The next morning I was very pleased when eleven o'clock came, and it was time to take the little carriage round to the front door. The carriage was made of wicker-work, and was something like a bed inside, so that Master Reggie could lie down the whole time, and there was a handle by which I pulled it along. In a few minutes the door was opened, and his nurse carried him downstairs. He was very pleased to see me, and we went off at once to see his children. As we passed the back door, the cook ran out with a basket, containing a number of parcels.
"That's the children's breakfast!" said the child. "Cook always has it ready for me. My children have a number of nurseries, Peter. Here's the first," he said, as he pointed to a horse-box, at the entrance of a very clean and tidy farm-yard.
EIGHT RING-DOVES CAME FLYING DOWN AS SOON AS THEY SAW US.
I drew his carriage gently inside, and there we found a white hen and eleven little, soft fluffy chickens. He watched me with great interest while I made a dish of sopped bread for the little ones, and threw down a handful of corn for their mother.
"She's an old child, Peter," he said; "I've had her a long time, since I was quite a little boy."
We next visited an old black hen, who had charge of six tiny yellow ducks, and again he was much pleased to teach me how to mix their breakfast, and how much they ought to have.
Then we came upon an open space in front of the barn, and here eight ring-doves came flying down as soon as they saw us, and perched upon the wicker-work of the little carriage. We fed them with corn, and Master Reggie quite screamed with joy as they picked it off the rug which was thrown over his feet.
The next child was a very strange one—a small monkey, which had a warm, cosey home in one of the out-houses.
"A man with an organ brought him one day," he said, "and he shivered so, and the man was cruel to him and beat him, and that made me cry; so mother bought him for me, and he's so happy and warm now; aren't you, Jacko?"