184 
THE KAT. 
lie gave it up for a bad job. " I can stand a tidy lot," said 
he, but I can't stand that 'ere ;" so, to make things agreeable, 
they had a pot and parted ; and thereby, Jumper and Jem, 
and Jem's man Jack, were left sole sovereigns of the 
sewers. 
But they, like most other eminent men, bitterly com- 
plain of the jealousy and persecution they experience from 
meddliug people, who, envious of their reputation, take 
pleasure in annoying them. A lord mayor, upon one 
occasion, disputed Jumper's right, and threatened to put 
him in prison for trespass ; and upon another occa- 
sion, a police constable took Jem and Jack into custody, 
for being found unlawfully in the city sewers, and for having 
a key wherewith they could unlock the various iron trap- 
doors that cover in the side entrances to the sewers. But 
they were both dismissed, on their assurance that they did 
not injure the walls, and that the commissioners and their 
men never interfered with them. 
So far, so good ; but as to how far commissioners are 
justified in allowing these men in the sewers, or the lord 
mayor and the policemen in keeping them out, we shall 
presently see. In order to show the danger in its true 
light, let us suppose a conversation to take place between 
these men ; not for the purpose of bringing disgrace 
upon them, but to expose, in an easy and familiar manner, 
the danger that exists, from allowing, not only free passage 
to the sewers, but perscms to possess keys whereby they 
may at any hour of night or day, pass in and out at 
pleasure, and fasten the traps behind them. 
It appears that after the dismissal of the charge just 
detailed, Jem and Jack left Guildhall, and made the best of 
their way to the Custom-house, to meet Jumper, who was 
then in the sewers, catching rats for Jem ; he having the job 
of supplying two gentlemen with three dozen for a private 
match, wherein one had backed his dog to kill them in live 
minutes. This gentleman was a novice in such matches, and 
as the term " barn-rats " was not specified in the articles of 
agreement, Jem, as a matter of course, was left to do as he 
pleased as to what rats they should be. However, the 
gentlemen (unknown to one another) gave Jem a sovereign 
each, to make the wager, as each thought, safe " for him- 
