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of the parish, who is a crabbed sort of a fellow, and a friend of the steward, was for sending them to the workhouse. But, 'No,' says I; 'hold neighbour Bruin! while my roof can give them shelter, and I can provide them with a meal to eke out the earnings of their own industry—And, you must know, sir,' said he, with a significant nod, 'I am pretty warm—they shall never endure the wants and hardships of a prison! For what, said I, 'is your workhouse but a dungeon; where the poor eat little, and labour hard?'—"But, sir," continued the landlord, "not only I, but the whole village, was against their going there; and the inhabitants all cheerfully spare a little towards the family's support: nay, even the labouring cottager, out of his hard earnings, throws in his ⟨mite⟩.
"And what," inquired Trueman, "is the amount of the sum for which the unfortunate man is now confined?"
"The whole debt," replied the landlord, "I am told, is about three hundred pounds: a sum by much too large for the inhabitants of our parish to raise without injuring themselves; or, depend upon it, he would soon be snatched from the gripe of the law."
Every particular which related to this worthy man, Trueman inquired with an earnestness that displayed the philanthropic sentiments of his mind; and intimated, not merely a wish, but a fixed determination, to rescue the indigent sufferer from the horrors of a prison, and restore him to his disconsolate family. Impressed with this generous sentiment he retired to bed, meditating on the means by which he might effect his laudable
