was really sleeping; forgetful, oh! unhappy one, of the flexibility
of his own body on being carried upstairs, and, more unhappy still,
ignorant of the art of waking. He, therefore, clenched his fingers
harder and harder as he felt my mother trying to unfold them while
his head hung listless, and his eyes were closed I as though he were
sleeping sweetly. It is needless to detail the agony of shame that
followed. My mother begged my father to box his ears, which my
father flatly refused to do. Then she boxed them herself, and there
followed a scene and a day or two of disgrace for both of us.

Shortly after this there happened another misadventure. A lady came
to stay with my mother, and was to sleep in a bed that had been
brought into our nursery, for my father's fortunes had already
failed, and we were living in a humble way. We were still but four
and five years old, so the arrangement was not unnatural, and it was
assumed that we should be asleep before the lady went to bed, and be
downstairs before she would get up in the morning. But the arrival
of this lady and her being put to sleep in the nursery were great
events to us in those days, and being particularly wanted to go to
sleep, we of course sat up in bed talking and keeping ourselves awake
till she should come upstairs. Perhaps we had fancied that she would
give us something, but if so we were disappointed. However, whether
this was the case or not, we were wide awake when our visitor came to
bed, and having no particular object to gain, we made no pretence of
sleeping. The lady kissed us both, told us to lie still and go to
sleep like good children, and then began doing her hair.

I remember that this was the occasion on which my brother discovered
a good many things in connection with the fair sex which had hitherto
been beyond his ken; more especially that the mass of petticoats and