him good, for he began to console us, said he
had no doubt we should sell our fish well;
and that we had only to get into the houses,
when we could, so as not to show our money-
bag in the streets; and he finished off with
the consolatory declaration that we looked so
like thieves or beggars ourselves, that he did
not think any of that sort of people would
hurt us.

When we alighted at the entrance of the
town, it would have been a satisfaction to me
to stand in the middle of the pavement, and
roar, as my family well knew that I could;
but I was too desperately alarmed to try. I
only whimpered; and I believe this and our
bare feet, and tattered clothes were powerful
in obtaining for us the patronage of the cellars
and small courts. The food we had to sell,
really was cheap and excellent, and such as
the poor of Dunridge would have been glad
of an opportunity of obtaining often; but
I think the novelty had something to do with
the favour we met in the very first street.
Haggard faces, and half naked forms popped
up from under the pavement, as it seemed,
when Jos strengthened his heart to cry "fresh
mackarel." One woman carried away two on
half a plate; and another hoisted a boiler
from below for two more. A child who could
scarcely walk held out a farthing in one hand
and stretched out the other for a fish. Two
or three cook-maids appeared with dishes at
back doors; and Jos then got behind the
door to bag his half-pence unperceived. One
gentleman whom we met, told us to follow
him; and when we got to his house, we found
he was a school-master; and he bought so
many that he paid us in silver. When we
had sold the last, the baker saw us from his
door, and asked us if we did not want some
bread, as it was such a long way to go home.
He had no idea that we should attempt the
short cut by the marsh, the townspeople had
such a horror of that place. He said he
should never see us again alive, if we went
into that poisonous hole. This was not the
sort of threat to frighten us.

What a pity it was that this marsh was in
the way between us and the Dunridge people,
who had shown themselves so eager to buy
our fish! Jos's bag was so heavy with half-
pence, that it tore his old jacket; and then
we agreed that, if we came again, we would
ask our friend, the baker, to give us silver for
our copper: as for our coming again, we
agreed that it should be very soon. Excited
by our gains, we fancied we could bring a
load of fish this way, by swinging a creel
between us; wading where we knew the
depth, and resting where a bit of rock afforded
room. Yet it did not seem easy to me now
to cross it without anything to carry but an
empty basket. I lost my footing several
times, and fell into the slime, so that Jos
scolded me; but I could not help it. At first,
he refused to lend me a hand, but when he
found that I could not get upon the rock
where he stood, and when I said I was giddy,
he became suddenly very kind, and helped
me all he could. I think he remembered
what the baker said, and thought I might
have come once too often. I was beginning
to feel very sick, when a whiff of air passed
me, which I think of now as one of the
pleasantest things that ever happened to
me. The warm, sharp, penetrating, smell of
burning tar came on the breeze, and it cured
my sickness for the moment. I plunged and
staggered on, revived now and then by
another whiff, and then turning sick, and
feeling strangely again. The last thing I
remember is, that I heard some knocking
near, and saw some people moving; that Jos
pulled me by the arm with all his force to
make me get up, while I seemed to be sinking
in chilly water, and that I heard gruff voices
over me, and Jos saying that it was Molly,
and that she would not get up. It seems to
me that there was some flickering of flame,
but whether it was from my own intense
head-ache, or real fire before my eyes, I
cannot say. Some of the soldiers were beginning
the sea-wall that day, driving piles, and
sounding the quicksand, and making preparations
for laying the broad foundation of stones,
from which the embankments were to arise.
They were burning tar, not only for their
piles, but to lessen the danger of the bad air
of the marsh. The working party saw Jos
and me from a distance, and came to the
rescue. One of them covered me with his
coat, after wringing the water out of my old
frock (which finished tearing it to pieces),
and carried me home.

My mother's conclusion from the adventure,
was that there was bad luck in dealing with
the Dunridge people, and that she would
never send fish there any more. Considering
the weight of Jos's money-bag, and her
pleased surprise in laying hold of it, this ought
to be considered a remarkable proof of her
affection. I knew nothing about that,
however, nor about anything else for so long a
time, that that summer has always remained
a perplexing one to me. All I know is, that
I lay in a miserable state, which seemed to
me to be stretching on for ever and ever. I
was almost too feeble to move under the rug;
I could not lie still; I was too weak to cry
aloud, and yet I was always crying. The fish
that my mother kept under the bed smelled
so, that it seemed to suffocate me; and when
any body opened the door, my mother scolded
if it was not shut again directly. I believe
thus much was all real, and so was little
Peter's crying, which went through and
through my head. But there were worse
things that were not real. For hours together,
I thought I was going down and down in the
sea, and could never get to the bottom; and
then it seemed as if somebody pulled me by
the hair, and tugged, and pulled, and could
not get me up again. I saw terrible monsters,
and they, too, seemed to pull at my head.