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"Purday is to ask the farmer about the price to-morrow morning, because he wasn't at home." "Then you won't get the carpenter's tools?" said Annie. "No," said David; "Purday said tools that they make for little boys never will cut." "So you told Purday all about it?" David nodded his head. "Oh, do tell me what Purday said!" continued Annie. "It's nothing to you," said David bluntly.
One day the lawn had been mown, and the children where all very busy wheeling their little barrows, and loading them with the short grass; David was with them at first, but when Purday left off work, he marched after the old man in his grave deliberate way, and was seen no more till nearly tea-time, when he walked into the school-room with a very set look upon his solemn face, and sat himself down cross-legged on the locker, with a sigh that seemed to come out of the very depths of his heart.
"Ay, the black rascal; at least, I suppose so. Not an egg left, and they would have hatched this week!" "Well, Purday calls him his best friend," said Harry. "He says we should not get a currant or a gooseberry if it wasn't for that there raven, as Papa won't have the small birds shot." "Bring down the nest, Sam," cried Susan; "Georgy will like to have it."
"Ah, so you've got at he, after all," said Purday, leaning on the fork with which he had thrown on the weeds. "Nothing is safe from you." "What, you thought you had a new place, Purday, and circumvented us!" cried Hal; "but we smelt you out, you old rogue; we weren't going to be baulked of our bonfire."
"Now, Purday, we really do want to know what is the price of pigs." "They was high last market," began Purday. "I don't care if they were high or low," said Hal; "I want to know what money they cost."
"Ah! you think I can never do what I say I will; but you'll see, Purday, if we don't give a pig to " He was screamed at, and pulled into order and silence, ere the words, "Hannah Higgins" had quite come out; and Sam repeated his question.
Miss Fosbrook did not trouble herself to be understood; she was relieved to have done her duty, and be free to rejoice in and share the pleasure. She ran about and collected materials for Sam till she was out of breath, and joined in all the excitement as the fire showed symptoms of reviving, after being apparently crushed out by Purday.
He couldn't say but it was hard that those poor folks should get nothing but bread and cabbages from week's end to week's end, just that Master Davie might spoil bits of deal board with making chips of them." And when David was sure he shouldn't spoil his wood, Purday had told him that them toy-shop young gentleman's tools were made to sell, and not made to cut.
Master Purday!" roared nearly the whole young population above; but he was so intent on his mixture, that he went on as if he were deaf, till a second explosion of "Purday! Purday! I say!" made him turn up his face in an odd half-awake kind of manner. "Purday, what's the price of a pig?" and, "What does a pig cost, Purday?" "What d'ye all holler at once for?
Who would not sooner have spent a summer's day with Sir Walter's humble friend, Tom Purday, than with Mr. William Wordsworth of Rydal Mount! It is, we can only suppose, reflections such as these that make country gentlemen and farmers the sworn foes they are of education and the enemies of School Boards. I only indicate this line of thought to condemn it. Such temptations come from below.
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