I won't be called Equality Jack for nothing." When Jolliffe, who heard of this, met our hero alone, he said to him, "Take my advice, boy, and do not in future fight the battles of others; you'll find very soon that you will have enough to do to fight your own." Whereupon Jack argued the point for half an hour, and then they separated.

But Mr Jolliffe was right.

Jack began to find himself constantly in hot water, and the captain and first lieutenant, although they did not really withdraw their protection, thought it high time that Jack should find out that, on board a man-of-war, everybody and everything must find its level.
There was on board of his Majesty's sloop Harpy, a man of the name of Easthupp, who did the duty of purser's steward; this was the second ship that he had served in: in the former he had been sent with a draft of men from the Tender lying off the Tower.

How he had come into the service was not known in the present ship; but the fact was, that he had been one of the swell mob--and had been sent on board the Tender with a letter of recommendation from the magistrates to Captain Crouch.
He was a cockney by birth, for he had been left at the work-house of St Mary Axe, where he had been taught to read and write, and had afterwards made his escape.

He joined the juvenile thieves of the metropolis, had been sent to Bridewell, obtained his liberty, and by degrees had risen from petty thieving of goods exposed outside of the shops and market-stalls, to the higher class of gentleman pickpockets.
His appearance was somewhat genteel, with a bullying sort of an impudent air, which is mistaken for fashion by those who know no better.