“To me, dear Mr. Wilful?” replied Peck, with great satisfaction; “I’m sure I shall be most happy to assist you with my poor opinion or services in any way that I can, but as to opening the door, my dear Mr. Wilful, I could not do it if I were to try ever so much; but if you would just try to lift it up a little yourself, my dear Mr. Wilful, I could soon squeeze myself out, being, as you know, quite slender; and then you know we could converse together very pleasantly, and there would be no danger of our being interrupted by Cock-a-doodle, who is always waking up for those foolish crows of his, which he is particular about, as if anybody in the world cared whether he crowed or not. He says that his family have always crowed exactly in the same way for hundreds of years; and it was awful to see the rage he was in with that scamp, young Strutaway, a few nights ago, because he said that he crowed out of time; but if Strutaway never did anything worse than that, it would not much signify, in my opinion, for I think it is very shocking to see clever young people going on doing all the silly old things that were done, for want of knowing better, before their time. As for Cock-a-doodle, I look upon him as little better than a lunatic, and a spiteful, domineering, barbarous old tyrant into the bargain.”
Here Miss Peck was interrupted by seeing a little bit of Wilful’s nose pushed in under the door; for whilst she had been chattering he had been scraping and scraping till he had succeeded in moving it, and now he thought that if Miss Peck would try, she could get put of the hen-house, for he was in a great hurry to tell her of his discovery. So Miss Peck did try, and after a great deal of squeezing, and scrambling, and pushing, and choking, she found herself safe on the outside, with very rumpled feathers, but in great triumph at the thought of being safe out of Cock-a-doodle’s clutches.
Wilful lost not a moment in telling her his wonderful news; and when she had heard it, Miss Peck quite agreed with him that the only step to be taken was, if possible, instantly to inform the Queen; “and if a messenger is wanted, you know Mr. Wilful,” she added, “that I am ready always to devote my poor services to the good of the public without looking for any reward, which, indeed, in this wicked world, so full of selfish Cock-a-doodles, and all kinds of malice and hatred, one would certainly look for in vain.”
“Very true, indeed, my dear Miss Peck,” interrupted Wilful, who, being fond of talking himself, was always very impatient of Miss Peck’s discourses; “very true, indeed; but allow me to hint that it is not quite the thing for a young person like yourself to be travelling about the world alone; but, as I have made up my own mind to start immediately, without waiting till my mother and all the old people here are awake, I was going to propose that you should accompany me; and then, you know, I should have the pleasure of your society on the road, and you could give the weight of your respectable authority to the account which it is my duty to lay before her gracious majesty the Queen.”
Page 29.
To this Miss Peck making no objection, but on the contrary, expressing herself to be extremely pleased with the arrangement, they set off that instant across the yard, down the meadow, and into the lane, without meeting with any difficulty or hinderance, only that Wilful ran so fast, that Miss Peck had a hard matter to keep up with him, and would have ventured to say as much if it had been anyone else; but Wilful was such a touchy gentleman, she knew he would not bear to be found fault with. However, in the lane they came to a standstill immediately, from not being agreed as to which was the right way to turn, Wilful maintaining that the way to the left led to the Queen’s house, and Miss Peck being equally positive that they ought to go to the right.
“Really, Miss Peck,” said the former, “I do wonder at a person of your talent being so uncommonly silly. Do not you know that all the blue butchers live down the lane to the right; and is it likely that the Queen’s house would be anywhere in that part of the country?”
“Oh! as for that,” replied Miss Peck, very sharply, “I do not pretend to know in what part of the country such vulgar low creatures as blue butchers may live, whatever you may do; but I am quite certain that her most gracious majesty lives down the lane to the right, and therefore to the right, begging your pardon, I shall certainly go.”
“Then you may go by yourself, and joy go with you, you conceited, obstinate, ridiculous old goose,” said Wilful, who in his anger quite forgot all his politeness; and without a word more, they parted, he running off as fast as he could down the lane to the left, and Miss Peck taking the opposite direction. What her adventures were may possibly be told some other time; his, I grieve to say, soon came to a very sad end.