AT THE FARM 



115 



good thing, and John was such an easy-going old 

 soul that he rather liked a few rats for company. 

 Mrs, also kept the farm-hands far too busy for 

 them to trouble their heads much about us, though 

 they naturally heaved half a brick at us now and 

 then, more from instinct than from any real desire 

 to hurt us ; I never heard of any casualties resulting 

 from their stray shots. 



I have said elsewhere, I believe, that I dislike 

 houses where a woman is in command, but I must 

 certainly make an exception of 31rs. Shall I say, 

 rather, that 1 dislike lean and fidgety women ? 

 Mrs, was so very stout that one might call most 

 of the rest of her sex lean by comparison. That 

 would make her the only exception. At any rate, 

 w^e all of us regarded her with something very like 

 affection, so much so that we were very careful 

 never to incur her displeasure by venturing into the 

 house where she ruled supreme. 



After all, we had a beautiful domain of our own 

 without trespassing on her sacred precincts. I have 

 told you already about the apple-room and the 

 barn, but we only went there on special occasions, 

 when we felt particularly clean and good, when w e 

 were wearing our nice frocks and clean pinafores, so 

 to speak. 1 have lived among you quite enough to 



8—2 



