190 THE LIFE OF 



Tavistock; — all for the old offences of selling libels, or acting as 

 an unlicensed hawker. 



Tom asserts, with much apparent satisfaction, that though he 

 has been in prison twenty-two times, he was never confined for 

 the commission of any crime. No logic can persuade him that 

 his offences are crimes. 



In addition to his regular imprisonments, Tom has been con- 

 fined very frequently in the dungeons of the Plymouth Guildhall, 

 for being drunk and disorderly in the streets : he however thinks 

 very stoically of such trifles, though he protests in strong terms 

 against the treatment of such wights as are under the influence of 

 John Barleycorn, who (according to Tom's account) are provided 

 with mucli worse accommodation for the night, than that which 

 is granted to felons. 



To add to Tom's adventures, he became a widower about five 

 years since ; and, shortly after that, he was knocked down and 

 robbed, on the Plympton road, between the " Rising Sun," and 

 the " Crabtree Inn ;" he made a gallant defence, on this occasion, 

 and was severely beaten for his heroism. The culprits were cap- 

 tured, committed to Exeter jail, tried, and acquitted. 



The following may be considered as a good trait in Tom's 

 character. Shortly after he had married, a child was placed with 

 his wife to be nursed, for which a payment of five shillings per 

 week was promised. The child was subsequently abandoned, 

 and left on his hands : instead of taking it to the overseers of the 

 poor, or getting rid of it in any oltjer way, Tom fostered the child 

 as his own, and many who have seen him carrying the little girl 

 about in his arms, have accorded to him the honors of paternity, 

 which he never enjoyed. He has ever since been as a father to 

 the girl, she is now married, and has two children; she lives in 

 the same house with him, in Palace Court. 



Tom fully admits the justice of his various commitments, 

 (though he calls in question the Ien2;th of some of his imprison- 

 ments) except one, an assault which he was charged with having 

 conm]iUed, near Plymstock ; in this affair he solemnly avers that 

 he was the aggrieved party, though he could not make it appear 

 so to the magistrates, who were about to give him another throe 

 months at the Tread Mill; this punishment was however com- 

 muted for a fine, which, with costs, amounted to fourteen shil- 

 lings; for this sum Tom pawned his watch, and has not since 

 been able to recover it. 



At present Tom gains a livelihood by selling blacking, which 

 he not only disposes of in the town, but carries, on stilted days, 

 to the neighbouring hamlets and villages. 



The following may be taken as tolerably fair samples of the 

 non-libellous dispensations of our hero, in contradistinction to 

 those of the " Society for the Diflfusion of Useful Knowledge." 



