42 THE LOVE-CHILD. 



particularly without? He detested brats of all descriptions,, espe- 

 cially tumbling brats, except (turning with a smile to the girl- wife 

 of the boy-father), sweet interesting babies in arms natives of the 

 booth children, as it were, of the troop. And who was Miss Betsy 

 Green, that she could not practice her mountebank mummeries in a 

 proper place ? Why should the quadruped and two trusses of hay 

 be brought into an apartment nominally devoted to ladies and gen- 

 tlemen, for her especial honour and convenience? He abhorred 

 favouritism in all its shapes. For his part he could see no such 

 wonderful talent in the little Greens ; on the contrary, he felt sure 

 that if their ambition were fostered, they would both within a month 

 have the cock-robins crying over them. With such views he could, 

 perhaps, have tolerated the " twin talents/' as Mr. Lavolta called 

 them in his speeches; but to have a ragamuffin little wretch, dropped 

 from the skies to create a bobbery amongst them at so critical a 

 moment, it was really with all proper respect and submission to 

 be most energetically deprecated. 



All this eloquence was not thrown away. It had a vast effect on 

 the Merry-Andrew. He knit his brows, folded his arms, drew him- 

 self up to his full height, and looked as heroic as he could. Mean- 

 time Lavolta had been pushing and persuading the bumpkins to 

 retire; and as soon as he had effected his object, after having given 

 hasty directions to two of his operatives for the reparation of what 

 trifling injury had been done to the booth, he stepped up to the 

 orator, and in a level, business-like tone, just as though nothing had 

 happened, informed him that in five minutes the stage would be 

 waiting. " If/' added he, " you" are not ready, Mr. Rugg, I shall 

 be under the necessity of fining you half-a-crown. Now ladies, 

 pray bestir yourselves !" " Must I go outside and dance, sir," 

 plaintively inquired the girl-mother, e( my baby's bad to-day/' 

 " Umph ! well ! Babies ! babies ! But you must shew yourself 

 at night, child, and be lively again. Now, Warwick there's nobody 

 in front." 



This was addressed to the Merry- Andrew, who replied with in- 

 sulted dignity the gentleman in brimstone boots, Mr. Rugg, having 

 slunk behind to back him up that he had received a mysterious 

 wound in the calf, which totally incapacitated him from doing the 

 attractive. He then displayed his leg, and told his story. He had 

 been bitten by something on Mr. Lavolta's premises. He conjec- 

 tured it might have been by a baboon from Polito's menagerie ; and 

 if so, the animal must be still about, so that it was highly dangerous 

 to go on. At this the ladies gave themselves airs, and vowed that it 

 would be cruel and unmanly to expect them to stir a foot, until 

 every corner in the booth was searched. The boy-husband now 

 looked at Mr. Merryman's leg, and confidently asserted that the in- 

 dentations displayed were decidedly made by the mouth of a dog. 

 "This begins to be awful," said Mr. Rugg; " really more care 

 should be taken. Blood to a slight extent seems to have been 

 drawn, and we don't know but what the animal might have been 

 rabid." 



Mr. Mountebank, who seemed to regard the tragedian in brim- 



