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48 the intervening villages; from Guildford to Godalming, thence to Liphook, where I altered my course, and took a circuitous route by the way of Chichester, to Portsmouth. This journey occupied about a fortnight, and arriving at Portsmouth, I soon found my late companion, D———, who was lodged at the house of an acquaintance, and not having yet obtained a birth on ship-board, had engaged himself as an occasional clerk and assistant to a tradesman in the town. I myself hired a small apartment in St. Mary's street, intending to remain a week or two in Portsmouth, where I had never before been, and to enjoy such amusements as the place afforded, as long as my money lasted. As my friend D——— appeared to have dropped the idea of going on ship-board, I became also careless on that subject, particularly as the motive which gave rise to that design (namely, poverty) no longer existed, for I was now possessed, after all the expenses of travelling, &c., of about fifteen pounds.

I spent several days in viewing the town, dockyard, fleet, &c., and in the evening generally visited the theatre, which was then open. About a week after my arrival, reading the Portsmouth weekly paper, I saw an advertisement for a clerk; and as I found that some means of subsistence would soon become necessary, and it was indifferent to me in what part of the kingdom I sojourned, I determined to offer myself. Inquiring, as directed, of Mottley,