At length the wright desisted. He leaned on his great hammer; and then Mehetabel timidly addressed him.
"Please, Mr. Puttenham, are you not Guardian of the Poor?"
"Certainly, Mrs. Kink."
"May I be put in the Poors' House?"
"You!"
The wheelwright opened his eyes very wide.
"Yes, Mr. Puttenham, I have no home."
"Why, Matabel! What is the sense of this? Your home is in the
Punch-Bowl."
"I have left it."
"Then you must return to it again."