226 REMINISCENCES OF 



burgh for Dr. Caverhill and Dr. Muirhead. On 

 Sunday night I met them when they came out of the 

 sick-room ; they did not speak to me, but shook their 

 heads. I went to bed, and expected that it would be 

 all over before the morning. Caverhill had to leave 

 by the first train on Monday. I got up to see him. 

 He came out of the sick-room and said, " These bad 

 symptoms have abated " ; and from that moment the 

 child began to improve, and eventually got quite well. 

 My youngest boy, Arthur, wrote the following 

 letter to his sister : 



" STORRINGTON, SUSSEX, 



" z8th February, 1889. 



" MY DEAREST Ro, 



" Many, many happy returns of your buff- 

 day. I hope this letter will arrive on March ist, as 

 it is meant to. I got a letter from Kit yesterday. 

 She says that she is going up to Charleton on 

 Sunday night to keep the peace between Johnald's 

 two nurses while Pup and Olive go for their tour. I 

 never expected it to come off so soon (at least to me 

 it seems soon), if at all ! 



" Since my letter needs padding, as it certainly 

 does, I will fill it up with a 'jingle' which suggested 

 itself to me a propos of Kit's keeping the peace 

 between the nurses. You must read it so as to 

 make it scan, or else it will lose all its charm. 



Once upon a time, 



In eighty-nine, 



There lived a boy called John, 



Who had two nurses, 



Who with curses 



Fought at Charleton. 



