mplied (he supposed, though he was not closely versed in such niceties
of society) that there was a Mrs. Gissing, and he was annoyed, for he
felt certain they knew he was a bachelor. But the children were a source
of nothing but pride to him. They grew with astounding rapidity, ate
their food without coaxing, rarely cried at night, and gave him much
amusement by their naive ways. He was too occupied to be troubled with
introspection. Indeed, his well-ordered home was very different from
before. The trim lawn, in spite of his zealous efforts, was constantly
littered with toys. In sheer mischief the youngsters got into his
wardrobe and chewed off the tails of his evening dress coat. But he
felt a satisfying dignity and happiness in his new status as head of a
family.

What worried him most was the fear that Fuji would complain of this
sudden addition to his duties. The butler's face was rather an enigma,
particularly at meal times, when Gissing sat at the dinner table
surrounded by the three puppies in their high chairs, with a spindrift
of milk and prune-juice spattering generously as the youngsters plied
their spoons. Fuji had arranged a series of scuppers, made of oilcloth,
underneath the chairs; but in spite of this the dining-room rug, after a
meal, looked much as the desert place must have after the feeding of
the multitude. Fuji, who was pensive, recalled the five loaves and two
fishes that produced twelve baskets of fragments. The vacuum cleaner got
clogged by a surfeit of crumbs.

Gissing saw that it would be a race between heart and head. If Fuji's
heart should become entangled (that is, if the innocent charms of the
children should engage his affections before his reason convinced him
that the situation was now too arduous), there was some hope. He tried
to ease the problem also by mental suggestion. "It is really remarkable"
(he said to Fuji) "that children should give one so little trouble."
As he made this remark, he was speeding hotly to and fro between the
bathroom and the nursery, trying to get one tucked in bed and another
undressed, while the third was lashing the tub into soapy foam. Fuji
made his habitual response, "Very good, sir." But one fears that he
detected some insincerity, for the next day, which was Sunday, he gave
notice. This generally happens on a Sunday, because the papers publish
more Help Wanted advertisements then than on any other day.

"I'm sorry, sir," he said. "But when I took th