Poor-House Pete, the Postal-Clerk Detective

Poor-House Pete, the Postal-Clerk Detective; or, The Precious Patrimony by Edward Lytton. This serial begins with seventeen-year-old Peter Perkins being selected from the B—— County Poor-house by farmer Joshua Fisher and his sharp-tongued wife Samantha for adoption as a bound boy. Despite his objections and requests to complete his painting apprenticeship, Pete is legally bound to the Fishers under indenture. Though troubled by Mrs. Fisher's harsh temperament and sensing hard labor ahead, Pete accepts because his deceased mother had wished it and because he harbors a mysterious connection to the town of W——, where his mother had been traveling when she fell ill. As Pete and the Fishers depart for their farm, his determination to maintain his dignity and independence despite his impoverished circumstances is evident.