THE BONNE. 279 



her suspense and anxiety ; and then, in order to see if he 

 could not awaken some sentiment of gratitude in his mind 

 toward his mother, he reminded him of his obligations to 

 her for all the care and trouble which she had borne for 

 him in former years, when he was a little child ; how she 

 had attended him and watched over him in sickness, and 

 sat by his bedside at night, and provided for all his wants. 



" My mother never did any of those things for me," said 

 Flippy. 



" Who did them, then ?" asked Lawrence. 



" Bonney," replied the boy. 



"And who was Bonney?" asked Lawrence. 



"She was a girl, or perhaps a woman," said Flippy. 

 "My mother called her the bonne, but I generally called 

 her Bonney generally, but not always, for sometimes 

 when she scolded me I used to call her Bony." 



" Did she use to scold you ?" asked Lawrence. 



" Sometimes," said Flippy, " especially when she caught 

 me sliding down the banisters." 



FLIPPY WHEN HE WAS LITTLE. 



"It seems to me it was hardly right to call her a bad 



