Chapters on Insects, Chapter I.-Butterflies and Moths,

The Ingenious Boy,

Poetry

January,

13

18

22

26

MRS. BOSS'S NIECE.

SUSAN in the meantime had reached home, and not very well knowing what to do with herself, after catching up the old cat, who was lying asleep in the sun at the front-door, turning her head-over-heels, and sending her with an angry tail, and scratchy temper, under the laurels, had betaken herself to the kitchen, where she found old Master Arnworth sitting by the fire, and Sally cutting some bread-and-butter.

66

Gracious, Miss Susan!" exclaimed the latter, as she came in, "what is the matter? You look for all the world as if you wanted to eat us all up."

VOL. XIII.

B

JANUARY, 1854.

"No I don't," said Susan; "but aunt Boss took it into her head that Crib wanted to eat her up, and she has been making such a fuss about it, that he will not be able to come to tea here on Thursday, and so there is an end of it, and it is very provoking."

"Come to tea!" exclaimed Sally, opening her eyes very wide. "What are you talking about, Miss Susan? Nobody wants the dog here, I can tell you, if that is what you mean. I am sure I hate dogs as much as Missus does, and that is the truth, stabbling in and out, and making such work!"

"But he always goes with the young ladies," said Susan, "and they said they should bring him when I asked them to come on my birthday, and now it is all spoilt, and I do think it is very hard."

Susan was trying with all her might to make out that she was very ill-used by somebody, and that the blame was not on her side; but she did not get much comfort from Sally, who, when she understood the matter, exclaimed at the Miss Parkers' coming to keep Susan's birthday, as the strangest notion that ever came into anybody's head, and declared that if her Missus had given her consent to it, she should have thought that she was " gone clean out of her mind at once."

Sally's surprise and disapprobation_really seemed to have more effect in opening Susan's eyes than anything else had done; and when Master Arnworth, too, who was not much of a speaker in general, was moved to say, me, Missy, you never went and asked the young gentlefolks to come to tea without your aunt's

"Bless

leave, did you?" it struck her more strongly that it was undoubtedly a rebellious and ungrateful proceeding.

"Well, it does not signify, Master Arnworth," she said, rather hastily, "I am not going to have them after all, so I hope that everybody will be satisfied."

"You aint going to have them, because you can't," said the old man; “but that is not much like giving up your own way, Missy; and no doubt your good aunt will think that you ought to be sorry for trying to get it on the sly. Why, dear me, you would be thinking next of asking the family from the hall! Well, I never see any good come of people evening themselves with those above them, that's all I can say. It makes 'em many enemies and no real friends, and they are like to fall to the ground between two stools at last. Better stick to your equals, Missy, and not put your old friends aside for them what don't naturally belong to you, and as wont ever want any good as you can do them."

"Ah, to be sure!" said Sally. "There is Harriet Bradley now, or Jane Sharpe, that would be only too pleased to be asked to come and drink tea with you, if Missus did not object; or poor Lucy Bradley, that is so pining and mopy. If I could show kindness to any one, I would to her, poor thing, for she does not get much at home, I guess. It is not quite the same with her as with the young ladies at the parsonage, that have got everything in the world as they can want, and are taken about here and there, and everywhere, and always having people to do things to please them.”