"Dear, dear! Give it me back, mum," said
Flopson; "and Miss Jane, come and dance to
baby, do!"

One of the, little girls: a mere mite who
seemed to have prematurely taken upon herself
some charge of the others: stepped out of her
place by me, and danced to and from the baby
until it left off crying, and laughed. Then all
the children laughed, and Mr. Pocket (who in
the mean time had twice endeavoured to lift
himself up by the hair) laughed, and we all
laughed and were glad.

Flopson, by dint of doubling the baby at the
joints like a Dutch doll, then got it safely into
Mrs. Pocket's lap, and gave it the nutcrackers
to play with: at the same time recommending
Mrs. Pocket to take notice that the handles of
that instrument were not likely to agree with
its eyes, and sharply charging Miss Jane to
look after the same. Then, the two nurses left
the room, and had a lively scuffle on the staircase
with a dissipated page who had waited at
dinner, and who had clearly lost half his buttons
at the gaming-table.

I was made very uneasy in my mind by
Mrs. Pocket's falling into a discussion with
Drummle respecting two baronetcies while she
ate a sliced orange steeped in sugar and wine,
and forgetting all about the baby on her lap:
who did most appalling things with the
nutcrackers. At length, little Jane perceiving its
young brains to be imperiled, softly left her
place, and with many small artifices coaxed the
dangerous weapon away. Mrs. Pocket finishing
her orange at about the same time and not
approving of this, said to Jane:

"You naughty child, how dare you? Go and
sit down this instant!"

"Mamma dear," lisped the little girl, "baby
ood have put hith eyeth out."

"How dare you tell me so!" retorted Mrs.
Pocket. "Go and sit down in your chair this
moment!"

Mrs. Pocket's dignity was so crushing, that I
felt quite abashed: as if I myself had done
something to rouse it.

"Belinda," remonstrated Mr. Pocket, from
the other end of the table, "how can you be so
unreasonable? Jane only interfered for the
protection of baby."

"I will not allow anybody to interfere," said
Pocket. "I am surprised, Matthew, that
you should expose me to the affront of
interference."

"Good God!" cried Mr. Pocket, in an
outbreak of desolate desperation. "Are infants to
be nutcrackered into their tombs, and is nobody
to save them?"

"I will not be interfered with by Jane,"
said Mrs. Pocket, with a majestic glance at
that innocent little offender. "I hope I
know my poor grandpapa's position. Jane,
indeed!"

Mr. Pocket got his hands in his hair again,
and this time really did lift himself some inches
out of his chair. "Hear this!" he helplessly
exclaimed to the elements. "Babies are to be
nutcrackered dead, for people's poor grandpapa's
positions!" Then he let himself down
again, and became silent.

We all looked awkwardly at the tablecloth
while this was going on. A pause succeeded,
during which the honest and irrepressible baby
made a series of leaps and crows at little Jane,
who appeared to me to be the only member of
the family (irrespective of servants) with whom
it had any decided acquaintance.

"Mr. Drummle," said Mrs. Pocket, "will
you ring for Flopson? Jane, you undutiful
little thing, go and lie down. Now, baby
darling, come with ma!"

The baby was the soul of honour, and
protested with all its might. It doubled itself up
the wrong way over Mrs. Pocket's arm, exhibited
a pair of knitted shoes and dimpled ankles to
the company in lieu of its soft face, and was
carried out in the highest state of mutiny. And
it gained its point after all, for I saw it through
the window within a few minutes, being nursed
by little Jane.

It happened that the other five children were
left behind at the dinner-table, through Flopson's
having some private engagement and their
not being anybody else's business. I thus
became aware of the mutual relations between them
and Mr. Pocket, which were exemplified in the
following manner. Mr. Pocket, with the normal
perplexity of his face heightened and his
hair rumpled, looked at them for some minutes
as if he couldn't make out how they came to be
boarding and lodging in that establishment, and
why they hadn't been billeted by Nature on
somebody else. Then, in a distant Missionary way
he asked them certain questions—as why little
Joe had that hole in his frill: who said, Pa,
Flopson was going to mend it when she had
time—and how little Fanny came by that whitlow:
who said, Pa, Millers was going to poultice
it when she didn't forget. Then, he melted into
parental tenderness, and gave them a shilling
apiece and told them to go and play; and then
as they went out, with one very strong effort to
lift himself up by the hair he dismissed the
hopeless subject.

In the evening there was rowing on the river.
As Drummle and Startop had each a boat, I
resolved to set up mine, and to cut them both
out. I was pretty good at most exercises in
which country-boys are adepts, but as I was
conscious of wanting elegance of style for the
Thames—not to say for other waters—I at
once engaged to place myself under the tuition
of the winner of a prize-wherry who plied at our
stairs, and to whom I was introduced by my
new allies. This practical authority confused
me very much, by saying I had the arm of a
blacksmith. If he could have known how nearly
the compliment lost him his pupil, I doubt if
he would have paid it.

There was a supper-tray after we got home
at night, and I think we should all have
enjoyed ourselves, but for a rather disagreeable
domestic occurrence. Mr. Pocket was in good
spirits, when a housemaid came in, and said,