e Unruly Family

[Illustration: They had a game at marbles]

After Mr. Fairchild was gone out with Mr. Burke, the young people, who
still sat round the table, all began to speak and make a noise at once.
The two youngest were crying for sugar, or ham, or more butter. Tom was
screaming every moment, "I am going to the river a-fishing--who comes
with me?" looking at the same time daringly at his mother, and
expecting her to say, "No, Tom; you know _that_ is forbidden;" for the
river was very dangerous for anglers, and Mr. Burke had given his
orders that his boys should never go down to it unless he was with
them.

James and Judy were squabbling sharply and loudly about Miss Killigrew
and her gentility; William, in a quieter way, and with a quiet face,
was, from time to time, giving his sister Mary's hair a violent pull,
causing her to scream and look about her for her tormenter each time;
and Elizabeth was balancing a spoon on the edge of her cup, and letting
it fall with a clatter every moment. Children never mind
noise--indeed, they rather like it; and, if the truth must be told,
Henry was beginning to think that it would not be unpleasant if his
father would let him and his sisters have their own ways, as these
children of Mr. Burke seemed to have, at least on holidays and after
lesson hours.

When Miss Jane's mouth was well filled with jam, and Dick's with fat
meat, Tom's voice was heard above the rest; he was still crying, "I am
going a-fishing; who will come with me?" his large eyes being fixed on
his mother, as if to provoke her to speak.

"You are not going to do any such thing, Tom," she at length said; "I
shall not allow it."

Tom looked as if he would have said, "How can you help it, mother?" but
he had not time to say it, had he wished; for Miss Judy, who had a
great notion of managing her brothers, took him up, and said:

"I wonder at you, Tom. How often have you been told that you are not to
go down to fish in the river?"

"Pray, miss, who made you my governess? If it's only to vex you, I will
go to the river--if I don't fish I will bathe. Will that please you
better?"

Henry Fairchild could not make out exactly what was said next, because
three or four people spoke at once in answer to Tom's last words, and
as all of them spoke as loud as they could in order to be heard, as
always happens in these cases, no two words could be made out clearly.
But Henry perceived that Tom gave word for word to