MOBILE DIGITAL LIBRARY - SOCIETY OF YOUNG NIGERIAN ...

I had arranged that the girl Jenny, who was wearing an outrageous bonnet, shouldaccompany us, because, knowing the greed of her class, I feared she might blackmail meat the club.William joined us in the suburbs, bringing the baby with him, as I had foreseen theywould all be occupied with it, and to save me the trouble of conversing with them. Mrs.Hicking I found too pale and fragile for a workingman's wife, and I formed a meanopinion of her intelligence from her pride in the baby, which was a very ordinary one.She created quite a vulgar scene when it was brought to her, though she had given me herword not to do so; what irritated me, even more than her tears, being her ill-bred apologythat she "had been 'feared baby wouldn't know her again." I would have told her theydidn't know anyone for years had I not been afraid of the girl Jenny, who dandled theinfant on her knees and talked to it as if it understood. She kept me on tenterhooks byasking it offensive questions: such as, "Oo know who give me that bonnet?" andanswering them herself, "It was the pretty gentleman there," and several times I had toaffect sleep because she announced, "Kiddy wants to kiss the pretty gentleman."Irksome as all this necessarily was to a man of taste, I suffered even more when wereached our destination. As we drove through the village the girl Jenny uttered shrieks ofdelight at the sight of flowers growing up the cottage walls, and declared they were "justlike music-'all without the drink license." As my horses required a rest, I was forced toabandon my intention of dropping these persons at their lodgings and returning to town at