the end of every quarter of a mile whether they were 'nearly

there.' To these interrogations Mr. Bumble returned very brief

and snappish replies; for the temporary blandness which

gin-and-water awakens in some bosoms had by this time evaporated;

and he was once again a beadle.

Oliver had not been within the walls of the workhouse a quarter

of an hour, and had scarcely completed the demolition of a second

slice of bread, when Mr. Bumble, who had handed him over to the