Poor Jane's Brother

BY

MARIE F. SALTON

 Ever since the twins could remember Poor Jane had lived in the village. In fact, she had lived there all her life, though one could not expect the twins to remember that, for they were very young indeed, and Poor Jane was quite old.

Poor Jane did not dress like other folks. Her boots were so large and sloppy that her feet seemed to shake about in them, and she shuffled along the ground when she walked. These boots could never have been cleaned since Jane had had them, and the twins firmly believed that they always had been that queer dust-colour, until one day Nan told them that when they were quite new they were black and shiny like ordinary boots.

Poor Jane always wore a brown, muddy, gingham skirt, frayed and tattered, and the torn pieces hung like a frill from her knees to the tops of her dust-coloured boots. Over her chest she wore a dark-grey woollen cross-over, and on her head was a dirty shawl, which hung down her back, and was pinned across her breast. Little straw-like wisps of straight brown hair stuck out from under the shawl over her forehead and ears. Her face was dried up and shrivelled, and her cheek-bones were so sharp that they tried to prick through the skin.

Poor Jane did not often wash, so her wrinkles, and what Dumpty called her 'laughing lines,' were marked quite black with dirt. Her lips were not rosy and fresh like mummie's or Dumpty's, but they were of a purple-grey colour, and when she opened her mouth, instead of a row of pearly white teeth showing, there was only one very large yellow tooth, which looked as if it could not stay much longer in the gum.

The twins always thought that she must live on milk, as babies do before they have any teeth, but to their amazement they heard that last Christmas, at the Old People's Tea, Poor Jane had eaten two plates of salt beef.

'Do you think she sucked it?' Dumpty asked her brother that evening when nurse was safely out of the way. Humpty asked daddy the next day at lunch how old people managed to eat when they had only one tooth.

Humpty's Experiment

Daddy said they 'chewed,' and showed Humpty how it was done, and there was a scene that afternoon in the nursery at tea, when Humpty practised 'chewing' his bread and honey. And in the end Dumpty went down alone to the drawing-room for games that evening, with this message from Nan: 'Master Humphrey has behaved badly at the tea-table, and been sent to bed.'

BARBARA'S VISIT.

But although the children met Poor Jane every time that they went into the village they had never once spoken to her. That was because she was not one of nurse's friends, like old Mrs. Jenks, whom Barbara, the twins' elder sister, visited every week with flowers or fruit or other good things. Nan considered that Poor Jane was too dirty for one of her friends.

Poor Jane was so interesting because she had so much to say to herself, and, as daddy said, 'gibbered like a monkey' when she walked alone.

All day long she would wander up and down the village street, and when the children came out of school and the boys began to tease, she would curl her long black-nailed fingers--which were so like birds' claws--at her persecutors, and would run towards them as if she meant to scratch out their eyes.

Early last spring the twins met with their first real adventure. They had had lots of little adventures before, such as the time when Humpty fell into the pond at his cousins' and was nearly drowned, and when Dumpty had a tooth drawn, and because she was brave and did not make a fuss, daddy and mummie each presented her with a shilling, and even the dentist gave her a penny and a ride in his chair.

But this time it was a real adventure because every one--twins included--was frightened.

The twins had just recovered from bad colds in their heads, which they had passed on to all the grown-ups in the house, and a cold in the head makes grown-ups particularly cross, so the twins found.

Mum came up to the nursery with a very hoarse voice and streaming eyes, but when she saw Nan she forgot about her own cold, and said that Nan must go to bed at once, and have something warm to drink, and put a nice hot-water bottle between the sheets. For a long time Nan said that nothing would make her go to bed, but at last mum, who is very sweet, and of whom Nan is really quite afraid, persuaded her to lie down, and herself brought up a dose of quinine.

It had rained all the morning, but the sun was shining so brightly now that the twins stood looking longingly out of the nursery window, while mummie helped Nan into bed.

'Can we go out, mum?' asked Humpty.

'There is no one to take you out, darling,' said mummie thoughtfully; 'but it is so nice and sunny now that I think you ought to go. It is too wet to play in the garden, and if you go alone you must promise to walk along the road to the end of the village, and straight back again. Now, remember to walk where it is clean and dry, and keep moving, and do not stop to play with the puddles, and when you come in you shall have tea with me.'

'Hooray!' shouted the children; 'two treats in one afternoon!'

It did not take the twins long to get ready for their walk that afternoon. They were so excited, for they had never been out alone for a walk before, though, of course, they used to play by themselves in the garden.

Each was inwardly hoping that they might meet Poor Jane, and so they did. As they came out of the drive gate they saw Poor Jane shuffling quickly up the road.

'Let's walk slowly,' whispered Dumpty, quivering with excitement, 'and perhaps she will catch us up.'

In a few minutes the old woman had overtaken them.

Jane's New Gloves

All Nurse's injunctions were forgotten. The children stood still and stared, for Poor Jane was wearing a pair of brand new, red woollen gloves! Poor Jane saw them looking, and she crossed from the other side of the road and came near the children. Dumpty gave a little scream of terror, but Humpty caught her by the hand, so that she could not run away.

'Good afternoon,' he said; 'what nice red gloves you have!'

The old woman looked at her hands with great pride. 'Beautiful red gloves,' she said, spreading out her fingers. 'I had the chilblains bad, so Mrs. Duke gave 'em to me. Beautiful red gloves!' She began cackling to herself, staring hard at the children as she did so. She had brown, staring eyes that looked very large and fierce in her thin face.

'Where's your nuss?' she asked, beginning to walk along by the side of the children.

'Our what?' asked Dumpty, puzzled.

'She means nurse,' said Humpty, with great emphasis. 'Nan is ill with a cold in her head,' he explained, 'and mum has just made her go to bed and drink hot milk.'

'I often see ye passin',' said Poor Jane conversationally.

'Yes,' said Humpty, who was still holding his sister's hand tight, 'we often come this way for a walk, and we always see you.'

'You always walk this way, don't you?' said Dumpty bravely, though she still trembled with fright.

'Yes, I allus come along 'ere, every day, wet or fine.'

'Why?' asked Humpty, who had an inquiring mind.

Then the old woman seized him by the arm. Humpty turned white with terror, but his courage did not forsake him.

'Why?' he repeated boldly.

The old woman pinched his arm.

'Don't you know why I come here?' she asked, her voice getting shriller and shriller; 'don't you know why I walk up and down this road every day, fine or wet, through snow and hail?' She lowered her voice mysteriously, and clutched hold of Dumpty, who could not help shrieking. 'You're a lucky little miss; you keep your brother as long as you can. Ah! my poor brother, my poor brother!'

'Is your brother dead?' asked Dumpty sympathetically. She was not so frightened now, for although the old woman still held her pretty tight she did not look as if she meant to hurt them.

'No, he is alive! He is alive! They tell me he is dead, but I know better. A circus came to Woodstead' (the little shopping-town two miles from the village), 'and he joined that--he had to go; the circus people--they was gipsies most of 'em--forced him--and he 'ad to go; 'e is a clown now.'

'A clown!' cried the twins.

'Yus, and they won't let 'im come back to his poor old Jane. They're a keepin' us apart, they're a keepin' us apart!' And her voice died away in a wail. She stopped in the middle of the road.

'Poor Jane!' whispered Dumpty; 'poor Jane! I am so sorry'; but Jane took no more notice of them, but went on murmuring to herself, 'Keepin' us apart--keepin' us apart.'

'Come on, Dump,' said Humpty at last; 'it's no good staying, she doesn't seem to want us.' Dumpty joined him, and there were tears in her eyes. What Poor Jane had said was so very, very sad. The twins had so much to think about now that they talked very little during their walk, but when they did, it was all about Poor Jane and her brother, who was the clown in a circus.

When they got home the children had tea and games downstairs, and altogether it was great fun, but they did not mention their meeting with Poor Jane. That was their secret.

For days afterwards they talked it over and wondered whether Jane would speak to them the next time they met on the road, but when they went down the village again with nurse the old woman passed them by without a sign of recognition.

Three months passed and June had come, and one day Nan and the children went down to the village shop to buy slate-pencils.

Mrs. Moses' Question

'Are you taking the children to the circus?' asked Mrs. Moses, the shopwoman.

The twins pricked up their ears.

'When is it?' asked Nan.

'To-morrow, at Woodstead,' answered Mrs. Moses; and she showed the children two large bills with pictures on them, of a beautiful young lady with yellow hair, who was walking on a tight-rope, a dark lady balancing herself on a golden globe, a young man riding, bare-back, on a fierce white horse, and a lion jumping through flames of fire, while in the corner was the picture of a clown grinning through a hoop.

'Oh, Nan!' said Humpty, when they were outside, 'can we go?'

'I shall ask mummie when we get home what she thinks about it,' said nurse, 'but you are not to be disappointed or cross if she won't let you.'

That evening when mummie came up to bid good-night to the twins in bed they were told that they might go. Nurse had been promised to-morrow off, so that she might have tea with her sister, who lived at Woodstead, but she had very kindly said that she would be quite willing to take the twins with her, and put them into seats in the circus, and then she would come for them at the end of the performance.

The twins were delighted, and almost too excited to speak. After mummie had gone they lay awake thinking.

'Humpty,' said Dumpty presently, 'what are you thinking about?'

'The circus,' answered Humpty promptly.

'And I,' said Dumpty pensively--'I have been thinking about Poor Jane.'

'I have been thinking about her lots too,' said Humpty.

'And oh, Humpty! supposing the clown should be her brother, what should we do?'

'We should bring him back to Poor Jane of course,' said Humpty.

'But how shall we know whether he is her brother?'

'He will look like her, of course, stupid,' replied Humpty, a little crossly, for he was beginning to feel sleepy.
 

At the Circus

They had an early dinner next day, and then Edward brought the pony round to the door, and they set off for Woodstead. Nurse was looking very smart in a black bonnet and silk mantle, and the children felt almost as if she were a stranger. Soon they came to a large meadow, where stood a great tent with steps leading up to it, and a man stood on the top of the steps beating a drum and crying, 'Children half-price! Walk up! Walk up!'

There was a nice man inside, who led the children past rows of bare seats, raised one above the other, till he came to a part which was curtained off from the rest. He drew the curtain to one side to let the children pass in, and they saw four rows of comfortable seats with backs, covered with scarlet cloth.

'Yes, these will do nicely,' said Nan; 'and now, children, you must sit here quietly till the circus is over, and I shall come and fetch you at half-past four.'

The children now had time to look about. A large plot of grass had been encircled with a low wooden fence, hung with more red cloth. Inside this ring some of the grass had been taken up, so that there was a narrow path where the horses would canter right round the ring. Quite close to the children was an elegant carriage--wagon-shaped--where the musicians sat, and made a great noise with their instruments. One of the men played the drum and cymbals at the same time. On their right the tent was open and led out on to the meadow, and this was the entrance for the horses and performers.

After playing the same tune through seven times, the band changed its music and began a quick, lively air, and in came trotting, mounted on a black horse with a white nose, a rather elderly lady with golden hair. She did not sit on an ordinary saddle, but on what appeared to be an oval tea-tray covered with blue satin. Behind her followed a serious, dignified gentleman, who was busily cracking a long whip. His name, the twins soon learned, was Mr. Brooks, for so all the performers addressed him.

The lady rode twice round the ring, and on dismounting kissed her hands to the audience in a friendly manner.

'I want to introduce to you, ladies and gentlemen, my wonderful performing horse Diamond. Diamond, make your bow.'

Whereupon Diamond--with some difficulty--bent his knees, and thrust his head down to the ground.

The twins were enchanted.

But this was by no means the best of Diamond's accomplishments. By looking at a watch he could tell the time, and explained to the audience that it was now seventeen minutes past three, by pawing on a plank of wood with his hoof three times, and then, after a moment's pause, seventeen times. He could shake his head wisely to mean 'yes' or 'no'; he could find the lady's pocket-handkerchief amongst the audience, and, finally, he refused to leave the ring without his mistress, and when she showed no sign of accompanying him, he trotted behind her, and pushed her out with his soft white nose.

Next an acrobat came somersaulting in. He did all sorts of strange things, such as balancing himself upside down on the broad shoulders of Mr. Brooks, and tying himself into a kind of knot and so entangling his limbs that it became impossible to tell the legs from the arms.

After he had gone there was a long pause, and then came tottering in, with slow and painful footsteps, an old, old man. He was dressed in a dirty black suit, and wore an old battered bowler. His clothes were almost in rags, and he had muffled up his face with a long black comforter.

A strange hush came over the audience as he sat down in the ring to rest, only Humpty and Dumpty leaned forward eagerly to watch. 'It is Poor Jane's brother,' said Humpty very loudly.

Mr. Brooks went up to the tired old man. 'I am afraid you are very tired, my good man,' he said kindly.

'Very tired, very tired indeed, Mr. Brooks,' sighed Poor Jane's brother.

'Mr. Brooks!' cried the owner of that name, 'how, sir, do you know that my name is Brooks?' And then a wonderful thing happened. The old man sprang to his feet, his rags dropped from him, he tore off the black comforter, and behold! he was a clown with a large red nose, who cried, 'Here we are again!'

How the children laughed and clapped, and how pleased the twins were to have discovered Poor Jane's brother!

Oh, the things that clown did! The familiar way in which he spoke to Mr. Brooks! The practical jokes that he played on him! Then in trotted old Diamond to join in the fun, and here was a chance for the clown to take a lesson in riding. He mounted by climbing up the tail, and then he rode sitting with his back to the horse's head. He tried standing upright whilst Diamond was galloping, but could not keep his balance, and fell forward with his arms clasped tightly round the animal's neck. In the end Diamond, growing tired of his antics, pitched him over his head, but the clown did not seem to mind, for before he had reached the ground he turned an immense somersault--then another--and the third carried him right through the entrance back into the meadow where the caravans were standing.

'Humpty,' asked Dumpty, 'what are we to do?'

To the Rescue!

'We must go at once and rescue him,' answered the boy.

The twins slipped from their seats, and crept to the back of the tent.

'I think we can squeeze under this,' said Humpty, as he began wriggling under the awning. He then helped Dumpty, who was rather fat, and showed signs of getting stuck.

'How cool it is outside!' remarked Dumpty, who had found it hot and stifling under the tent. 'I would like to know what is going on, wouldn't you?' she added, as a peal of merry laughter came from the tent.

'We will go back presently,' said Humpty; 'but we must first find Poor Jane's brother.'

There were two or three small tents, and one large one, in which the horses were stabled. Dumpty longed to stop and talk to a dear little piebald pony, but Humpty carried her on till they came to the caravans.

Four or five men were lying face downwards on the grass--worn out and tired. Before the steps of one caravan a group of children were playing, whilst one woman in a red shawl sat on the steps smoking a clay pipe, and holding a dirty-looking baby in her arms.

The twins stole round the caravan, taking good care not to be seen. There was as yet no sign of the clown.

At last they found a smaller caravan which stood apart from the others, and the door was ajar. 'Perhaps he is in there,' suggested Humpty. 'I am going to see.' And he ran up the steps and peeped inside.

'Oh, do come, Dumpty!' he cried; 'it is awfully interesting.'

Dumpty tumbled up the steps.

'Oh, Humpty!' she said, 'how lovely!'

It really was a very nice caravan, and spotlessly clean. There were dear little red curtains in front of the window and a red mat on the floor. All over the wall hung baskets made in pretty green and blue straw of all shapes and sizes. On the chair lay a bundle of peacock's feathers.

'These are like what the gipsies sell,' remarked Dumpty. A gipsy's basket was lying on the floor, in which were tin utensils for cooking, and two or three saucepans. Bootlaces had been wound round the handle.

The twins were fascinated, and turned everything over with great interest. They found a large cupboard, too, containing all sorts of beautiful clothes--lovely velvet dresses, and robes of gold and silver.

'How dark it is getting!' said Humpty presently; 'why did you shut the door?'

'I didn't shut the door,' answered Dumpty; 'I spect the wind did.'

They took a long time in exploring the cupboard. Suddenly Humpty cried, 'We have forgotten Poor Jane's brother!'

They made a rush for the door.

'Here, Humpty, will you open it? This handle is stiff.'

Humpty pulled and struggled with the handle until he was red in the face.

'I can't get it open,' he said at last.

'Let me try again,' said Dumpty, and she pushed and struggled, but to no purpose.

For a long time she and Humpty tried alternately to open the door, but nothing that they could do was of any avail.

Locked in

'I think it is locked,' said Humpty at last, sitting down despondently. He was panting breathlessly, and began to swing his legs.

Dumpty's eyes grew wide with terror, her lips trembled.

'Have they locked us in on purpose?' she asked.

'Yes,' said Humpty, 'the circus people have locked us in, and they won't unlock the door until they have left Woodstead.'

'And then?' asked Dumpty.

'Then they will keep us, and never let us come home again--like they did to Poor Jane's brother, and I shall be a bare-back rider, and you will wear the blue velvet gown, and ride in the processions on the piebald pony.'

'And we shall never see mummie or daddy again--or Nan--or Poor Jane,' said Dumpty, beginning to cry.

'No, we shall never see them again,' answered Humpty, swallowing hard to keep himself from crying.

Dumpty was crying bitterly now, and the loud sobs shook her small body. Humpty looked dismally at his surroundings, and continued to swing his legs.

'Give over!' he said to Dumpty, after one of her loudest sobs; 'it will never do for them to see that you've been crying, or they will be just furious.'

After a time Dumpty dried her eyes, and went to the window, and drew back the curtains.

'It's getting dark,' she said.

Humpty began to whistle. Suddenly he stopped.

'I am getting awful hungry,' he remarked.

'We shan't have nuffin' to eat until the morning,' said Dumpty.

'Humpty,' she continued, 'would it be any good if we screamed and banged the door?'

'No,' said the boy; 'if they heard us trying to give the alarm, they would be very angry, and perhaps they wouldn't give us anything to eat for days--not until we were nearly dead.'

'I think we had better go to sleep,' said Dumpty, yawning, and began saying her prayers.

In a few minutes both children were lying fast asleep on the floor of the caravan.

       *       *       *       *       *

'My eye! jest look 'ere, Bill!'

'Well, I'm blowed!' said Bill, gaping open-mouthed at the sight of the two children asleep in the caravan.

''Ow in the world did they get 'ere?' continued the woman who had first found them. 'Wike up! wike hup!' she cried, giving them each a violent shaking.

Humpty began to open his eyes. He stared in astonishment at the people round him.

'Are you the circus people?' he asked.

'Yes, and who are you, we're wanting to know, and 'ow did you come 'ere?'

By this time Dumpty was awake. On seeing the strange faces, she immediately began to cry.

'Don't 'e cry, dear,' said the woman; 'there's no call to be afraid.'

But Dumpty still cried.

'Why did you lock us in?' asked Humpty defiantly.

'I believe they think as 'ow we locked 'em in for the purpose,' laughed the woman, and then she explained to them what had happened, how they always kept this caravan locked, for they did not use it for sleeping or living in, but filled it with baskets and tins, which they sold as they travelled through the villages. She told the twins, too, that three policemen were out searching for them everywhere, and had come to make inquiries of her husband, and of the man who sold the tickets, but they could tell them nothing. And in their turn the twins had to explain how it was that they had found their way into the caravan.

An Early Breakfast
 

It was just three o'clock now, and the men were all at work, for by four o'clock they must be on the way to the next town, where they were 'billed' to give a performance that very afternoon.

'And now,' said the woman, 'you must 'ave a bite of breakfast, and then Bill shall tike you 'ome. What'll your ma and pa say when they see you? they'll be mighty pleased, I guess.'

The twins had never been up so early in the morning before. They felt ill and stiff all over from sleeping on the hard floor, and they were very hungry, and cold too, for the morning air seemed chill and biting.

The women had made a fire of sticks, and a great black kettle was hanging over it. The water was boiling and bubbling.

Soon the men left their work and came to join in the meal. They all sat round the fire on the wet grass, and shared the large, thick mugs of tea and sugar, and stared at the little strangers.

All the children were up, too, and rubbed their eyes and tried hard not to look sleepy, but the little ones were cross and peevish. Each child had a large slice of bread, and a piece of cold pork, and even the little, sore-eyed baby held a crust of bread and a piece of pork in his hand, which he tried to stuff into his mouth.

The twins, because they were the guests, were given each a hard-boiled egg. Dumpty was getting over her shyness now, and tried to behave as mummie does when she is out to tea. 'Eggs are very dear now,' she announced gravely, during a lull in the conversation; 'how much do you pay for yours?' How the men and women laughed! It seemed as if Bill would never stop chuckling, and repeating to himself, 'Pay for our eggs! That's a good un'; and every time that he said 'Pay for our eggs!' he gave his leg a loud slap with his hand. When breakfast was over--and you may be sure that the twins ate a good one, although they did not much like the strong tea, without any milk--the woman said it was time for them to be starting home.

'Please,' begged Dumpty, summoning all her courage--'please, may the piebald pony take us?' and in a few minutes Bill drove it up, harnessed to an old rickety cart, and the two children were packed in.

Just as they were starting Dumpty said, with a sigh, to the kind gipsy woman, 'Thank you very, very much, and will you, please, tell the clown how sorry I am that I have not seen him to speak to?'

''Ere I am, young mon--'ere I am!'

It was Bill who spoke. The twins could not believe their ears.

'Are you the clown?' said Dumpty in an awestruck voice; 'are you really and truly the clown?'

Bill jerked the reins, and the piebald pony set off at a weary trot. 'Yes, missie, I am the clown,' he said.

'Where's your nose?' asked Humpty suspiciously.

'One's on my face--t'other's in the dressing-up box,' answered the man, with a shout of laughter.

'Then you're not Poor Jane's brother?' said Dumpty.

'Don't know nuffun about Poor Jine--we've got only one Jine here, and that's the monkey, and she ain't my sister, leastways it's to be hoped as she in't.'

But although it was disappointing to find that the clever clown was only Bill all the time, the twins enjoyed their drive home, for Bill told them many wonderful tales of his life in the ring, and of the animals which he had trained.

Soon they came to the village, which looked so strange and quiet by the early morning light, with the cottage-doors all shut, and the windows closed and the blinds drawn. Humpty jumped down to open the gate leading up the drive, and there on the doorstep were mummie and daddy, looking so white and ill, who had come out of the house at the sound of the wheels on the gravel to greet them.

The twins were hurried indoors and taken up to the nursery, and Nan cried when she saw them and forgot to scold. From the window they watched mum and daddy thanking Bill, and giving him some money, and they waved 'goodbye' to him, and he flourished his whip in return, gave another tug at the reins, and the old piebald pony cantered bravely down the drive, and they saw them no more.

The twins were not allowed to see their mother, for Nan said that she was feeling ill with a dreadful headache, and it was all on account of their 'goings-on'; and after Nan had stopped crying, she began to scold, and was very cross all day.

That evening when the twins were in bed mummie came to tuck them up. But instead of saying 'Good-night,' and then going out as she generally did, she stayed for a long, long time and talked.

She told them that it was very wrong to have disobeyed nurse, who had told them to stay in the seats and not to go away.

'But,' cried Humpty, 'we had to try to rescue Poor Jane's brother!'

'Poor Jane's brother!' repeated mummie, looking puzzled. And then the twins explained.

Mummie sat silent for a long time.

'Remember, children,' she said at last, 'never do evil that good may come--I can't expect you to understand that--but I can tell you a little story.'

'A story!' cried the twins. 'Hooray!'

'Once upon a time a town was besieged. It was night, and only the sentinels on the walls were left on guard, and told to give the alarm by clanging a large bell, should the enemy force an attack. There was one sentinel who had never done this work before, and he was given the least important tower to guard. During the night a loud bell clanged out, and a soldier came running along the wall to speak to the new sentinel. 'Do come,' he said, 'we want as many helpers as we can get at once, and there will be plenty of fighting.' The young sentinel longed to go with him, and join the fight, but he remembered his duty in time.

''I cannot leave this tower,' he said; 'I have had orders to stay and give the alarm should the enemy appear, and the town trusts me to do so.'

''I believe that you are afraid,' said the soldier as he hurried away.

'And this was the hardest of all, and the sentinel longed to join in the fighting to show that he, too, was no coward, but could fight like a man.

'He stood there, listening to the noise in the distance, to the shouts of the enemy, and the screams of those who were struck down. And as he looked below the walls into the valley beyond he thought that he could distinguish men moving, and while he watched he saw a number of soldiers creeping up to the walls, and one man had even placed his foot on the steps that led up to his tower. Quick as thought, the sentinel seized the rope of the large bell that hung over his head and clanged it again and again.

'In a few minutes the troops were assembled, and, making their way down the steep steps, they charged at the enemy, and followed them into the valley.

'Late on the following evening the soldiers returned, but not all, for many were killed--and they brought back news of a great victory. The enemy was routed and the town saved. So you see, children,' said mother gravely, 'how much better it is to do what is right. If that young sentinel had left his post, even though it were to help the men in the other tower, the enemy would have climbed up those steps and got into the town. You must try to remember this always. You should have obeyed nurse, and remembered that she was trusting you to do what she had said. It was a kind thought of yours to try to rescue Poor Jane's brother, but obedience to nurse should have come first.'

Jane's Delusion

'But we forgot, mummie,' said Humpty.

'What would have happened if the sentinel had forgotten that he was trusted to do his duty, and stay in the tower?'

Humpty was silent.

'And now,' said mummie cheerfully, 'we will forget all about the terrible fright you have given us, and you must try to remember what I have said. I want to know all about Poor Jane's brother,' she continued, smiling; 'is it some one you have been imagining about?'

'Oh, no!' cried the twins at once. And then they told her of the conversation which they had had with Poor Jane, and of what she had said about her brother.

'But Poor Jane has no brother,' said mummie; 'he died long ago. Jane's mind has never grown up. One day, when she was a girl, her mother took her to a circus at Woodstead, and when they came home, after it was over, they were told the sad news that Jane's brother had fallen from the top of a wagon of hay on to his head. He died a few hours later. But Jane could not understand death--she only knew that Harry had gone away from them, and she believed that the circus people had stolen him from the village and made him a clown. Ever since that sad day Jane has gone up and down the village to look for him, hoping that he will come back.'

'And will Poor Jane never see him again?' asked Dumpty.

'Yes,' answered mummie, with her sweetest smile--'yes, darlings, one day she may!'