“Poor things, poor things, poor things!” he said gloomily.
“A pleasant sight, these little ones enjoying themselves,” said Mr Rothwell, coming up.
Mr Tankardew seemed scarcely to hear him, and returned to his place by Mrs Franklin.
“Enjoying themselves!” he exclaimed, in an undertone, “call it pampering the flesh, killing the soul, and courting the devil.”
“Rather hard upon the poor dear children,” laughingly remarked a lady, who overheard him: “why, surely you wouldn’t deny them, their share of the enjoyment of God’s good creatures?”
“God’s good creatures, madam! Are the wine and negus God’s good creatures?”
“Certainly they are,” was the reply: “God has permitted man to manufacture them out of the fruits of the earth, and to make them the means of pleasurable excitement, and therefore surely we may take them and give them as His good creatures.”
Mr Tankardew made no answer, but striding up to Mary, where she sat with a circle of little interesting faces round her, eagerly intent on some simple story she was telling them, he said, “Miss Franklin, will you favour me by bringing me a few of your young friends here. There, now, my dear,” (speaking to one of the little girls), “just hand me that empty negus glass.” The child did so, and Mr Tankardew, producing from his coat pocket a considerable sized bottle, turned to the lady who had addressed him, and said:
“Madam, will you help me to dispense some of the contents of this bottle to these little children?”
“Gladly,” she replied. “I suppose it is something very good, such as little folks like.”