y
much, and I jumped up and hastily seized my doll to go out and speak
to him, saying, as I did so, that "boys were enough to drive one wild,
and one might as well ask the poodle to do anything as Joseph." And it
was not till I had flounced out of the drawing-room that I felt rather
hot and uncomfortable to remember that I had tossed my head, and
knitted my brows, and jerked my chin, and pouted my lips, and shaken
my skirts, and kicked up my heels, as I did so, and that my godmother
had probably been observing me through her gold eye-glasses.

CHAPTER II.

"It is easier to prevent ill habits than to break them."--OLD
PROVERB.

I must say that Joseph _was_ rather a stupid boy. He was only a year
younger than me, but I never could make him understand exactly what I
wanted him to do when we played together; and he was always saying,
"Oh, I say, look here, Selina!" and proposing some silly plan of his
own. But he was very good-natured, and when we were alone I let him be
uncle to the dolls. When we spent the day with Maud Mary, however, we
never let him play with the baby-house; but we allowed him to be the
postman and the baker, and people of that sort, who knock and ring,
and we sent him messages.

During the first week of our visit to Lady Elizabeth, the weather was
so fine that Joseph and I played all day long in the garden. Then it
became rainy, and we quarrelled over the old swing and the imperfect
backgammon board in the lumber-room, where we were allowed to amuse
ourselves. But one morning when we went to our play-room, after
drilling with Sergeant Walker, Joseph found a model fortress and
wooden soldiers and cannon in one corner of the room; and I found a
Dutch market, with all kinds of wooden booths, and little tables to
have tea at in another. They were presents from my godmother; and
they were far the best kind of toys we had ever had, you could do so
many things with them.

Joseph was so happy with his soldiers that he never came near the
Dutch fair; and at other times he was always bothering to be allowed
to play with the dolls. At first I was very glad, for I was afraid he
would be coming and saying, "Oh, I say, Selina," and suggesting
things; and I wanted to arrange the shops my own way. But when they
were done, and I was taking the dolls from one booth to another to
shop, I did think it seemed very odd that Joseph should not even want
to walk through the fair. And when I gave him leave to be