“You don’t, father,” said Mark, laughing merrily. “You have always said that boys can be well brought up without blows.”
“Hear, hear,” said the doctor softly.
“But I am afraid it was very weak of me,” said Sir James. “A good thrashing, sir, now and then, would have made you less impudent.”
“You mean Dean, father,” said the boy mischievously.
“No, I do not, sir.”
“Hear, hear! Hooray!” shouted Dean.
“But I believe,” continued Sir James, “that it would have woke him up a bit, for he’s nearly as bad as the Fat Boy in Pickwick.”
“Oh, what a shame!” cried the boy.
“And one word more,” continued Sir James, speaking earnestly now. “Do you know, Robertson, this is very odd?”
“What is, sir?” said the doctor, for Sir James had ceased speaking.