often handled, examined and rejected. Some of the sweeps complimented him for his spirit, and said, if he made a good use of his time, and contrived to grow a head taller, he might do for them the next time they came.
The confinement that was so wearisome to young Smith must have been equally irksome to his companions, therefore the love of liberty could not have been the sole cause of the difference of feeling manifested by these boys on this occasion. There was another reason; most of the boys had friends or relations, but poor Smith stood alone! No ties of consanguinity bound him to any particular portion of society, or to any place; he had no friend to soothe his troubled mind—no domestic circle to which, though excluded for a time, he might hope to be reunited. When the friends or relatives of other children came to visit them, the caresses that were sometimes exchanged, the joy that beamed on the faces of the favored ones, were any thing but pleasing to our young friend; not that he was envious of their happiness, but that it reminded him more forcibly of his forlorn condition.
From the period of Smith's disappointment in being rejected by the sweeps, a sudden calm succeeded, which lasted till another rumor was spread through the house, that a treaty was on foot between the Overseers of St. Pan eras, and the owners of a large cotton factory, for the disposal of a great number of children. This occurred about a year after the chimney-sweep disappointment.
The rumor itself inspired Smith with new hopes; and when he found that it was not only confirmed, but that the number wanted was so great, that it would take off most of the children in the house, his joy became unbounded. Poor, infatuated boy! delighted with the hope of obtaining a greater degree of liberty, he dreamed not
