BOY'S COUNTRY-BOOK.

LONDON:

Printed by Manning and Mason, Ivy Lane,

Paternoster Row.

THE

BOY'S COUNTRY-BOOK:

BEING

THE REAL LIFE OF A COUNTRY BOY,

WRITTEN BY HIMSELF;

EXHIBITING ALL THE AMUSEMENTS, PLEASURES, AND
PURSUITS OF CHILDREN IN THE COUNTRY.

WILLIAM HOWITT,

AUTHOR OF "THE RURAL LIFE OF ENGLAND," "VISITS TO
REMARKABLE PLACES," ETC.

SECOND EDITION.

LONDON:

LONGMAN, ORME, BROWN, GREEN, AND LONGMANS.

1841.

MVR

PR4809 H3B6 1841

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Sketch of my Life; in which are briefly related sundry

particulars hereafter to be more fully dwelt upon-My

birth-place, and village companions-Joe Garner, Cris

Newton, Tom Smith, etc.-Description of my father's

house, and neighbours-Sally Garner's cottage, and our

exploits there-Taking sparrow-nests-the nest in the

old coal-pit-the adventure of the tree-foxes' tails-

Advantages of field exercise in boyhood as shewn in

after-life-Boyish employments at the tailor's, black-

smith's, brickmaker's, etc.-Burman, the clerk at the

colliery-his strange character-first go to the collieries

with him........

PAGE

1

CHAPTER II.

In which the scene changes, and Peter Scroggins, the pony,

makes his appearance-Gift of Peter Scroggins, and

first mounting of him, with new saddle, bridle, and whip

-First visit to the collieries by night-Astonishment at

the scene-
e-Description of those old-fashioned coal-pits

Curious character and nick-names of the colliers-

Descent into a coal-pit, and description of the interior

-the rats in the pits-Choke-damp and fire-damp, and

their effects-Singular scenery about the Newcastle

collieries....

14