More William | Page 5

the force. The written word doesn't reach the heart as the spoken word does, but I don't want you to worry about it."
William walked on as if he had not heard her.
It was Aunt Jane who insisted on the little entertainment after tea.
"I love to hear the dear children recite," she said. "I'm sure they all have some little recitation they can say."
Barbara arose with shy delight to say her piece.
"Lickle bwown seed, lickle bwown bwother, And what, pway, are you goin' to be? I'll be a poppy as white as my mother, Oh, DO be a poppy like me! What, you'll be a sunflower? Oh, how I shall miss you When you are golden and high! But I'll send all the bees up to tiss you. Lickle bwown bwother, good-bye!"
She sat down blushing, amid rapturous applause.
Next Jimmy was dragged from his corner. He stood up as one prepared for the worst, shut his eyes, and--
"Licklaxokindness lickledeedsolove-- make--thisearfanedenliketheeav'nabovethasalliknow."
he gasped all in one breath, and sat down panting.
This was greeted with slightly milder applause.
"Now, William!"
"I don't know any," he said.
"Oh, you do," said his mother. "Say the one you learnt at school last term. Stand up, dear, and speak clearly."
Slowly William rose to his feet.
"It was the schooner Hesperus that sailed the wintry sea,"
he began.
Here he stopped, coughed, cleared his throat, and began again.
"_It was the schooner Hesperus that sailed the wintry sea._"
"Oh, get on!" muttered his brother, irritably.
[Illustration: "IT WAS THE HESPER SCHOONERUS THAT SAILED THE WINTRY SEA AN' I'M NOT GOIN' ON IF ETHEL'S GOIN' TO KEEP GIGGLIN'."]
"I can't get on if you keep talkin' to me," said William, sternly. "How can I get on if you keep takin' all the time up _sayin'_ get on? I can't get on if you're talkin', can I?"
"It was the Hesper Schoonerus that sailed the wintry sea an' I'm not goin' on if Ethel's goin' to keep gigglin'. It's not a funny piece, an' if she's goin' on gigglin' like that I'm not sayin' any more of it."
"Ethel, dear!" murmured Mrs. Brown, reproachfully. Ethel turned her chair completely round and left her back only exposed to William's view. He glared at it suspiciously.
"Now, William dear," continued his mother, "begin again and no one shall interrupt you."
William again went through the preliminaries of coughing and clearing his throat.
"_It was the schooner Hesperus that sailed the wintry seas._"
He stopped again, and slowly and carefully straightened his collar and smoothed back the lock of hair which was dangling over his brow.
"_The skipper had brought----_" prompted Aunt Jane, kindly.
William turned on her.
"I was _goin'_ to say that if you'd left me alone," he said. "I was jus' thinkin'. I've got to think sometimes. I can't say off a great long pome like that without stoppin' to think sometimes, can I? I'll--I'll do a conjuring trick for you instead," he burst out, desperately. "I've learnt one from my book. I'll go an' get it ready."
He went out of the room. Mr. Brown took out his handkerchief and mopped his brow.
"May I ask," he said patiently, "how long this exhibition is to be allowed to continue?"
Here William returned, his pockets bulging. He held a large handkerchief in his hand.
"This is a handkerchief," he announced. "If anyone'd like to feel it to see if it's a real one, they can. Now I want a shilling," he looked round expectantly, but no one moved, "or a penny would do," he said, with a slightly disgusted air. Robert threw one across the room. "Well, I put the penny into the handkerchief. You can see me do it, can't you? If anyone wants to come an' feel the penny is in the handkerchief, they can. Well," he turned his back on them and took something out of his pocket. After a few contortions he turned round again, holding the handkerchief tightly. "Now, you look close,"--he went over to them--"an' you'll see the shil--I mean, penny," he looked scornfully at Robert, "has changed to an egg. It's a real egg. If anyone thinks it isn't a real egg----"
But it was a real egg. It confirmed his statement by giving a resounding crack and sending a shining stream partly on to the carpet and partly on to Aunt Evangeline's black silk knee. A storm of reproaches burst out.
"First that horrible insect," almost wept Aunt Evangeline, "and then this messy stuff all over me. It's a good thing I don't live here. One day a year is enough.... My nerves!..."
"Dear, dear!" said Aunt Jane.
"Fancy taking a new-laid egg for that," said Ethel severely.
William was pale and indignant.
"Well, I did jus' what the book said to do. Look at it. It says: 'Take an egg. Conceal it in the pocket.' Well, I took an egg an' I concealed it in the pocket. Seems to me," he