"O, ma lord, will ye no hae mercy on us? As true as I'm stannin' here, it's the first time I ever stealt ony thing. O whaur's mither? Is that her greeting outside? O, ma lord, what are ye puttin' on that black hat for? Ye daurna hang us surely for a wheen wizzened speldrings!--O dear--O dear! Is there naebody will say a word for me? O mercy--mercy! Wae's me--wae's me! To be hangit by the neck till I'm deid, and me no fifteen year auld!" "We shall now," said the operator, "conduct our young friend to the scaffold"-- "Stop, sir!" cried the benevolent gentleman in the spectacles--"I insist that we shall have no more of this. Are you aware, sir, that you are answerable for the intellects of that unhappy boy? Who knows but that the cruel excitement he has already undergone may have had the effect of rendering him a maniac for life? I protest against any further exhibition of this nature, which is absolutely harrowing to my own feelings and to those of all around me. What if the boy should die?" "Let alane Jimsy!" cried a voice from the back row. "I ken him fine; he'll dee nane." "I shall have much pleasure, sir," said the mesmerist, with a polite bow, "in complying with your humane suggestion. At the same time, let me assure you that your apprehensions are without foundation. Never, I trust, in my hands, shall science be perverted from its legitimate object, or the glorious truths I am permitted to display, minister in the slightest degree to the wretchedness of any one individual of the great human family. I shall now awaken this boy from his trance, when you will find him wholly unconscious of every thing which has taken place." Accordingly, he drew forth his bandana, flapped it a few times before the eyes of Lazarillo, and then breathed lightly on his forehead. The boy yawned, rubbed his eyes, stretched his limbs, sneezed, and then rose up. "How do you feel?" asked the operator. "A wee stiff--that's a.'" "Would you like a glass of water?" "I'd rather hae yill." "Do you recollect what you have been doing?" "I've been sleeping, I think." "Nothing more?" "Naething. What else should I hae been doing? I say--I want to gang hame." "Well, ladies and gentlemen, I think we may dismiss this boy."