Page:Pathetic history of George Barnwell the London apprentice.pdf/3



was apprenticed to his uncle, a merchant of the city of London, who had, by his industry and prudence, amassed a very considerable property, and at an advanced period of life retired from the active pursuits of business to his seat in Surrey, where his hospitality and social disposition endeared him to an extensive circle of acquaintance; and with this estimable man George Barnwell spent three years, previous to his entrance into the bustling scenes of life. Whilst an inmate in his uncle's house, he gained the affections of the old man, who often declared, that after his death he should inherit his fortune.

The person of George was tall, and his whole behaviour marked with an elegance, rather uncommon in persons who, like himself, had been secluded from the scenes of life.—With these qualifications he entered into the counting-house of Mr. Striekland, a very considerable woollen-draper in Cheapside. For some time our hero's assiduity and punctuality were so conspicuous, as to render him, in the eyes of Mr. Strickland, worry of the most implicit confidence; while, by his indefatigable exertion, he obtained a complete