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
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