nt of temper, consented; and Caddy's behaviour from that moment
proved the sincerity of her promises; and though she could not quite
restrain occasional outbursts of senseless lamentation, still, when she
felt such fits of despair coming on, she wisely retired to some remote
corner of the house, and did not re-appear till she had regained her
composure.

The crisis was at length over, and Charlie was pronounced out of danger. No
one was more elated by this announcement than our friend Kinch, who had, in
fact, grown quite ashy in his complexion from confinement and grief, and
was now thrown by this intelligence into the highest possible spirits.
Charlie, although faint and weak, was able to recognize his friends, and
derived great satisfaction from the various devices of Kinch to entertain
him. That young gentleman quite distinguished himself by the variety and
extent of his resources. He devised butting matches between himself and a
large gourd, which he suspended from the ceiling, and almost blinded
himself by his attempts to butt it sufficiently hard to cause it to rebound
to the utmost length of the string, and might have made an idiot of himself
for ever by his exertions, but for the timely interference of Mr. Ellis,
who put a final stop to this diversion. Then he dressed himself in a short
gown and nightcap, and made the pillow into a baby, and played the nurse
with it to such perfection, that Charlie felt obliged to applaud by
knocking with the knuckles of his best hand upon the head-board of his
bedstead. On the whole, he was so overjoyed as to be led to commit all
manner of eccentricities, and conducted himself generally in such a
ridiculous manner, that Charlie laughed himself into a state of
prostration, and Kinch was, in consequence, banished from the sick-room, to
be re-admitted only on giving his promise to abstain from being as _funny
as he could_ any more. After the lapse of a short time Charlie was
permitted to sit up, and held regular _levees_ of his schoolmates and
little friends. He declared it was quite a luxury to have a broken arm, as
it was a source of so much amusement. The old ladies brought him jellies
and blanc-mange, and he was petted and caressed to such an unparalleled
extent, as to cause his delighted mother to aver that she lived in great
fear of his being spoiled beyond remedy. At length he was permitted to come
downstairs and sit by the window for a few hours each day. Whilst thus
amusin