tain. "I know that
fellow Dan is a thief. I meant to tell his relation, George, that I
won't allow him to be employed on the new schoolroom. I shall do so
now."

"Would it not be better to forget what happened so long ago?" Mary
ventured to say.

"And suppose Judith restores it," added Sophia.

"Pshaw!" said the captain; but Mary followed him to the study, and what
she did with him there her sisters did not know, but it resulted in his
allowing that Dan might have another trial, with a sharp eye over him.

So unused was Uphill to the visits of ladies, that when the piece of
French paper was sold to Judith, no one had thought of her being sought
out in her bedroom. Molly came home with the children in the evening,
tired out but excited--for all had had rather more beer than was good
for them, and the children a great many more sweets. Jem and Judy were
quarrelling over a wooden horse covered with white spots, but whose mane
had already disappeared, Lizzie was sick, cross, and stupid, Polly had
broken the string of her new yellow necklace, and was crying about it,
and nobody had recollected the aunt except Johnnie, who presented her
with a piece of thin gingerbread representing King George the Fourth, in
white, pink, and gilt! Molly herself was very tired, though she said it
was all very fine, and she had seen a lot of people, and the big sleeves
they wore were quite a wonder. Then she scolded Polly with all her
might for crying and never setting the tea, nor boiling the kettle; and,
after all, it was Johnnie who made up the fire, fetched water, and set
the kettle boiling. They all wrangled together over their purchases,
and the sights they had seen, or not seen, while Judith was glad to be
out of the way of seeing, though not of hearing. Then the girls trailed
themselves upstairs. Judy slept with her aunt, Polly and Lizzie had a
kind of shake-down on a mattress of chaff or hulls, as she called it, by
her side. Judith always insisted on their prayers, but they said they
were much too tired to-night, and could not say anything but "Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John," which was all they knew except the Lord's Prayer.
Judith had taught them this, but they thought the repeating it a very
difficult ceremony, far too hard when they were tired.

Their mother went to bed soon afterwards, taking Jem with her, and so
did Johnnie, all being anxious to get what sleep they could before the
dreaded moment of father's retur