Your affectionate uncle, G. H. [Illustration: THE LOSS MADE GOOD.] On opening the package, which was lying on the table by the side of his note, Rollo found within a new wallet very much like the one which he had lost; and in this wallet were two sovereigns, two pennies, and a new due bill from his uncle George for four shillings. CHAPTER XIV. THE DOCKS. One day Mr. George told Rollo that before leaving London he wished very much to go and see the London docks and the shipping in them. "Well," said Rollo, "I'll go. But what are the docks?" It may seem surprising that Rollo should be so ready to go and see the docks before he knew at all what they were. The truth is, what attracted him was the word _shipping_. Like other boys of his age, he was always ready to go, no matter where, to see ships, or any thing connected with shipping. So he first said he was ready to go and see the docks, and then he asked what they were. "They are immense basins," said Mr. George, "excavated in the heart of the city, for ships to go into when they are loading or unloading." "I thought the ships staid in the river," said Rollo. "Part of them," said Mr. George; "but not all. There is not room for all of them in the river; at least there is not room for them at the wharves, along the banks of the river, to load and reload. Accordingly, about fifty years ago, the merchants of London began to form companies for the purpose of excavating docks for them. The place that they chose for the docks was at a little distance from the river, below the city. Their plan was to build sheds and warehouses around the docks, so as to have conveniences for loading and unloading their ships close at hand. "And I want to go and see some of these docks," added he, in conclusion. "So do I," said Rollo. "Let us go this very day." Although Rollo was thus ready, and even eager, to go with his uncle to see the docks, the interest which he felt in them was entirely different from that which his uncle experienced. Mr. George knew something about the construction of the works and the history of them, and he had a far more distinct idea of the immense commerce which centred in them, and of the influence of this commerce on the general welfare of mankind and on the wealth and prosperity of London, than Rollo could be expected to have. He accordingly wished to see them, in order to enjoy the emotions of grandeur and sublimity which would be awakened in his mind by the thought of their prodigious magnitude as works of artificial construction, and of the widely-extended relation they sustained to the human race, by continually sending out ships to the remote regions of the globe, and receiving cargoes in return from every nation and every clime.