The Water-Babies

thousand bl

grove I sat

mood when pl

thoughts t

r works did

oul that th

grieved my h

has mad

DSW

elbows raw; and when the soot got into his eyes, which it did every day in the week; and when his master beat him, which he did every day in the week; and when he had not enough to eat, which happened every day in the week likewise. And he laughed the other half of the day, when he was tossing halfpennies with the other boys, or playing leap-frog over the posts, or bowling stones at the horses' legs as they trotted by, which last was excellent fun, when there was a wall at hand behind which to hide. As for chimney-sweeping, and being hungry, and being beaten, he took all that for the way of the world, like the rain and snow and thunder, and stood manfully with his back to it till it was over, as his old donkey did to a hail-storm; and then shook his ears and was as jolly as

that country when they welcome strangers; but the groom saw him, and halloed to him to know where Mr. Grimes, the chimney-sweep, lived. Now, Mr. Grimes was Tom's

, as he had been in prison once or twice himself. Moreover, the groom looked so very neat and clean, with his drab gaiters, drab breeches, drab jacket, snow-white tie with a smart pin in it, and clean round ruddy face, that Tom was offended and disgusted at his appearance, and cons

ore a man's head aches when he wakes, the more glad he is to turn out, and have a breath of fresh air. And, when he did get up at four the next morning, he knocked Tom down again, in order to teach him (as youn

down. For, of all places upon earth, Harthover Place (which he had never seen) was the most wonderful, and,

oach; but then they must have got into cold water, and that they did not like at all. In short, Harthover was a grand place, and Sir John a grand old man, whom even Mr. Grimes respected; for not only could he send Mr. Grimes to prison when he deserved it, as he did once or twice a week; not only did he own all the land about for miles; not only was he a jolly, honest, sensible squire, as ever kept a pack of hounds, who would do what he thought right by his neighbours, as well as get what he thought right for himself; but, what was more, he weighed full fifteen stone, was nobody knew how many inches round the chest, and

hours, and all the three hundred and sixty-five days; and why every one does not get up then, I never could tell, save that they are all determined to spoil their nerves and their complexions by doing all night what they might just as well do all day. But Tom, instead of going out to dinner at half-past eight at night, and to a ball

es walked behind; out of the court, and up the street, past the closed window-shutte

alls, with no sound but the groaning and thumping of the pit-engine in the next field. But soon the road grew white, and the walls likewise; and at the wall's foot grew long grass and gay flowers, all

asleep above, and the cows fast asleep beneath them; nay, the few clouds which were about were fast asleep likewise, and so tired that they had lain down on the earth to rest, in long white fl

y before; and longed to get over a gate, and pick buttercups, and look for birds' nest

ay be sure she came from Galway. She had neither shoes nor stockings, and limped along as if she were tired and footsore; but she was a very tall handsome woman

adely foot like that. Will ye

mire Mr. Grimes' look and vo

sooner walk with y

elf," growled Grimes,

about himself, till Tom thought he had never met such a pleasant-spoken woman. And she asked him, a

him how it rolled and roared over the rocks in winter nights, and lay still in the bright summer days, for the chil

the sand dance reels at the bottom, day and night, all the year round; not such a spring as either of those; but a real North country limestone fountain, like one of those in Sicily or Greece, where the old heathen fancied the nymphs sat cooling themselves the hot summer's day, while the shepherds peeped at them from behind the bushes. Out of a low cave

came out at night to fly in the meadows. But Grimes was not wondering at all. Without a word, he got off his donkey, and c

hem up; and a very pretty nosegay they had made between them. But when he saw Grimes actually wash, he

never saw you

s I did it, but for coolness. I'd be ashamed to want

e Tom. "It must be as good as putting it under the town

ant with washing thyself? Thou did not drink

ghty Tom, and ran down to the st

th horrid words, and tore him up from his knees, and began beating him. But Tom was accustomed

self, Thomas Grimes?" cried

his name; but all he answered was, "No, no

ashamed of yourself, you would hav

ndale?" shouted Grimes; bu

now, for instance, what happened in Aldermire

e wall, and faced the woman. Tom thought he was going to strike

e," said the Iri

y your speech," said Grim

I saw; and if you strike that b

ed, and got on his donk

ll both see me again before all is over. Those that wish to be clean, clean

a moment, like a man who had been stunned. Then he rushed after her, shoutin

about, and Tom also, for he was as puzzled as Grimes himself at her

s a little frightened; and, getting on his donkey, fil

e miles and more, and came

ogy, all teeth, horns, and tail, which was the crest which Sir John's ancestors wore in the Wars of the Roses; and ver

, and out came a keeper

keep to the main avenue, and not let me find a hare or a rabbit on t

-bag," quoth Grimes, and at that he la

may as well walk up w

thy business to see after t

d together all the way quite pleasantly. He did not know that a keeper is

among the ferns. Tom had never seen such enormous trees, and as he looked up he fancied that the blue sky rested on their heads. But he was puzzled

orribly afraid of him, which pleased the keeper, and he

bees?" a

make h

honey?" a

thy noise,"

a civil young chap now, and that's more t

for he took that

ch a beautiful place, and wear green velveteens, a

; he was a kind-he

at times. Thy life's safer than mi

low. Tom could hear, though, that it was about some poaching fight

t n

estions till thou hast, f

aughed again, and thoug

odendrons and azaleas, which were all in flower; and then at the house itself, and wondered how many chimneys there were

different times, and in nineteen different styles, and looked as if somebody had built a wh

tics were

rd door

nd Cinqu

-floor El

t wing P

, with a huge portico co

k admired most of all, became it was just like the

was copied from th

ohn's great-great-great-uncle, who won, in Lord Clive's Indian Wars,

copied from the c

om the Pavilio

ing in heaven, or eart

ld an Elizabethan, but he said he lived under good Queen Victoria, and not good Queen Bess; and another was bold enough to tell him that his house was ugly, but he said he lived inside it, and not outside; and another, that there was no unity in it, but he said that that was just why he liked the old place. For he liked to see how each Sir John, and Sir Hugh, and Sir Ralph, and Sir Randal, had left his mark upon the place, each after his own taste; and he had no more notion of disturbing his ancestors' work than of disturbing their graves.

rself, and she gave Grimes solemn orders about "You will take care of this, and take care of that," as if he was going up the chimneys, and not Tom. And Grimes listened, and said every now and then, under his voice, "You'll mind that, you little beggar?" and Tom did mind, all at least that he could. And then the housekeeper turned them into a grand room, all cove

e to do-in old country-houses, large and crooked chimneys, which had been altered again and again, till they ran one into another, anastomosing (as Professor Owen would say) considerably. So Tom fairly lost his way in them; not that he cared much for that, though he wa

the furniture huddled together under a cloth, and the pictures covered with aprons and dusters; and he had often enough wondered

Tom very much. There were pictures of ladies and gentlemen, and pictures of horses and dogs. The horses he liked; but the dogs he did not care for much, for there were no bull-dogs among them, not even a terrier. But the two pictures which took his fancy most were, one

e? "Poor man," thought Tom, "and he looks so kind and quiet. But why should the lady have such a sad picture as that in her room? Perhaps it was some kinsman of her

lean water-what a heap of things all for washing! "She must be a very dirty lady," thought Tom, "by my master's rule, to want as much scrubbing as all th

, he saw that dirty lady, and he

ead all about over the bed. She might have been as old as Tom, or maybe a year or two older; but Tom did not think of that. He thought only of her delicate skin and golden hair, and wondered whether she was

all people like that when they are washed?" And he looked at his own wrist, and tried to rub the soot off, and w

s and grinning white teeth. He turned on it angrily. What did such a little black ape want in that sweet young l

me and anger; and turned to sneak up the chimney again and hide; and upset the fender and threw the

tout old nurse from the next room, and seeing Tom likewise, made up her mind that he had come to rob, plunder

e; and he would have been ashamed to face his friends for ever if he had been stupid enough to be caught by

him; for once he got up by a spout to the church roof, he said to take jackdaws' eggs, but the policeman said to steal lead; and, when he was seen on

, I suppose; but Tom knew nothing about that, and cared less; for down the tree he went, like a cat, and across the garden la

he old steward opened the park-gate in such a hurry, that he hung up his pony's chin upon the spikes, and, for aught I know, it hangs there still; but he jumped off, and gave chase to Tom. The ploughman left his horses at the headland, and one jumped over the fence, and pulled the other into the ditch, plough and all; but he ran on, and gave chase to Tom. The keeper, who was taking a stoat out of a trap, let the stoat go, and caught his own finger; but he jumped up, and ran after Tom; and considering what he said, and how he looked, I should have been sorry for Tom if he had caught him. Sir John looked out of his study window (

arivari, and total contempt of dignity, repose, and order, as that day, when Grimes, gardener, the groom, the dairymaid, Sir John, the steward, the ploughman, the keeper, and the Irishwoman, all ran up the park, shouting, "Stop

no big father gorilla therein to take his part-to scratch out the gardener's inside with one paw, toss the dairymaid into a tree with another, and w

ld keep up for a couple of miles with any stage-coach, if there was the chance of a copper or a cigar-end, and turn coach-wheels on his hands and feet ten tim

gh to know that he might hide in a bush, or swarm up a tree, and, altogether, had more chance ther

h, made him shut his eyes tight (though that was no great loss, for he could not see at best a yard before his nose); and when he got through the rhododendrons, the hassock-grass and sedges tumbled him over, and cut his poor little fingers afterwards most spitefully; th

r I shall stay here till somebody comes t

ould ever have got out at all, but have stayed there till the cock-robins

see all manner of beautiful stars. The stars are very beautiful, certainly; but unfortunately they go in the twenty-thousandth part of a split second, and the pain which comes after them

the country folk called Harthover Fell-heather and bo

tag. Why not? Though he was but ten years old, he had lived longer

o the first thing he did when he was over the wall was to make the neatest do

the hue-and-cry together, went on ahead half a mile in the very opposite direction, and inside the wall, leaving

e turned bravely away from the wall and up the moor; for he knew that he had p

r ran. She went along quite smoothly and gracefully, while her feet twinkled past each other so fast that you could not see which was foremost; t

less. For she went quietly over the wall after Tom, and followed him wherever he

s lying about everywhere, and that, instead of the moor growing flat as he went upwards, it grew more and more broken and hilly, but not so rou

a great brown, sharp-nosed creature, with a white tag to her brush, and round her four or five smutty little cubs, the funniest fellows Tom ever saw. She lay on her back, rolling about, and stretching out her legs and head and tail in the bright sunshine; and the cubs jumped over her, and ran round her, and nibbled her paws, and lugged her about by the tail; and she seemed to enjoy it mightily. But o

f-poof-cock-cock-kick-something went off in his face, with a most horrid

train, leaving his wife and children to shift for themselves, like an old coward, and went off, screaming "Cur-ru-u-uck, cur-ru-u-uck-murder, thieves, fire-cur-u-uck-cock-kick-the end of the world is come-kick-kick-cock-kick." He was always fanc

g the day after to-morrow-cock." But his wife had heard that so often that she knew all about it, and a little more. And, besides, she was the mother of a family, and had seven little p

w very bad indeed. Instead of soft turf and springy heather, he met great patches of flat limestone rock, just like ill-made pavements, with deep cracks between the stones and ledges, filled with ferns;

o had taken his part upon the road? But whether it was that he looked too little behind him, or whethe

un had risen high in heaven, and the rock was as hot as an oven, and the air danced reels over

ng to eat anywhere, an

sed by a deep dark swallow-hole, going down into the earth, as if it was the chimney of some dwarfs house underground; and more than once, as he passed, he could hear water falling, trickl

round with the heat, and he thought he

and, perhaps, some one will give me a bit and a sup." So he set off again,

round, he stopped again, and said,

top of the mountain he coul

collieries; and far, far away, the river widened to the shining sea; and little white specks, which were ships, lay on its bosom. Before him lay, spread out lik

o blue sky. But between him and those moors, and really at his very feet, lay somethin

le garden set out in squares and beds. And there was a tiny little red thing moving in the garden, no bigger than a fly. As Tom looked down, he saw that it was a woman in a red petticoat. Ah! perhaps she would give him something to eat. And there were the church-bells ri

knowing it, the best part of ten miles from Harthover; but he was wrong about getting down

nd hungry, and thirsty; while the church-bells rang so loud, he began to think that they must be in

cool, clea

hallow, and d

lear, cool

hingle, and

ag where the

all where the c

, for the

the in me, mot

foul, dan

town in its

dank, fou

d sewer and

darker the

aser the ri

ort with the

turn from me,

free, stron

s are open, a

rong, free

streams as

sands, and t

ess tide that

self in the

has sinned and

, for the

the in me, mot

e while he never saw the Iri