itary officers and, when the servant opened the
door, would give her his papers to be taken to her master. In a few
moments she would return with the papers and probably a shilling or
a two-shilling piece on top of them. As can be expected, this man
had several times been so closely questioned that he had compromised
himself, and had been threatened with prison as a fraud. However,
he was so bold, and knew his subject so well, that this had not
often happened. At the houses of rich civilians he was safer, but,
naturally, they would not give so much as a gentleman who had served
in the Army. At this stage of his career this ambitious beggar did
not often call at small houses for pennies, but large houses for
silver. I soon found out his history, for he seemed nothing loth
to talk of himself. He had taken to the road early, not having
worked for a living since he was a youth. In those early days he had
worked for a printer, and had caught his little finger in one of the
machines. This accident did not handicap him in any way, and was no
excuse for his leaving at once and becoming a beggar. In after years
he never forgot to call two or three times a year on the printer, who
had a fine business, and hold up his little finger; an action which
won him a piece of silver every time. It was by his little finger
that he proved his identity--that he was the boy that had worked for
the printer in years gone.

It was when I heard this man and another in conversation that I
first became surprised at the number of slang words that beggars
use. As I have said, he used no slang during our walk, but we had
no sooner entered a lodging-house and he met a beggar he knew, than
his language was completely changed. When we were entering the city
of Gloucester, he had called at a big, red house, which he told me
was always good for twopence and a parcel of food, no more or less.
He explained to me that he would not go out of his way for it, but
thought he may as well have it, seeing that he was passing the house.
It was in relation to th