TER III.

If ever a young kipple in the middlin classes began life with a chance
of happiness, it was Mr. and Mrs. Frederic Altamont. There house at
Cannon Row, Islington, was as comfortable as house could be. Carpited
from top to to; pore's rates small; furnitur elygant; and three
deomestix: of which I, in course, was one. My life wasn't so easy as
in Mr. A.'s bachelor days; but, what then? The three W's is my maxum:
plenty of work, plenty of wittles, and plenty of wages. Altamont kep his
gig no longer, but went to the city in an omlibuster.

One would have thought, I say, that Mrs. A., with such an effeckshnut
husband, might have been as happy as her blessid majisty. Nothing of the
sort. For the fust six months it was all very well; but then she grew
gloomier and gloomier, though A. did everythink in life to please her.

Old Shum used to come reglarly four times a wick to Cannon Row, where
he lunched, and dined, and teed, and supd. The pore little man was a
thought too fond of wine and spirits; and many and many's the night that
I've had to support him home. And you may be sure that Miss Betsy did
not now desert her sister: she was at our place mornink, noon, and
night; not much to my mayster's liking, though he was too good-natured
to wex his wife in trifles.

But Betsy never had forgotten the recollection of old days, and hated
Altamont like the foul feind. She put all kind of bad things into
the head of poor innocent missis; who, from being all gayety and
cheerfulness, grew to be quite melumcolly and pale, and retchid, just as
if she had been the most misrable woman in the world.

In three months more, a baby comes, in course, and with it old Mrs.
Shum, who stuck to Mrs.' side as close as a wampire, and made her
retchider and retchider. She used to bust into tears when Altamont
came home: she used to sigh and wheep over the pore child, and say, "My
child, my child, your father is false to me;" or, "your father deceives
me;" or "what will you do when your pore mother is no more?" or such
like sentimental stuff.

It all came from Mother Shum, and her old trix, as I soon found out.
The fact is, when there is a mistry of this kind in the house, its a
servant's DUTY to listen; and listen I did, one day when Mrs. was cryin
as usual, and fat Mrs. Shum a sittin consolin her, as she called it:
though, heaven knows, she only grew wuss and wuss for the consolation.

Well, I listened; Mrs. Shum was a-rockin the baby,