The Garies and Their Friends

Excerpt: ...the day before; in so doing, he was obliged to remove the paper he had picked up from the floor, and it occurred to him to ask Mr. Walters to read it; he therefore handed it to him, saying- Jist read dat, honey, won't you? I want to know if it's worth savin'. I've burnt up two or three receipts in my life, and had de bills to pay over; and I'se got rale careful, you know. 'Taint pleasant to pay money twice over for de same thing. Mr. Walters took the paper extended to him, and, after glancing over it, remarked, This handwriting is very familiar to me, very; but whose it is, I can't say; it appears to be a list of addresses, or something of that kind. And he read over various names of streets, and numbers of houses. Why, he exclaimed, with a start of surprise, here is my own house upon the list, 257, Easton-street; then here is 22, Christian-street; here also are numbers in Baker-street, Bedford-street, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Streets; in some of which houses I know coloured people live, for one or two of them are my own. This is a strange affair. As he spoke, he turned over the paper, and read on the other side,-Places to be attacked. Why, this looks serious, he continued, with some excitement of manner. 'Places to be attacked,'-don't that seem to you as if it might be a list of places for these rioters to set upon? I really must look into this. Who could have left it here? I raly don't know, replied the old man. Kinch told me suthin' last night about some gemman comin' here and changing his clothes; p'raps 'twas him. I'd like to know who 'twas myself. Well, wait awhile, my boy will come in directly; maybe he can explain it. He had scarcely finished speaking, when Master Kinch made his appearance, with his hat, as usual, placed upon nine hairs, and his mouth smeared with the eggs and bacon with which he had been staying and comforting himself. He took off his hat on perceiving Mr. Walters, and, with great humility, hoped...