but I was told it all—in fact, the whole scene
was described to me, and many such, by one
of the policemen who attended the van, and
was, no doubt, indignant at so much trouble,
expense, and formality for so insignificant a
result. He was a very large-made, powerful
man—has since left 'the force,' and gone as
porter on the Great Western Railway."

"But, good heavens, Mr. Tweezer!"
exclaimed I, "can a wise and paternal government
devise no better machinery than all this
for the prevention of juvenile and infant
crime? Prevention do I say?—why there's
no attempt at prevention in this. It is simply a
costly arrangement for inflicting small punishments,
the effect of which may not, perhaps,
be of much longer duration than the period of
confinement—unless, indeed, it tends to harden
and exasperate, and render the culprits more
cunning for the future."

"You are quite right," replied my friend
Tweezer, "as to the view you take of these
trivial and numerous punishments of the
infant thieves; but you are not doing justice
to the arrangements of the Tothill Fields
Bridewell, if you suppose they do no more
than this. In this prison are hundreds of
women of all ages, as well as hundreds of boys
of all ages, from six to fifteen; many of these
are ordered imprisonment for periods of two
or three years; and when this is the case,
they are each taught to read and write, and
are instructed in some trade, according to the
aptitude they evince. In many instances—
for picking pockets, you know, my dear sir,
requires an expert hand, especially when they
contrive to take everything a gentleman has
about him—in many instances, therefore, the
prisoners became skilful workmen, so that
on leaving the prison, they are able to earn
an honest living. And this, at least fifty per
cent, of them are found to do."

"But, my dear sir," said I; "excellent and
comforting as all this is, which you tell me,
it really seems like beginning at the wrong
end. First, the paternal government allows
its children to become thieves without a single
effort at prevention; and then, when prevention
is a work of very great difficulty, and
requires a great expenditure of money and
time, to produce a doubtful result—or only
fifty per cent, of ultimate good—then, only,
the idea of education, instruction, and training
in moral and personal habits, seems to occur
to the sagacious brains of our legislators.
Look at the scurvy sum granted for what
they dared to call 'National Education!'—
and look at the taxes I pay for all sorts of
other things! Protection, forsooth! and
taxes for the 'Public Service!' why are my
contributions to the public service of so little
good to me, in respect of the safety of my
personal property, that I must needs pay, in
addition, the sum total of a gold watch—a
silver snuff-box—two handkerchiefs—a
diamond shirt-pin—a pair of gold spectacles—a
box of Tolu lozenges, and a handsomely bound
copy of Izaac Walton's 'Complete Angler,'—
in order to be protected, in certain statistical
ratios and degrees, from a similar occurrence
in future, which may, nevertheless, happen
to-morrow!"

THE MARSH FOG AND THE SEA
BREEZE.

IN TWO CHAPTERS.—CHAPTER THE SECOND.

WHEN I went out to my shrimping, the
next morning, I saw the last of the extreme
quietness of our beach. Up to this time, it
was no unusual thing for Jos and me to have
the long range of shore entirely to ourselves;
so lazy were the few people who lived there,
and so rare was it for any stranger to come
near us. After this morning, I never knew it
so again. I slipped out of the house before
anybody else was awake, carrying my net and
basket. It must have been very early; for it
was mackarel season then, when the days are
long; and, when I looked back from the first
headland, my shadow reached almost as far
as the houses. I thought I would go over the
headland, instead of stepping into the sea to
go round it. It was rather further; but I
liked the feel of the warm sand where the sea
vetch and the slender crop of grass grew, up
the steep. It was pleasant treading for bare
feet. Two or three little lambs browsed there
at this season; and shining green beetles now
and then ran about in the sun: and perhaps
a rabbit might cock up its white tail. I was
soon at the top; and there I found one of the
Preventive Service men. His back was
towards the sea, and his eye and glass fixed
upon the barracks, as I suppose they had been
the day before when we were busy about our
trading.

He would not answer me for some time,
when I asked him what he saw; but at last
he put down his glass, and told me that there
were to be great doings immediately, which
would make a vast alteration in the
neighbourhood. He did not know what to think
of it; but he supposed we had only to obey,
as soldiers and sailors should. It was a new
thing, as far as he knew, for soldiers to do
building work, and the like; and we should
see how they would manage it. A messmate
who had strolled up to us here put in his
word, saying that it was a regular part of a
soldier's business, to build up walls, and dig
ditches, and do any work that was necessary
for defence; and this was a time and place
when such service was much wanted from
soldiers who were sent to defend the coast.
I asked what they were going to build; and
I was told "a sea-wall: " and I was as wise
as ever.

As I went on my way the shrimps were
very kind, and came into my net in swarms.
I soon filled my basket. It was so very
heavy that I soon bethought me of throwing
out all the very little shrimps, and returning
them to the water. When I had done this,