aught
him up by the scruff of his neck and disposed of him behind the
staircase door; while Dora at the same moment secured Dandy by the
collar, and rushing out, put him over the garden gate and shut both that
and the door. Mary, afraid that the old lady was going to have a fit,
went up to her with soothing apologies, but the unwonted sight seemed to
confuse her the more, and she began crying. Lizzie, however, came to
the rescue. She evidently had all her wits about her. First she called
out: "Order, children. Don't you see the ladies? Sit down, Jem
Hewlett, or I'll after you with the stick!" Then, as the children
ranged themselves, she stamped at some to enforce her orders, shook the
rod at others, and set up the smallest like so many ninepins, handling
them by the shoulder on one small bench, interspersing the work with
consolations to granny and explanations to the ladies, who were about to
defer their visit.

"Granny, now never you mind. Tip is all right upstairs. Benny, you bad
boy, I'll be at you. Don't go, please, lady. Bet, what be doin' to
Jim? Never mind, granny! Susan Pucklechurch, you'll read to the lady,
so pretty."

About five children, more tidily dressed than the others, had a whole
and sound form to themselves near the fire and the mistress. The other
two benches were propped, the one on two blocks of wood, the other on
two sound and two infirm legs, and this was only balanced by a child at
each end, so that when one got up the whole tumbled down or flew up, but
the seat was very low, and the catastrophe generally produced mirth.

Susan Pucklechurch, granddaughter to the old bailiff and his Betty, was
evidently the show scholar. "She be in her Testament, ma'am," explained
Lizzie; and accordingly a terribly thumbed and dilapidated New Testament
was put into the child's hand, from which she proceeded to bawl out,
with long pauses between the words, and spelling the longest, a piece of
the Sermon on the Mount, selected because there were no names in it. It
was a painful performance to reverent ears, and as soon as practicable
Mrs Carbonel stopped it with "Good child!" and a penny, and asked what
the others read. Those who were not "in the Testament" read the
"Universal Spelling-book," provided at their own expense, but not in
much better condition, and from this George Hewlett, son and heir to the
carpenter, and a very different person from his cousin Jem, read the
history of the defenc