Mrs. Eagles had a shrewd eye; having glanced at
Annie and Tom with a discreet smile, she turned her look towards the
elder girl, who was standing full in the lamplight.
'Come here, Amy,' she said after a moment's scrutiny. 'So you _will_
keep doin' that foolish thing! Very well, then, I shall have to
speak to your father about it; I'm not goin' to see you make
yourself ill and do nothing to prevent you.'
Amy, now a girl of eleven, affected much indignation.
'Why, I haven't touched a drop, Mrs. Eagles!'
'Now, now, now, now, now! Why, your lips are shrivelled up like a
bit of o' dried orange-peel! You're a silly girl, that's what you
are!'
Of late Amy Hewett had become the victim of a singular propensity;
whenever she could obtain vinegar, she drank it as a toper does
spirits. Inadequate nourishment, and especially an unsatisfied
palate, frequently have this result in female children among the
poor; it is an anticipation of what will befall them as soon as they
find their way to the publichouse.
Having administered a scolding, Mrs. Eagles went into the room which
she and her husband occupied. It was so encumbered with furniture
that not more than eight or ten square feet of floor can have been
available for movement.
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