52 A BOOK ABOUT THE OAEDEN. 



gentlemen, you are now at liberty to make yourselves 

 as ill as you please. These sour apples and unripe 

 plums are absolutely at your disposal. You will 

 oblige me by abstaining from the green gooseberries, 

 until I have withdrawn a space, as the craunch is 

 painful to my nervous system ; but, subsequently, 

 every bush is yours. Your meal will be followed by 

 a variety of aches and pains, for which you will have 

 to swallow some of the nastiest medicines known. 

 These Nurse shall bring to you in a large teacup. 

 If you would prefer to wait until dessert-time, you 

 can have some nice ripe fruit with Papa and Mamma, 

 and a glass of Cowslip-wine instead of Black Dose ; 

 but pray please yourselves. Good morning." 



They would attend dessert, ultimately at all events, 

 to a man. Bolts and bars tend only to enhance our 

 longings, to excite suspicions in our naughty little 

 breasts that fruits which are so strictly guarded must 

 be of the most delicious order ; and each small con- 

 spirator whispers to his brother, " It's rubbish, 

 Tommy, about their being unwholesome ; they only 

 want them for themselves." 



I must tell you now (how one loves to linger even 

 among the naughtinesses of early youth ! ) how I 

 essayed to avenge myself upon our gardener for his 

 artful ambuscade behind those scarlet-runners. He 

 had, in those days, the finest peaches in our neigh- 

 bourhood; and upon the occasion of our giving a 

 grand dinner, at which the ducal party from the 

 Castle graciously assisted, he had sent in such a dish 

 of them as could not be surpassed in the county. The 

 specimen which crowned the pyramid was enormous 



