DICK ROOK. 185 



she would not be married till he was present; 

 that if he did not come, all her prospects of be- 

 coming a respectable woman would be ruined ; 

 and imploring him to come and see her. The 

 letter was received in the evening, and Dick's re- 

 solution was immediately taken. Late as it was, 

 he began his journey towards London, having only, 

 as he afterwards informed me, twopence-halfpenny 

 in his pocket. With this trifling sum, he walked 

 a distance of forty-seven miles, and arrived at the 

 abode of Susan early in the morning. He refused 

 to eat in her house, accompanied her to church, 

 saw her married, and immediately set off to return 

 to his old haunts. No entreaties of Susan could 

 induce him to enter the house of her husband, or 

 to partake of the wedding feast. Dick said it would 

 have choked him. When he was first seen on his 

 return by his old associates, he looked miserable 

 and haggard. Since that time he has rallied ; but 

 vhere can be no doubt that the loss of Susan has 

 preyed deeply on his mind, and destroyed much 

 of the elasticity of his early character. 



On quitting the neighbourhood where I first 

 met with Dick, I lost sight of him, nor did I see 

 him again for some years afterwards. He left, how- 

 ever, that impression on my mind which made me 

 frequently think of him. I made many enquiries 

 respecting him, but found that he had but very 

 rarely been seen in his old and favourite haunts. 



