Page 459 - Child's own book

into the house, and have a good dinner given to him ; and to be
kept to do what dirty work he was able for the cook.
Little Dick would have lived very happy in this good family,
if it bad not been for the ill-natured cook, who was finding fault
and scolding him from morning till night; and besides she was
eo fond of basting, that when she had no roast meat, to baste
she would be basting poor Dick. At last heT ill-usage of him
was told to Miss Alice, Mr. Fitzwarren’s daughter, who asked
the ill-tempered creature if it was not a shame to use a little
forlorn boy so cruelly ; and said she should certainly be turned
away if she did not treat him kindly. But though the cook
was so ill-tempered, the footman was quite different: he bad
lived in the family many years, and was an elderly man, and
very kind-hearted : he had once a little son of his own, who
died when about the age of Dick ; so he could not help feeling
a pity for the poor bojr, and sometimes gave him a halfpenny to
buy gingerbread, or a top ; for tops were cheaper at that time
than they are now. The footman was very fond of reading;
and used often in the evening to entertain the other servants,
when they had done their work* with some amusing book*
Little Dick took great pleasure in hearing this good man, which
made him wish very much to learn to read too ; so the next
time the footman gave him a halfpenny, he bought a little book
with it; and, with the footman’s help, Dick soon learnt his
letters, and afterwards to read.
About this time, Miss Alice was going out one morning for a
walk, and the footman happened to be out of the way : so as little
Dick had a suit of good clothes that Mr. Fitzwarren gave him
to go to church in on Sundays, he was told to put them on, and
wralk behind her. As they went along, Miss Alice saw a poor
woman with one child in her arms, and another on heT back;
she pulled out her purse and gave the woman some money;