themselves had thought fit to place him,
without even appealing to them, he insisted on his making the apologies due
both to Mrs. Thomas and aunt Rachel (although he was fully aware that both
had only got their deserts); and, further, intimated that he would not be
reinstated in his parents' good graces until he had proved, by his good
conduct and docility, that he was really sorry for his misbehaviour. It was
a severe trial to Charlie to make these apologies; but he well knew that
what his father had decided upon must be done--so he made a virtue of
necessity, and, accompanied by his mother, on the following day performed
his penance with as good a grace as he was able; and, in consideration of
this submission, his father, when he came home in the evening, greeted him
with all his usual kindness, and the recollection of this unlucky affair
was at once banished from the family circle.

CHAPTER VIII.

Trouble in the Ellis Family.

Since the receipt of Mr. Garie's letter, Mrs. Ellis and Caddy had been
busily engaged in putting the house in a state of preparation for their
reception. Caddy, whilst superintending its decoration, felt herself in
Elysium. For the first time in her life she had the supreme satisfaction of
having two unfortunate house-cleaners entirely at her disposal;
consequently, she drove them about and worried them to an extent
unparalleled in any of their former experience. She sought for and
discovered on the windows (which they had fondly regarded as miracles of
cleanliness) sundry streaks and smears, and detected infinite small spots
of paint and whitewash on the newly-scrubbed floors. She followed them
upstairs and downstairs, and tormented them to that extent, that Charlie
gave it as his private opinion that he should not be in the least
surprised, on going up there, to find that the two old women had made away
with Caddy, and hidden her remains in the coal-bin. Whilst she was thus
engaged, to Charlie was assigned the duty of transporting to Winter-street
her diurnal portion of food, without a hearty share of which she found it
impossible to maintain herself in a state of efficiency; her labours in
chasing the women about the house being of a rather exhausting nature.

When he made the visits in question, Charlie was generally reconnoitred by
his sister from a window over the door, and was compelled to put his shoes
through a system of purification, devised by her for his especial benefit.
I