VII 



His Temper 197 



that cock realise that the return home of the master 

 of the house entirely altered things. Old Mrs. 

 Barrett, our one handmaid, understood this. She 

 gravely denied herself her beloved pursuit of blowing 

 up the copper flue with ' some of master's gun- 

 powder ' until ' master ' was out ; she battled with 

 Fate to avoid her pet accident, namely, falling down- 

 stairs with a dustpan, broom, scrubbing-brush, pail, 

 and a shriek ; she greased the bearings of the kitchen 

 pump assiduously, and never sang more than a line 

 and a half of a hymn. The old gardener also used 

 to avoid nailing up the creepers round the house, or 

 rolling gravel ; he would sleep a whole afternoon 

 among the Jerusalem artichokes, or talk with another 

 gardener over a hedge rather than ' disturb master.' 

 Ki Ki, or for the matter of that ' Chickums ' or Attila 

 the Ostrogoth, were not so careful ; and what used 

 to hurt my feelings was that ' the master ' would 

 admire Ki Ki, and be highly delighted when Ki Ki 

 had got into the front garden, flown at the postman 

 and driven him into the coal-cellar, or committed 

 some such flagrant, forbidden breach of the peace ; 

 but all the crows, and the letters requesting that 

 ' such dangerous animals should either be confined 

 securely or destroyed ' went down to my account. 

 It did not seem fair. Then I was my mother's 

 chief officer from the day I could first carry a 

 duster, and I had to do the tidying-up — that is to 

 say, I became responsible for everything lost in the 

 establishment. This again embroiled me with my 



