r. 'Show your ugly teeth at me again,' says she, 'and I'll box your
ears. I've my light hand for a horse's mouth, and my heavy hand for
a man's cheek; you ought to know that by this time! Pull out the ten
shillings.' 'What for?' said he, frowning at her. 'Just this,' says she.
'I mean to leave your circus, unless I get those six character dresses
you promised me; and the lady there can do them up beautiful. Pull
out the ten shillings! for I've made up my mind to appear before the
Bangbury public on Garryowen's back, as six women at once.'

"What she meant by this, sir, was, that she was to have six different
dresses on, one over another; and was to go galloping round the ring on
Garryowen (which was a horse), beginning, I think it was, as Empress of
Roossia; and then throwing off the top dress without the horse stopping,
and showing next as some famous Frenchwoman, in the dress underneath;
and keeping on so with different nations, till she got down to the last
dress, which was to be Britannia and the Union-Jack. We'd got bits
of remnants, and old dresses and things to make and alter, but hadn't
anybody clever enough at cutting out, and what they call 'Costoom,' to
do what Peggy wanted--Jubber being too stingy to pay the regular people
who understand such things. The young woman, knowing as she did about
fancy work, was just what was wanted, if she could only get well enough
to use her needle. 'I'll see she works the money out,' says Peggy; 'but
she's dead beat to-night, and must have her rest and bit o' supper,
before she begins to-morrow.' Jubber wanted to give less than ten
shillings; but between threatening, and saying it should buy twenty
shillings' worth of tailor's work, she got the better of him. And he
gave the money, sulky enough.

"'Now,' says Peggy, 'you take her away, and get her a lodging in the
place where you're staying; and I'll come tomorrow with some of the
things to make up.' But, ah dear me! sir, she was never to work as much
as sixpence of that ten shillings out. She was took bad in the night,
and got so much worse in the morning that we had to send for the doctor.

"As soon as he'd seen her, he takes me into the passage, and says he to
me, 'Do you know who her friends are?' 'No, sir,' says I; 'I can't get
her to tell me. I only met her by accident yesterday.' 'Try and find
out again,' says he; 'for I'm afraid she won't live over the night. I'll
come back in the evening and see if there is any chan