tairs again, I concealed myself in the
back kitchen. I was correct in my supposition. A moment afterwards I
heard her ascending the stairs, and go into her own room.

I must say that I felt indignant at this conduct of my mother's, as, so
far from provocation, she had hardly received the reward of previous
treachery. I believe, however, that, like most people, I was actuated
by my own feelings towards my mother, who had treated me so unkindly. I
thought for a little while--what would my mother do? She would hardly
remain in the house, to meet the wrath of my father, when he made the
discovery. She would escape him: this I had no wish that she should do;
so I went softly into the front parlour, and pushed my father to awake
him. For some time this was useless; he muttered and growled, but it
appeared impossible to rouse him. There were the remains of a jug of
water on the table and, as I had seen the same thing done before to a
drunken sailor, I took the jug, and poured the water softly on the nape
of his neck. In a minute or two this had the effect of waking him: he
turned over, opened his eyes, and, when I put my finger to my lips to
intimate silence; he looked at me with a vacant stare. Time pressed; I
heard my mother moving about upstairs, and I was afraid that she would
leave the house before my father had recovered his senses. I therefore
took his pigtail from the floor, and held it up before him. This
appeared to surprise him; he fixed his eyes upon it for a few seconds,
and then, as if at last suspecting what had taken place, he put his hand
to the back of his head, and found no pigtail there. Suddenly he jumped
up; he appeared to be sobered all at once: he caught the tail out of my
hand, looked at it, felt convinced of his loss, threw himself down on
the sofa, and wept like a child.

"I saw my mother do it, father," said I, whispering in his ear. This
appeared to recall him; he raised himself up, wiped his eyes with the
back of his hand, ground his teeth, and shook his head. He threw his
tail on the floor, and, as he eyed it, a deep melancholy spread over his
countenance. After a minute or two, he folded his arms, and thus
lamented over it:--

"Well, I never would have thought it, had they told me that you and I
should have parted company. Many, many years has it taken you to grow
to your present length; often have you been handled, often have you been
combed, and often have you been tied. Ma