224 Life and Times of " The D7'uid" 



a motherly body from the north of England, 

 whose kindness and sympathy helped to give 

 him that lasting belief in the goodness of 

 woman which throughout life was one of his 

 most deeply-seated characteristics. 



His determination and pertinacity — valu- 

 able qualities to the promotion of which wrest- 

 line had not a little conduced — were about 

 to be subjected to a severe test. For the 

 next week he passed every available hour of 

 his time in walking about London, seeking 

 an engagement in some draper's shop. 

 Referring afterwards to the early trials of 

 his young life, he said, " I had no one to 

 take me by the hand, and my appearance 

 was against me, as the Cumberland tailors 

 were not so good then as they are now, 

 so that when I applied for a situation it 

 was difficult to convince them that I wanted 

 a place behind the counter, and not some 

 meaner post. My dialect, too, was no 

 recommendation to me, for although it is 

 pretty broad now, it was much broader then. 

 After beating about London for a week I 

 began to think myself a not very marketable 

 commodity in that great city. Still I per- 



