Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE LIFE, TRAVELS AND SUFFERINGS or THOMAS . SMITH, CHAPTER I. The birth of the author—the early death of his father—he and his widowed mother are taken into her father's family—the author put out to service and deprived of education—his labors and sufferings while with Moore—his return home—is put out the second time to a Mr. Miles—his cruel treatment while there—is induced by young Link to run away with him—they lodge in a gravel pit —are taken out by a company of Gipsys and carried to a cave in a wood—conversation with the Gipsys, and his adoption by them. I was born of respectable parents in the neighborhood of Lewisham, County of Kent in England. My father's name was Alfred Smith, and he survived my birth only about three years. Death then came, and with its iron grasp, severed the ties of nature and love, which bound us together as a happy family ; and thus deprived me of the natural protector and guardian of my youth. My father's spirit took its flight To realms of joy and pure delig pure delight. My mother, being left destitute with a helpless babe, to the mercy of an unfriendly world, now took shelter beneath her parental roof. Her parents, although not in very favorable circumstances, did not hesitate to welcome their own dear and unfortunate child to their paternal protection. I resided beneath my grandfather's hospitable roof five years, enjoying the productions of nature's bounty in proportion to our limited circumstances. As time rolled on I was sometimes sent to take care of the old gentleman's lambs to prevent them from getting into our neighbor's pasture. Another branch of my employment was that of leading my grandmother to meeiing or to any other place which her business or wishes called her. She became blind when my mother was ...