48 Turnaside Cottage.

your black cow there, she’ll knock you over with her
tail.” “Bless you, she’d have eaten him up long
ago, if he hadn’t been such a Bramble!” And then
would comea shout of laughter at this oft-repeated
joke. For these, and remarks like these, I cared a
great deal too much, seeing that they were, after
all, only meant as a rough sort of play; and I
entreated Miss Churchill not to send me to school.

But she was bent on it, and who could resist her ?
not I, who never was very great at resisting any-
body ; and at last it came to this, that if my father
agreed—which I quite hoped he would not-—I would
try it for that one week.

Miss Churchill was determined to press the point,
for, hearing that my father had not gone out that
day, she accompanied Monna and me home to
Turnaside. I begged her to wait in the lane for a
minute, while I rushed on to warn Nance of her
coming, in time for her to change her cap and
apron.

“Bless the boy!” cried Nance, when I burst in
with, “Here’s my lady come to sce you, father !”
“Whatever can have got you to go bringing your
ladies here, and me all of a mess, and the room all
of a dirt, you young rascal as you are!”

However, when my lady came to the door, Nance
was all ready with her best cap and her best curtsey,