However, as she at

However, as she at once proceeded with her dictation, and as I

interrupted nothing by doing it, I ventured quietly to stop poor Peepy as

he was going out and to take him up to nurse. He looked very much

astonished at it and at Ada’s kissing him, but soon fell fast asleep in my

arms, sobbing at longer and longer intervals, until he was quiet. I was so

occupied with Peepy that I lost the letter in detail, though I derived such

a general impression from it of the momentous importance of Africa,

and the utter insignificance of all other places and things, that I felt

quite ashamed to have thought so little about it.

Six o’clock!” said Mrs. Jellyby. And our dinner hour is nominally (for ‟ ‟

we dine at all hours) five! Caddy, show Miss Clare and Miss Summerson

their rooms. You will like to make some change, perhaps? You will

excuse me, I know, being so much occupied. Oh, that very bad child!

Pray put him down, Miss Summerson!”

I begged permission to retain him, truly saying that he was not at all

troublesome, and carried him upstairs and laid him on my bed. Ada and

I had two upper rooms with a door of communication between. They

were excessively bare and disorderly, and the curtain to my window was

fastened up with a fork.

‟You would like some hot water, wouldn’t you?” said Miss Jellyby,

looking round for a jug with a handle to it, but looking in vain.

‟If it is not being troublesome,” said we.

Oh, it’s not the trouble,” returned Miss Jellyby; the question is, if ‟ ‟

there is any.”

The evening was so very cold and the rooms had such a marshy smell

that I must confess it was a little miserable, and Ada was half crying. We

soon laughed, however, and were busily unpacking when Miss Jellyby

came back to say that she was sorry there was no hot water, but they

couldn’t find the kettle, and the boiler was out of order.

We begged her not to mention it and made all the haste we could toHowever, as she at once proceeded with her dictation, and as I

interrupted nothing by doing it, I ventured quietly to stop poor Peepy as

he was going out and to take him up to nurse. He looked very much

astonished at it and at Ada’s kissing him, but soon fell fast asleep in my

arms, sobbing at longer and longer intervals, until he was quiet. I was so

occupied with Peepy that I lost the letter in detail, though I derived such

a general impression from it of the momentous importance of Africa,

and the utter insignificance of all other places and things, that I felt

quite ashamed to have thought so little about it.

Six o’clock!” said Mrs. Jellyby. And our dinner hour is nominally (for ‟ ‟

we dine at all hours) five! Caddy, show Miss Clare and Miss Summerson

their rooms. You will like to make some change, perhaps? You will

excuse me, I know, being so much occupied. Oh, that very bad child!

Pray put him down, Miss Summerson!”

I begged permission to retain him, truly saying that he was not at all

troublesome, and carried him upstairs and laid him on my bed. Ada and

I had two upper rooms with a door of communication between. They

were excessively bare and disorderly, and the curtain to my window was

fastened up with a fork.

‟You would like some hot water, wouldn’t you?” said Miss Jellyby,

looking round for a jug with a handle to it, but looking in vain.

‟If it is not being troublesome,” said we.

Oh, it’s not the trouble,” returned Miss Jellyby; the question is, if ‟ ‟

there is any.”

The evening was so very cold and the rooms had such a marshy smell

that I must confess it was a little miserable, and Ada was half crying. We

soon laughed, however, and were busily unpacking when Miss Jellyby

came back to say that she was sorry there was no hot water, but they

couldn’t find the kettle, and the boiler was out of order.

We begged her not to mention it and made all the haste we could to