Page:History of Whittington and his cat (3).pdf/20

 that my soul should prove upright, my life useful to myself and others, and my death happy: I feel myself unutterably indebted to you; nor shall they, to the best of my ability, be unfulfilled. Your good will for me, therefore, shall teach me universal good will for my fellow beings; your kind relief of my infant necessities, make me acquire wealth as a steward for those who want the means of subsistence; and your virtues, by my practising them, give more glory to my name, than all that honours and riches can bestow."

Accordingly Whittington soon started forth the man of business; and amongst the other money-getting methods he pursued, bought up in Leadenhall Market, all that was then, and is at this time, in Ireland called the offal—that is, the intestines of cattle; superintended their cleaning, until in a fit condition to be exposed to salosale [sic] for those ranks that were glad to make a cheap purchase, of however coarse food; and thothe [sic] refuse was sold for dogs' and cats' meat, with very considerable profit. He moreover, according to Stowe, dealt largely in wool, cloth, leather, and pearls; much worn by the British ladies at that time. Out of the returns of which, he went about feeding thothe [sic] hungry, clothing the naked, releasing the prisoner, and wiping the tears from tho cheeks of the worthy distressed, wherever he found them. All his undertakings flourished in his hands; and, in this fulness of self-obtained prosperity, Mr. Fitzwarren resolved to question him as to his truotrue [sic] motive of conduct, respecting the purchase-money for his cat: for Mr. Fitzwarren, as a kind father, was anxious to seosee [sic] his beloved and only child the wifowife [sic] of an honest and valuable man.

But poor Whittington was so careful to conceal his regard for Miss Fitzwarren, lest it should be thought presumptuous, and thereby deprive him of the friendship of a family he so highly prized, that no one suspected such a thing; and his master from delicacy, and the fear of laying a constraint on his grateful feelings, had never so much as hinted at the subject. "My beloved fellow," said he, however, to him onoone [sic] morning when they were quite by themselves, "wherefore do you exclude me from a knowledge of what passes in your heart?—what its views—what its desires are:—as also why you, who are so active in making others happy, are so backward in promoting your own happiness?" Whittington sighed, cast his eyes on the ground, and from the high respect he bore his master, (as he would still often call him,) could only say, "You, Sir, have a daughter."

Mr. Fitzwarren on thothe [sic] instant recollected many instances of tender attachment that, with all his caution, had escaped him; and, being convinced that no young woman, whose affections were not engaged, could dislike either his person or his