PTTRCHASING HOESES. 75 



certain nameless persons are born every hour, and 

 rogues prosper by the circumstance. 



It may be a very true axiom that ** the burnt child 

 dreads the fire ;" he may so, and if he does, he shows 

 more sense than many ** children of a larger growth ;** 

 it may be the child will not take warning by seeing 

 another burn his fingers, still less would he take ad- 

 vice if told that the catastrophe was sure to occur 

 under certain circumstances ; but if he burnt his 

 own fingers, the chances are, he would in future keep 

 them out of the fire. 



Now, the children of larger growth will not take 

 warning by others more than the child ; still less 

 will they take warning from what they are told, 

 but they go still further — they will frequently burn 

 their fingers several times over, before they become 

 convinced of the folly of their proceedings. They 

 seem to act upon the principle that influences the 

 sapients who throw at the snuff'-boxes elevated on 

 sticks, at fairs and race-courses : though they fail ten 

 times over, they are led by the saying of the man 

 owning them, " Better luck next time.*' 



