easy at the effects of it; only Ellen, who
considered herself as more innocent (merely because she had not been the
immediate cause of the accident), with a recriminating air, said:

'There, miss, you have done it now! You have killed your cousin, I
believe!'

Jemima, though in a great deal of pain, and much frightened, did not
cry; as she seldom shed tears, unless from sensibility, or at parting
with her friends. She held her handkerchief to the place, and became
more alarmed in proportion as she saw it covered with blood, till at
last, finding it was beyond their art to stop the effusion, Ellen, with
trembling steps, went upstairs to tell the servant of their misfortune.
Dinah, which was the maid's name, had been so often accustomed to find
her young ladies in mischief, that she did not descend in very good
humour, and upon her entrance exclaimed that they were all the
naughtiest girls in the world, without inquiring how the accident
happened, or making any exception to the innocence of Jemima, who could
only again most sincerely wish to be once more at Smiledale with her
mother. Dinah, after washing her temple with vinegar, which made it
smart very much (though she did not complain), told them they had been
so naughty that they should not go to play any more, nor would she hear
Miss Placid's justification, but crossly interrupted her by saying:

'Hold your tongue, child! and do not want to get into mischief again;
for my mistress will make a fine piece of work, I suppose, about what
you have done already.'

Jemima was too much awed by the ill-nature of her looks and the anger of
her expressions to vindicate her conduct any further, but quietly
sitting down, she comforted herself with the reflection that her
displeasure was undeserved, and that to fret at what she could not avoid
would not make her more happy, and therefore, with great good humour,
took up a bit of paper which contained the rough drawing of a little
horse which Charles had given her on the day of her departure, and which
she had since carefully preserved.

In justice to Mrs. Dinah I must here observe that she was not naturally
ill-natured, but the Misses Piner were so frequently naughty as to give
her a great deal of trouble, and tire out her patience; and their
mother, by not taking the proper methods to subdue the errors of their
dispositions, had made them so refractory that it soured her own temper,
and occasioned her to blame her servants fo