When Waife had ascertained the extent of his accomplishments, and added
somewhat to their range in matters which cost no great trouble, he
applied himself to the task of composing a little drama which might bring
them all into more interesting play, and in which though Sophy and
himself were performers the dog had the premier role. And as soon as
this was done, and the dog's performances thus ranged into methodical
order and sequence, he resolved to set off to a considerable town at some
distance, and to which Mr. Rugge was no visitor.

His bill at the cottage made but slight inroad into his pecuniary
resources; for in the intervals of leisure from his instructions to Sir
Isaac, Waife had performed various little services to the lone widow with
whom they lodged, which Mrs. Saunders (such was her name) insisted upon
regarding as money's worth. He had repaired and regulated to a minute an
old clock which had taken no note of time for the last three years; he
had mended all the broken crockery by some cement of his own invention,
and for which she got him the materials. And here his ingenuity was
remarkable, for when there was only a fragment to be found of a cup and a
fragment or two of a saucer, he united them both into some pretty form,
which, if not useful, at all events looked well on a shelf. He bound, in
smart showy papers, sundry tattered old books which had belonged to his
landlady's defunct husband, a Scotch gardener, and which she displayed on
a side table, under the japan tea-tray. More than all, he was of service
to her in her vocation; for Mrs. Saunders eked out a small pension--which
she derived from the affectionate providence of her Scotch husband, in
insuring his life in her favour--by the rearing and sale of poultry; and
Waife saved her the expense of a carpenter by the construction of a new
coop, elevated above the reach of the rats, who had hitherto made sad
ravage amongst the chickens; while he confided to her certain secrets in
the improvement of breed and the cheaper processes of fattening, which