chairs, flying crockery, broken bell-ropes, and dancing china, with a dervish dancing in the midst of the confusion, presents itself vividly to your eyes.
All this I see when that distant bang reaches my ears. To-day it means "Bills." It is an insult to papa's understanding for any one to dare ask for his money. We must be clothed, it is true, and fed but shall the paying for these small trifles be taken as a legitimate, every-day duty? Perish the thought! It is disgraceful, it is unseemly, it is an upside-downness of everything, that these rascals should, week after week, be sending their paltry bits of blue paper in to him, and he resents the impertinence accordingly. Ah, poor mother! You are in the midst of that hurly-burly yonder; when I am older I will walk straight in and share it with you, now I should be ordered out. Experience tells me that the sooner I hide myself the better, for when papa is in one of those furies there is no safety for any one from garret to coal cellar; in this mood he may even feel that a slaughter of the innocents is necessary for the rehabilitation of his peace of mind, so I hastily retire to the rabbit-hutch, which is in a central position, and from thence watch the march of events. From my coign of 'vantage I presently see him come out, and throw his eyes hither and thither in search of prey, then he goes down through the garden and out of sight. I am just thinking that perhaps the house will be safer than my present quarters, when in the distance I see dogs, fowls, fry, nurses, Amberley, Jack, Alice, Milly, and Dolly, all flying towards the house, like autumn leaves before the wind. No need to ask what is behind them, only one person on earth could have that effect; so, remembering that there is safety in numbers, I join the flying squadron and reach the house with the rest. As we enter by the side door, the rusty front-door bell is smartly pulled by a business-looking man in black, at whom we all peep privily from convenient lattices, and make up our minds that Providence sent
