A Day of Punishment 



with the beauty of my handkerchief, with 

 its gaily printed pictures and verses of 

 Dame Hubbard and her dog, that I gave 

 it to him there and then. 



We entered the schoolroom, I with a 

 little swagger to cover my own uneasiness 

 in my tardy appearance, and Jack all agrin 

 with pleasure in having at last a comrade 

 to share his daily rebuke. But I soon 

 noticed with some dismay that Mr. Blocker 

 was looking at me over the tops of his 

 spectacles with a severity quite dispropor- 

 tionate to my slight offence. 



" Master Hyde," he said, awfully, " stand 

 up." Master Hyde stood up and tried to 

 look as if he rather liked the situation. 



"What's this I hear of you, sir ? " he said 

 in a certain voice which always betokened 

 corporal punishment. " I have here a 

 letter from your worthy Mother telling me 

 that your conduct this morning has been 

 in the highest degree disgraceful, indeed, 

 utterly unwarrantable in a lad of your years 

 and careful Christian training ; and she has 

 desired me to inflict some severe punish- 

 ment on you. 



The memory of my encounter with Mary 

 came upon me like a sudden cloud across 

 the sun ; I had quite forgotten it in my 

 recovered good humour. 

 143 



