly to see the effect of his words upon Barney, and added "He saw you at the fire at Bamford's house-he let you in."

The mysterious person, whose features were now disclosed, was a man about thirty-five years of age. His countenance at first sight appeared prepossessing; but upon closer scrutiny had a Judas-like look, which showed what a wicked, but cowardly soul sneaked behind it. His grey, but much impaired eyes might have been keen and piercing at some time; but now seemed dim and darkened like the cob-webbed window of a criminal's dungeon. The look of ingenuousness which the man was evidently accustomed to assume, had become fixed upon his front, but was too transparent long to deceive. His red whiskers and beard had been allowed to grow; and his face, naturally rather pallid, had been made exceedingly dirty, for the sake of assuming the character in which he had lately appeared. A peculiarity of manner in speaking arose from a certain stiffness of one cheek, which appeared to be partially paralyzed, and an irregularity of the teeth, which seemed as if they had been recently broken by some violence. Barney eyed the man for a moment, and was certain he had seen the unmistakeable face before; he also perceived that the grey eyes of the stranger, who had been hitherto so audacious, quailed before his own, and that the tone of courage which had been put on was but a feeble counterfeit.

Acting upon this impression, Barney assumed a tone of bravado, and denied any knowledge of the circumstances of the riot and fire, beyond those which had come to him by casual rumour, and accused his visitor of being a thief-catcher in disguise, who thought to entrap him into some confession that might bring himself or companions into the hands of the pitiless agents of the law. The stranger waited, not without uneasiness, till Barney paused; and then, to the thief's astonishment and alarm, described the dress which the rioter had worn in Marton Fields, the disguise he had employed, and the circumstances under which he had obtained access to the house,

bit his nails every now and then. In the very height of his prosperity, he felt there was a security wanting; that there were thunder clouds which might burst upon him when he least expected it.

On his arrival at Mr. Capel's offices, Barney knocked with confidence, and hearing from the boy who answered the summons that his master was at home, he made bold to walk forward and rap at the inner door, when a voice called out, "Come -in?' The next moment Barney and Mr. Capel were face to face. The latter seemed disconcerted for a moment, but requested the man to sit down, endeavouring to appear as if he knew nothing of his visitor. He took the precaution, however, to tell a youth who was sitting in the back office that he could go home, and upon his leaving, carefully closed the door. Twisting and twining his fingers like skinny vipers writhing together, he approached Barney, and asked, with affected unconcern, what the gentleman might require him to do.

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With a less assumed audacity the thief replied :—“ Ah! faith, that's jist the question ye ought to ask, and I'm jist the lad to give Misther Capel the straightforward answer." The legs of Mr. Capel curled tightly round the stool, and his elastic body wriggled in a very snakish manner, while Barney, with calm effrontery, went on

"It's jist a little money ye can do for me, Misther Capel; and I'm sartin sure ye'll not refuse it to a good friend that can keep his tongue between his teeth."

The listener's leathern face grew leaden pale, and his black and yellow eyes seemed ready to start from his head as he fixed them upon Barney, with a horrible look of suppressed rage; but there was a considerable interval before he was able to hiss forth without opening his teeth

"This is your business, is it; what right have you to seek moneys thus ? What do you mean, fellow ?"

the riot and opened the doo-ur for the mob. Och, an' it 'ud be mighty inconvanient to Misther Capel to explain how it was he was in the house, and why he took so much trouble to get from the meetin' so quickly to Marton Fields!"

The thief had stood up, and with smiling impudence watched Mr. Capel writhe as he thus talked on, and proceeded in quite a jocular tone-"By the same token some curious people might inquire what them papers might be that ye held in yer hand when ye opened the doo-ur, and encouraged the rioters to come on and go up the stair!"

The horizon of Mr. Capel's prospects grew cloudy as Barney went on, and his conscience smote him that he had built his fortune upon the sands of trickery and fraud, instead of upon the rock of industry. In one painful glance he saw that he had sunk into a dungeon of dishonesty of which Barney had the key, and that his riches and luxuries, which he fancied he had secured, were slipping from his grasp. With the unnatural courage of desperation he struggled to hide his confusion, and to turn the tables upon his antagonist.

"Your name is Barney-a well-known thief-the man who had crape over his face, and for whose apprehension a reward has been offered. I saw you at the inquest upon Parker's body; so you are in my power. But, still," here he spoke with much hesitation,-" as it would not be desirable that a man of my respectability and standing in society should be accused of being in Marton Fields, I have-have--no-no objection, if you preserve your silence, to reward you for it." "At once-now?" said Barney.

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'No, no," said the sharebroker, with a cunning twinkle of his eyes, "I must see if you keep your mouth shut first."

"Faith, I'll be paid for what I have done already, before we make any further bargains; and then I must be paid weekly for myself and my companion who saw ye at Bamford's house. Ye will see that if ye were to get me hanged, my friend would get ye transporthed; so it's convanient for both of us to be entirely on good terms."