—such was my philosophy. I wish I could
have taken higher moral ground with equally
consoling results to my own feelings.

The same regard for the well-being of
society which led me to abstain from entering
into particulars on the subject of Old Master-
making, when I was apprenticed to Mr.
Ishmael Pickup, now commands me to be
equally discreet on the kindred subject of
Half-Crown-making, under the auspices of
Old File, Young File, Mill, and Screw. Let
me merely record that I was a kind of
machine in the hands of these four skilled
workmen. I moved from room to room, and
from process to process, the creature of their
directing eyes and guiding hands. I cut
myself, I burnt myself, I got speechless from
fatigue, and giddy from want of sleep. In
short, the sun of the new day was high in
the heavens before it was necessary to disturb
Doctor Knapton. It had absolutely taken
me almost as long to manufacture a half-a-
crown feloniously as it takes a respectable man
to make it honestly. This is saying a great
deal; but it is literally true for all that.

Looking quite fresh and rosy after his
night's sleep, the doctor inspected rny coin
with the air of a schoolmaster examining a
little boy's exercise; then handed it to Old
File to put the finishing touches and correct
the mistakes. It was afterwards returned to
me. My own hand placed it in one of the
rouleaux of false half-crowns; and rny own
hand also directed the spurious coin, when it
had been safely packed up, to a certain
London dealer who was to be on the look-
out for it by the next night's mail. That
done, my initiation was so far complete.

"I have sent for your luggage, and paid
your bill at the inn," said the doctor; "of
course in your name. You are now to enjoy
the hospitality that I could not extend to you
before. A room up-stairs has been prepared
for you. You are not exactly in a state of
confinement; but, until your studies are
completed, I think you had better not interrupt
them by going out."

"A prisoner!" I exclaimed aghast.

"Prisoner is a hard word," answered the
doctor. " Let us say, a guest under
surveillance."

"Do you seriously mean that you intend to
keep me shut up in this part of the house, at
your will and pleasure?" I enquired, my
heart sinking lower and lower at every word
I spoke.

"It is very spacious and airy," said the
doctor; "as for the lower part of the house,
you would find no company there, so you
can't want to go to it."

"No company!" I repeated faintly.

"No. My daughter went away this
morning for change of air and scene,
accompanied by my housekeeper. You look
astonished, my dear sir—let me frankly
explain myself. While you were the respectable
son of Doctor Softly, and grandson of
Lady Malkinshaw, I was ready enough to let
my daughter associate with you, and should
not have objected if you had married her off
my hands into a highly-connected family.
Now, however, when you are nothing but
one of the workmen in my manufactory of
money, your social position is seriously
altered for the worse; and, as I could not
possibly think of you for a son-in-law, I have
considered it best to prevent all chance of
your communicating with Laura again, by
sending her away from this house while you
are in it. You will be in it until I have
completed certain business arrangements now
in a forward state of progress—after that,
you may go away if you please. Pray
remember that you have to thank yourself
for the position you now stand in; and do me
the justice to admit that my conduct towards
you is remarkably straightforward, and
perfectly natural under all the circumstances."

These words fairly overwhelmed me. I
did not even make an attempt to answer
them. The hard trials to my courage,
endurance, and physical strength, through
which I had passed within the last twelve
hours, had completely exhausted all my
powers of resistance. I went away speechless
to my own room; and when I found myself
alone there, burst out crying. Childish, was
it not?

When I had been rested and strengthened
by a few hours' sleep, I found myself able to
confront the future with tolerable calmness.
What would it be best for me to do? Ought
I to attempt to make my escape? I did not
despair of succeeding; but when I began to
think of the consequences of success, I
hesitated. My chief object now, was, not so
much to secure my own freedom, as to find
out where Laura was. I had never been so
deeply and desperately in love with her as I
was now, when I knew she was separated from
me. Suppose I succeeded in escaping from
the clutches of Doctor Knapton—might I not
be casting myself uselessly on the world,
without a chance of finding a single clue to
trace her by? Suppose, on the other hand,
that I remained for the present in the red-
brick house—should I not by that course of
conduct be putting myself in the best position
for making discoveries? In the first place,
there was the chance that Laura might find
some secret means of communicating with,
me if I remained where I was. In the second
place, the doctor would, in all probability,
have occasion to write to his daughter, or
would be likely to receive letters from her;
and, if I quieted all suspicion on my account
by docile behaviour, and kept my eyes
sharply on the look-out, I might find
opportunities of surprising the secrets of his
writing-desk. I felt that I need be under no
restraints of honour with a man who was
keeping me a prisoner, and who had made an
accomplice of me by threatening my life.
Accordingly, while resolving to show