he door-steps were, however,
not as white and clean as they might be, and that circumstance pressed upon
Caddy's mind. She therefore determined to give them a hasty wipe before
retiring to dress for the evening.

Having done this, and dressed herself to her satisfaction, she came down
stairs to prepare the refreshments for tea. In doing this, she continually
found herself exposing her new silk dress to great risks. She therefore
donned an old petticoat over her skirt, and tied an old silk handkerchief
over her head to protect her hair from flying particles of dust; and thus
arrayed she passed the time in a state of great excitement, frequently
looking out of the window to see if her father and their guest were
approaching.

In one of these excursions, she, to her intense indignation, found a beggar
boy endeavouring to draw, with a piece of charcoal, an illustration of a
horse-race upon her so recently cleaned door-steps.

"You young villain," she almost screamed, "go away from there. How dare you
make those marks upon the steps? Go off at once, or I'll give you to a
constable." To these behests the daring young gentleman only returned a
contemptuous laugh, and put his thumb to his nose in the most provoking
manner. "Ain't you going?" continued the irate Caddy, almost choked with
wrath at the sight of the steps, over which she had so recently toiled,
scored in every direction with black marks.

"Just wait till I come down, I'll give it to you, you audacious villain,
you," she cried, as she closed the window; "I'll see if I can't move you!"
Caddy hastily seized a broom, and descended the stairs with the intention
of inflicting summary vengeance upon the dirty delinquent who had so rashly
made himself liable to her wrath. Stealing softly down the alley beside the
house, she sprang suddenly forward, and brought the broom with all her
energy down upon the head of Mr. Winston, who was standing on the place
just left by the beggar. She struck with such force as to completely crush
his hat down over his eyes, and was about to repeat the blow, when her
father caught her arm, and she became aware of the awful mistake she had
made.

"Why, my child!" exclaimed her father, "what on earth, is the matter with
you, have you lost your senses?" and as he spoke, he held her at arm's
length from him to get a better look at her. "What are you dressed up in
this style for?" he continued, as he surveyed her from head to foot; and
then bu