r fiss up out of the water...." Dolly was pursuing
the subject in the style of the Patriarchs, who took their readers'
leisure for granted, and never grudged a repetition, when Uncle Mo
interrupted her to point out that it was not Dave who took Michael
Ragstroar to Hy' Park, but _vice versa_. Also that the whole proceeding
had been a disgraceful breach of discipline, causing serious alarm to
himself and Aunt M'riar, who had nearly lost their reason in
consequence--the exact expression being "fritted out of their wits." If
that young Micky ever did such a thing again, Uncle Mo said, the result
would be a pretty how-do-you-do, involving possibly fatal consequences
to Michael, and certainly local flagellation of unheard-of severity.

Dolly did not consider this was to the point, and pursued her narrative
without taking notice of it. "There was a jenklum corched a long fiss,
and there was another jenklum corched a short fiss, and there was
another jenklum corched a short fiss...." This seemed to bear frequent
repetition, but came to an end as soon as history ceased to supply the
facts. Then another phase came, that of the fishers who didn't corch no
fiss, whose name appeared to be Legion. They lasted as far as the arch
into Sapps Court, and Uncle Mo seemed rather to relish the monotony than
otherwise. He would have made a good Scribe in the days of the Pharaohs.

But Dolly came to the end of even the unsuccessful fishermen. Just as
they reached home, however, she produced her convincing incident, all
that preceded it having evidently been introduction pure and simple.
"And there was a man saided fings to Micky, and saided fings to Dave,
and saided fings to...." Here Dolly stuttered, became confused, and
ended up weakly: "No, he didn't saided no fings, to no one else."

A little _finesse_ was necessary to land the _elixir vitae_ on the
parlour chimney-piece, and Dolly on the hearthrug. Then Uncle Mo sat
down in his own chair to recover breath, saying in the course of a
moment:--"And what did the man say to Dave, and what did he say to young
Sparrowgrass?" He did not suppose that "the man" was a person capable of
identification; he was an unknown unit, but good to talk about.

"He saided Mrs. Picture." Dolly placed the subject she proposed to treat
broadly before her audience, with a view to its careful analysis at
leisure.

"What on 'arth did he say Mrs. Picture for? _He_ don't know Mrs.
Picture." The present tense used