Pretty Bobby Shafto.
Bobby Shafto fat and fair,
Blessings on his yellow hair,
He’s my lover ever dear,
Pretty Bobby Shafto.
old song.
ONE afternoon you might have seen Clare running downstairs swiftly, her legs twinkling, like the water-wagtail’s as he spins over the lawn.
For news spreads quickly in a household of children, and rumour had it that Mrs. Inchbald was sitting in the drawing-room, and an idea of stories was about. Clare met Bimbo here, and Dolorès there, and a little farther on she gathered Leslie, Beppo, and Collina; finally she swept up Robin and Mousie and Christopher, who followed in her wake, and together they all poured into the drawing-room helter-skelter, to see if this rumour were true.
Mrs. Inchbald sat by the fire with her knitting, and Miss Ross stood by her side. Her long black dress fell in soft folds, and the firelight touched and was reflected in the loose coils of her dark hair. She looked supremely sad, as in her picture, only the quiet movement of her eyes as she turned towards the children, lent a greater animation to her face.