43 2 
THE STRAND MAGAZINE . 
“AND IIOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE THIS 
DEAR LITTLE RAKY TO GO FOR A RIDE IN 
YOUR TRAM?’* 
“ 11) KILL I I ! ’’ 
clad nurse, to order the village cab. The wife 
of the cab proprietor was airing the six weeks’ 
old baby in her garden, wrapped in a rather 
grimy shawl, and thus addressed the frowning 
and distant Marjorie : “ And how would you 
like to have this dear little baby to go for 
a ride with you in your nice pram ? ” To 
which Marjorie, with a malevolent scowl, 
replied, w I ? d kill it ! ” 
There came one terrible day when, at the 
age of three — how can I tell it ? — she so far 
forgot herself as to bite her nurse. This was 
too much. There being no nursery law in 
existence at the time for the punishment of 
infant cannibalism, I was called in to repre- 
sent the stern majesty of parental authority. 
1 found a rather defiant small person, with 
flushed face, peering out of its mane of curls, 
and after a few pompous remarks, addressed 
in a heart-broken voice, decreed that the 
usual after-tea descent to the drawing-room 
for pictures and dancing should not take place 
for three days. I then departed with much 
dignity, feeling how successfully I had cut 
off my own nose, and sincerely, but secretly, 
hoping she did not mind as much as 1 did. 
It was afterwards reported to me that, 
upon my exit, she had said, 4 ‘ Very well. 
daddy will see me take down my hat and coat:, 
and go up to the — the^-up there.” The 
nurse suggested, “ Do you mean the Grey- 
hound, baby ? ” (our village inn). “ Yes, the 
Greyhound, and there I shall live.” 
Happily for us all she never carried out 
this tremendous threat, and, when the terrible 
three days were over, pranced downstairs, 
and demanded “ Chin, Chin, Chinaman,” to 
be played for dancing purposes, as though 
no cloud had come between us. Happily the 
word u sulk ” was never in her vocabulary. 
Gladly I turn from these dark episodes to 
lighter subjects. Like all only children, she 
had a large choice of words, though not 
always quite sure of their meaning, and 
so on one occasion, when a doting aunt 
was taking leave after a short visit, she waved 
her good-bye, saying, “ Next time you come, 
Aunt Sinny, you must stay a long time ; 
you must stay for a year.” “ Oh, you dar- 
ling ! ” from the delighted Aunt Sydney. 
“ Yes, or a day ! ” cried Marjorie, in all good 
faith. 
One of the accomplishments of this aunt 
which used to be a great delight was that 
she would peep over a high screen when V e 
baby was having her bath, making a curious 
