some verses. I should have thought she could write
better stuff than that, shouldn't you?'

"Waterford, very red in the face, snatched up the paper and glanced at
it.

"`Do you think they're so bad?' said he.

"`Frightful twaddle,' said I; `fancy any one saying--'"

"The drowsy year from winter's sleep ye wake,
Yet two of ye do not a summer make."

"`Well,' said he, grinning, `you'd better tell her straight off it's
bosh, and then she's not likely to make a fool of herself again. Hullo,
though, I say,' he exclaimed, picking up a paper in front of him, every
smudge and blot of which I knew only too well, `why, she's at it again.
What's this?

"`"Ancient and Mod--" Why, it's in your writing; did you copy it out for
her?'

"`I wrote that out, yes,' said I, feeling it my turn to colour up and
look sheepish.

"Waterford glanced rapidly through the first few lines, and then said,--

"`Well, all I can say is, it's a pity she didn't stick to poetry. I'm
sure the line about waking the drowsy year is a jolly sight better than
this awful rot.'

"`Though we are not told so in so many words, we may reasonably conclude
that athletic sports were not unpractised by Cain and Abel prior to the
death of the latter!

"`As if they could have done it after!'

"`I never said they could,' I said, feeling very much taken down.

"`Oh--it was you composed it as well as wrote it, was it?' said he
laughing. `Ho, ho! that's the best joke I ever heard. Poor little
Crisp, what a shame to get her to father--or mother a thing like this;
ha, ha! "prior to the death of the latter"--that's something like a play
of language! My eye, what a game she's been having with us!'

"`_Us_! then you're the idiot who wrote about the Swallows!' said I.

"`Suppose I am,' said he, blushing all over, `suppose I am.'

"`Well, all I can say is, I'm precious glad the little Crisp isn't
guilty of it. "Two of ye do not a summer make," indeed!'

"`Well, they don't,' said he.

"`I know they don't,' said I, half dead with laughing, `but you needn't
go and tell everybody.'

"`I'm sure it's just as interesting as "Cain and Abel"--'

"`There now, we don't want to hear any more about them,' said I, `but I
think we ought to send them both back to Miss Crisp, to give her her
laugh against us too.'

"We did so; and I needn't tell you she lets us have it whenever we get
within twenty yards of her.

"Here's a long digression, but it may amuse you;