hours sooner; the whole argument being reduced to sheer pedantry by
reason of no information being afforded to the student concerning the
respective thirstiness of X and Y.

Even my father and mother were able to take it lightly with plenty of
laughter and no groaning that I ever heard. For over all lay the
morning light of hope, and what prisoner, escaping from his dungeon,
ever stayed to think of his torn hands and knees when beyond the
distant opening he could see the sunlight glinting through the
brambles?

"I had no idea," said my mother, "there was so much to do in a house.
In future I shall arrange for the servants to have regular hours, and
a little time to themselves, for rest. Don't you think it right,
Luke?"

"Quite right," replied my father; "and I'll tell you another thing
we'll do. I shall insist on the landlord's putting a marble doorstep
to the next house we take; you pass a sponge over marble and it is
always clean."

"Or tesselated," suggested my mother.

"Or tesselated," agreed my father; "but marble is more uncommon."

Only once, can I recall a cloud. That was one Sunday when my mother,
speaking across the table in the middle of dinner, said to my father,
"We might save the rest of that stew, Luke; there's an omelette
coming."