The yellow book: an illustrated quarterly (5.1895)

Puppies and Otherwise

By Evelyn Sharp

The philologist threw down his pen with an exclamation.

“ It is really annoying, most annoying,” he said querulously,
“ I can’t endure children. They are worse than dogs. You can
kick a dog. But it is impossible to kick a child. What is a
.nan to do, Parker ? Why did that dolt of a Tom recognise her ?
He might at least have waited tili the morning. And how am I
send over the hills at this time of night to teil her father ? I
rm the most unfortunate of men.”

“Twenty mile if it be a Step, and a proper rough night,”
murmured his housekeeper, who never allowed the details of a
catastrophe to be neglected.

The philologist cast a distracted look over his papers and swore
softly.

“ Can’t you suggest something, Parker ? ” he demanded irritably.
“ Am I to be put to all this inconvenience just because Tom
finds a bit of a girl thrown from her pony and is misguided
enough to bring her home ? Who did he say she was, confound
his memory ? ”

“ Miss Agnes, sir, only child of the Rector of Astley, sir, and
the very happle of his eye, so Tom says, he does. And sleeping
like a lamb in the best bedroom now, sir.”

The