106 



Whittingt07i and His Cat. 



to do ; but it was little he could make in that way, and so he was 

 very poor and often hungry. As he lounged around the tavern in 

 hope of earning a few pence, he listened to the talk of the wagoners 

 who congregated there, and learned that there was a far-off place 

 called London, and if any one could get there, he would have plenty 

 of money ; for its streets were paved with gold. To get to that 

 happy place became then the object of his life; and after some hesi- 

 tation, he communicated his great desire to a wagoner, wlio kindly 

 consented to take the little fellow to London on his next trip. In 

 due time, therefore, little Dick was landed in London; and he ran up 

 one street and down another in the eager hope of finding the one that 

 had the gold pavement. But he found nothing but dirt and stones in 

 the street — the passers-by paid no attention to his requests for alms, 

 for he had uo money and had nothing to eat — for was he not the 

 same as all other beggars, and was not his piteous story just as much; 

 a lie as those they were accustomed to hear every day ? — and so the 

 poor little discouraged boy laid himself down on the steps of a man- 

 sion, expecting to die of starvation, in the midst of the plenty that 

 was all around him. The mansion belonged to Mr. Fitzwarren, and 

 he, coming out of the house, was surprised to find the boy on his steps; 

 and gently chided him for his idleness and his apparent unwillingness 

 to work. The boy replied that he would gladly work, but could find 

 nothing to do ; and attempting to rise, almost fell down again from 

 his great weakness. !Mr. Fitzwarren, seeing what the trouble was, sent 

 him into his house, gave him a good meal, and then hired him to do 

 the dirty work for the cook in the kitchen. The cook was cross and 

 old : and when she wasn't basting the meats, was basting poor Dick 

 with a broom handle ; so that his life was not a particularly happy 

 one. To add to his troubles, he was sent to sleep in a garret, the floor 

 of which was full of holes ; and the rats and mice running around the 

 room and over his face, made the night more unpleasant for him than 

 the day had been. He, however, had received a penny for blacking the 

 boots of a guest of Mr. Fitzwarren; and once meeting a little girl with 

 a cat in her arms, bought the cat of her. The cat was his great and 

 only treasure — his constant companion — his all. The kind mer- 

 chant, having a ship that was ready to sail for foreign parts, called all 

 his servants into his parlor, and explained to them that it was his 

 desire that each one should have some interest in the venture he was 

 about to make ; and that he would permit each of them to send in the 

 ship whatever he chose. Poor Dick had nothing but his cat ; and at 

 the suggestion of Miss Alice, Mr. Fitzwarren's daughter, with tears 



