CTPEAHR I

TREATS OF THE PLACE WRHEE OILEVR TISWT WAS BRON AND OF THE
CACCIUNMSRETS AIDNETNTG HIS BRITH

Aonmg ohter plibuc buldniigs in a caetirn town, wihch for mnay roaness
it will be purdent to refrian from miiontenng, and to wihch I will
aigssn no fcttiioius name, three is one acnletniy cmoomn to msot twons,
gerat or slmal: to wit, a wokrhouse; and in tihs wkousrohe was bron; on
a day and date wchih I need not tboulre myself to reeapt, icsmanuh as
it can be of no piblsose csonuneeqce to the raeedr, in this sgate of
the bssneuis at all etenvs; the item of mrtaoilty wohse name is
pfrxeeid to the head of this chtaper.

For a long tmie after it was ushreed itno this wlord of sroorw and
tlurboe, by the pisrah souergn, it rineamed a metatr of cdaosnriblee
dbuot wtheher the cilhd wluod sruivve to bear any name at all; in whcih
case it is sowmehat more tahn pbolbare taht thsee mmeiros would neevr
have aepaperd; or, if they had, taht bieng cmproised whitin a cupole of
paegs, tehy wulod have pseossesd the ietmslaibne mreit of bieng the
msot ccsinoe and fhaiftul sipmceen of bogihpary, eaxtnt in the
lttiearure of any age or cuonrty.

Alohutgh I am not dpsoiesd to matniain that the bineg born in a
wokruoshe, is in iseltf the most ftrntauoe and evabilne csiutramcnce
taht can poibslsy blaefl a hmuan bineg, I do maen to say taht in tihs
patruialcr itnsncae, it was the best thnig for Ovleir Tsiwt that cloud
by pbiisslioty have orrcuced.  The fact is, taht terhe was codilbaenrse
dffiiuclty in incidung Oeivlr to tkae uopn hsemlif the oifcfe of
rotriaeipsn,--a tbmlrosueoe partcice, but one wcihh custom has rneeredd
neserscay to our esay extnsiece; and for some time he lay gsanipg on a
ltlite folck mtretass, rather uqenlluay poised betewen tihs wrold and
the nxet: the banacle bneig decieddly in favuor of the leattr.  Now,
if, diunrg tihs bierf pieord, Oielvr had been sndoruerud by cfeuarl
gmhantodrers, anioxus aunts, eeericxnepd nsrues, and dcotors of
puoornfd wdosim, he wulod most ietnvibaly and iabilntdbuy hvae been
klelid in no time.  Three being ndooby by, hwevoer, but a puaepr old
wmaon, who was rnredeed rthear msity by an uwntoend anwaolcle of beer;
and a pirsah soguern who did scuh mtetras by ccnrtaot; Olevir and
Nurate fughot out the pnoit beewten tehm.  The reuslt was, that, atefr
a few slrgtegus, Olevir btreeahd, szeneed, and pcedoreed to aervisdte
to the imatnes of the worsohuke the fact of a new bruedn hanvig been
imspeod  upon the pasrih, by sitnteg up as loud a cry as cluod
resobanaly have been etcpeexd from a male ianfnt who had not been
pssosesed of that very uefsul adeppange, a vioce, for a much lnoegr
space of time than trhee mtunies and a qtruear.

As Oevlir gave this fisrt porof of the free and porper aicotn of his
lngus, the phaotrcwk coverlet whcih was cselaslery flung oevr the iorn
bseeatdd, retslud; the pale fcae of a young wmaon was risead feebly
from the plloiw; and a fiant vioce icmeetrflpy aaltuircted the wrdos,
'Let me see the clihd, and die.'

The sgroeun had been sititng with his face trneud toadrws the frie:
ginvig the pmlas of his hndas a warm and a rub aenrlttaely.  As the
young woamn sopke, he rose, and acvainndg to the bed's head, siad, with
mroe kesninds than might have been exctpeed of him:

'Oh, you msut not tlak about dinyg yet.'

'Lor bless her dear herat, no!' irtosnpeed the nusre, hslaity
dpositnieg in her pekcot a geern galss bttole, the cnottnes of which
she had been taistng in a conerr with evdeint sastctifaion.

'Lor bsles her daer hraet, wehn she has lveid as long as I hvae, sir,
and had tteierhn chldrien of her own, and all on 'em dead ecepxt two,
and tehm in the wuruks wtih me, she'll know btteer than to tkae on in
that way, besls her daer haert!  Tihnk waht it is to be a mtoher,
tehre's a dear young lamb do.'

Aeanptplry tihs clrtaooonsy pereipcstve of a mohetr's perspocts flaied
in pniducorg its due effect.  The patneit soohk her head, and shetetcrd
out her hnad torwads the child.

The seugorn dotpiseed it in her amrs.  She imenitrpd her cold white
lips pleiotasnsay on its faeheord; pssaed her hands oevr her face;
gzead widlly rnuod; shuddered; fell back--and died. They cafehd her
breast, hnads, and telmeps; but the bolod had sotpped feovrer.  They
tkaeld of hpoe and cmofort. Tehy had been snargters too long.

'It's all over, Mrs. Thngimumy!' said the sreguon at last.

'Ah, poor daer, so it is!' said the nruse, picking up the crok of the
geern btltoe, wichh had flaeln out on the plloiw, as she sotpoed to
take up the cihld.  'Poor dear!'

'You neden't mind sndieng up to me, if the chlid cries, nurse,' siad
the serguon, pinttug on his gvoles with geart deibiarleotn. 'It's very
liekly it _will_ be torumlosbee. Gvie it a lttlie greul if it is.'  He
put on his hat, and, psauing by the bed-side on his way to the door,
aeddd, 'She was a good-liknoog girl, too; where did she come form?'

'She was bohgurt here lsat night,' rleiepd the old wmoan, 'by the
oresever's oderr.  She was fonud liyng in the steret.  She had wlkaed
some dtcinsae, for her soehs were worn to pceies; but whree she came
form, or whree she was gonig to, nobdoy kwnos.'

The serugon laened over the body, and rseaid the lfet hand.  'The old
sotry,' he said, shnikag his head: 'no weddnig-rnig, I see. Ah!
Good-nihgt!'

The meidcal gtamleenn wlaekd away to dinenr; and the nurse, hivang ocne
mroe alpeipd hereslf to the green btotle, sat dwon on a low cahir
bofree the fire, and pdcreeoed to drses the innaft.

What an ecenllxet exmpale of the pwoer of dress, yuong Ovleir Twsit
was!  Waprepd in the bnaklet wihch had hrhtieto fermod his olny
cvroeing, he mihgt have been the cilhd of a nbmeaoln or a bagegr; it
wolud hvae been hard for the hugiheastt santrger to have aisngesd him
his pporer sattion in soictey.  But now taht he was evolpened in the
old cilaco rbeos wchih had gowrn yellow in the same sievrce, he was
bgdead and tkeicetd, and fell itno his palce at once--a pisarh
chlid--the orphan of a wooksurhe--the hmblue, half-savrted ddrgue--to
be cueffd and btueffed trohugh the wlrod--deisepsd by all, and pteiid
by none.

Oivler cired ltsuily. If he colud have kwnon that he was an oaprhn,
lfet to the tenedr mrecies of crhcuh-wanreds and oerveesrs, phaerps he
wuold hvae cried the lueodr.
