they saw, instead of turning up their noses and tossing their heads
and sniffing loudly, and just _scorning_ them.

Lady Gwendolen spoke first and instead of being haughty and
disdainful, she was as humble as a new-born kitten.

"Oh! you dear, shabby, disrespectable, darling things!" she said.
"Never, never, will I scorn you again. Never, never!"

[Transcriber's Note: See picture shabby.jpg]

"That's right!" said Peter Piper in his cheerful, rather slangy
way. "You take my tip-never you scorn any one again. It's a
mistake. Just you watch me stand on my head. It'll cheer you up."

And he turned six summersaults--just like lightning--and stood on
his head and wiggled his ragged legs at them until suddenly they
heard a snort from one of the beds and it was Lord Hubert beginning
to laugh and then Lord Francis laughed and then Lord Hubert
shouted, and then Lady Doris squealed, and Lady Muriel screamed,
and Lady Gwendolen and the Duchess rolled over and over in their
beds, laughing as if they would have fits.

"Oh! you delightful, funny, shabby old loves!" Lady Gwendolen kept
saying. "To think that we scorned you."

"They'll be all right after this," said Peter Piper. "There's
nothing cures scarlet fever like cheering up. Let's all join hands
and dance round and round once for them before we go back to bed.
It'll throw them into a nice light perspiration and they'll drop