TABLE MANNERS 121 



would first take his place at the table, he would behave in 

 a nice and becoming manner; but having eaten till he was 

 quite satisfied, he usually became rude and saucy. He 

 would slyly put his foot up over the edge of the table, and 

 catch hold of the corner of the paper, meanwhile watch- 

 ing me closely, to see if I was going to scold him. If I 

 remained quiet, he would tear the paper just a little and 

 wait to see the result. If no notice was taken of that, he 

 would tear it a little more, but keep watching my face to 

 see when I observed him. If I raised my finger to him, he 

 quickly let go, drew his foot down, and began to eat. If 

 nothing more was done to stop him, the instant my finger 

 and eyes were dropped, that dexterous foot was back on 

 the table and the mischief was resumed with more audacity 

 than before. When he carried his fun too far, I made him 

 get down from the table and sit on the floor. This humili- 

 ation he did not like, at best ; but when the boy grinned at 

 him for it, he would resent it with as much temper as if he 

 had been poked with a stick. He certainly was sensitive 

 on this point, and evinced an undoubted dislike to being 

 laughed at. 



Another habit that Moses had was putting his fingers in 

 the dish to help himself. He had to be watched all the 

 time to prevent this, and seemed unable to grasp any rea- 

 son why he should not be allowed to do so. He always 

 appeared to think my spoon, knife, and fork were better 

 than his own. On one occasion he persisted in begging 

 for my fork until I gave it to him. He dipped it into 

 his soup, held it up, and looked at it as if disappointed. 

 He again stuck it into his soup. Then he examined it, as 



