He was a good-natured creature, and one morning as he brought him up his hot water and his soda-water Robinson ventured on a friendly remonstrance.

Mr. Miles flung canting rogue and half a dozen oaths and one boot at his head, and was preparing to add a tumbler, when his mentor whipped into the lobby.  Robinson could not have fallen to a worse master than this, whose irregularities were so regular that his servant had always seven hours to spend in the town as he pleased.  There he was often solicited to join in depredations on property.  For he found half his old acquaintances were collected by the magic of the law on this spot of earth.

Robinson took a particular pride in telling these gentlemen that he had no objection to taking a friendly glass with them and talking over old times, but that as for taking what did not belong to him all that was over forever.  In short, he improved on Mr. Eden’s instructions.  Instead of flying from temptation, like a coward conscious of weakness, he nobly faced it and walked cool, collected and safe on the edge of danger.

One good result of this was that he spent his wages every month faster than he got them, and spent the clothes his master gave him, and these were worth more than his wages, for Mr. Miles was going the pace—­wore nothing after the gloss was off it.  But Robinson had never lived out of prison at less than five hundred per annum, and the evening is a good time in the day for spending money in a town, and his evenings were all his own.

One evening a young tradeswoman with whom he was flirting in the character of a merchant’s clerk, tremendously busy, who could only get out in the evening; this young woman, whom he had often solicited to go to the theater, consented.

“I could go with you to-morrow, my sister and I,” said she.

Robinson expressed his delight, but consulting his pockets found he had not the means of paying for their seats, and he could not pawn any clothes, for he had but two sets.  One (yellowish) that government compelled him to wear by daylight, and one a present from his master (black).  That, together with a mustache, admitted him into the bosom of society at night.  What was to be done?  Propose to the ladies to pay, that was quite without precedent.  Ask his master for an advance, impossible.  His master was gone kangaroo hunting for three days.  Borrow some of his master’s clothes and pawn them, that was too like theft.  He would pawn his ring, it would only be for a day or two, and he would not spend a farthing more till he had got it back.

He pawned Mr. Eden’s ring; it just paid for their places at the theater, where they saw the living puppets of the colony mop and mow and rant under the title of acting.  This was so interesting that Robinson was thinking of his ring the whole time, and how to get it back.  The girls agreed between themselves they had never enjoyed so dull a cavalier.