demand the price of it, and make up his
mind to take it; whereupon he would lay
down a good sovereign, which the shop-
keeper would take up, but, as he was about
to give him change, a doubt would suddenly
arise in his mind as to whether his master
would give the price asked for the article.
He would then demand the sovereign back,
with a view to going and consulting his
master, promising, at the same time, to be back
again in a few minutes. Back again he would
come, and say that his master was willing to
give the price, or that he wished the article
at a lower figure. He took care, however,
that a bargain was concluded between him
and the shopkeeper; whereupon he would
again lay down the sovereign, which,
however, on this occasion, was the bad and not
the good one. The unsuspecting shopkeeper
would give him the change, and he would
leave with the property and the good money.
Such is the process of "shuffle-pitching." In
the majority of instances he succeeded, but
was sometimes detected. In this way he
took the circuit twice of Great Britain and
Ireland; stealing as he went along, and
passing off the bad money, which he received,
for good. There are few jails in the United
Kingdom of which he has not been a denizen.
His two circuits took him nine years to
perform, his progress being frequently arrested
by the interposition of justice. It was at the
end of his second journey that he applied for
admission to the Pear Street School. He had
been too often in jail not to be able to read;
but he could neither write nor cipher when
he was taken in. He soon learnt, however,
to do both; and, after about seven months'
probation, emigrated to America from his
own choice. The missionary of the district
accompanied him on board as he was about
to sail. The poor lad wept like a child when
he took leave of his benefactor, assuring him
that he never knew the comforts of a home
until he entered the Pear Street School.
Several letters have been received from him
since his landing, and he is now busily
employed, and–––doing well!

Instances of this kind might be multiplied,
if necessary, of what is thus being done daily
and unostentatiously for the reclamation of the
penitent offender, not only after conviction,
but also before he undergoes the terrible
ordeal of correction and a jail.

"PRESS ON."
A  RIVULET'S SONG.

"JUST under an island, 'midst rushes and moss,
I was born of a rock-spring, and dew;
   I was shaded by trees, whose branches and leaves
Ne'er suffered the sun to gaze through.

"I wandered around the steep brow of a hill,
   Where the daisies and violets fair
Were shaking the mist from their wakening eyes,
   And pouring their breath on the air.

"Then I crept gently on, and I moistened the feet
   Of a shrub which enfolded a nest–––
The bird in return sang his merriest song,
   And showed me his feathery crest.

"How joyous I felt in the bright afternoon,
   When the sun, riding off in the west,
Came out in red gold from behind the green trees
   And burnished my tremulous breast!

"My memory now can return to the time
   When the breeze murmured low plaintive tones,
While I wasted the day in dancing away,
   Or playing with pebbles and stories.

"It points to the hour when the rain pattered
       down,
   Oft resting awhile in the trees;
Then quickly descending it ruffled my calm,
And whispered to me of the seas!

"Twas then the first wish found a home in my
       breast
   To increase as time hurries along;
'Twas then I first learned to lisp softly the words
   Which I now love so proudly–––'Press on! '

"I'll make wider my bed, as onward I tread,
A deep mighty river I 'll be–––
' Press on ' all the day will I sing on my way,
Till I enter the far-spreading sea."

It ceased. A youth lingered beside its green edge
   Till the stars in its face brightly shone;
He hoped the sweet strain would re-echo again–––
But he just––heard a murmur, "Press on!"

ADDRESS FROM AN UNDERTAKER
TO THE TRADE.

(STRICTLY PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL.)

I ADDRESS you, gentlemen, as an humble
individual who is much concerned about the
body. This little joke is purely a professional
one. It must go no further. I am afraid the
public thinks uncharitably of undertakers, and
would consider it a proof that Dr. Johnson
was right when he said that the man who
would make a pun would pick a pocket. Well;
we all try to do the best we can for ourselves,
–––everybody else as well as undertakers.
Burials may be expensive, but so is legal
redress. So is spiritual provision; I mean the
maintenance of all our reverends and right
reverends. I am quite sure that both lawyers'
charges and the revenues of some of the chief
clergy are very little, if any, more reasonable
than our own prices. Pluralities are as bad
as crowded gravepits, and I don't see that
there is a pin to choose between the church
and the churchyard. Sanitary revolutionists
and incendiaries accuse us of gorging rottenness,
and battening on corruption. We don't
do anything of the sort, that I see, to a greater
extent than other professions, which are
allowed to be highly respectable. Political
military, naval, university, and clerical parties,
of great eminence defend abuses in their
several lines when profitable. We can't do better
than follow such good examples. Let us stick
up for business, and–––I was going to say–––