use he made of his liberty was not altogether pleasing to John, but
the time for restraint and training had hopelessly gone by. The lad
was selfish, that there was no denying; he grudged the money
demanded of him for his support; but in other matters he always
showed himself so easy-tempered, so disposed to a genial
understanding, that the great fault had to be blinked. Many failings
might have been forgiven him in consideration of the fact that he
had never yet drunk too much, and indeed cared little for liquor.

Men of talent, as you are aware, not seldom exhibit low tastes in
their choice of companionship. Bob was a case in point; he did not
sufficiently appreciate social distinctions. He, who wore a collar,
seemed to prefer associating with the collarless. There was Jack--
more properly 'Jeck'--Bartley, for instance, his bosom friend
until they began to cool in consequence of a common interest in Miss
Peckover. Jack never wore a collar in his life, not even on Sundays,
and was closely allied with all sorts of blackguards, who somehow
made a living on the outskirts of turf-land. And there was Eli
Snape, compared with whom Jack was a person of refinement and
culture. Eli dealt surreptitiously in dogs and rats, and the mere
odour of him was intolerable to ordinary nostrils; yet he was a
species of hero in Bob's regard, such invaluable information could
he supply with regard to 'events' in which young Hewett took a
profound interest. Perhaps a more serious aspect of Bob's disregard
for social standing was revealed in his relations with the other
sex. Susceptible from his tender youth, he showed no ambition in the
bestowal of his amorous homage. At the age of sixteen did he not
declare his resolve to wed the daughter of old Sally Budge, who went
about selling watercress? and was there not a desperate conflict at
home before this project could be driven from his head? It was but