The Cricket on the Hearth | Page 4

gentle at the core; so
dull without, so quick within; so stolid, but so good! Oh Mother Nature,
give thy children the true poetry of heart that hid itself in this poor
Carrier's breast--he was but a Carrier by the way--and we can bear to
have them talking prose, and leading lives of prose; and bear to bless
thee for their company!
It was pleasant to see Dot, with her little figure, and her baby in her
arms: a very doll of a baby: glancing with a coquettish thoughtfulness
at the fire, and inclining her delicate little head just enough on one side
to let it rest in an odd, half-natural, half-affected, wholly nestling and
agreeable manner, on the great rugged figure of the Carrier. It was
pleasant to see him, with his tender awkwardness, endeavouring to
adapt his rude support to her slight need, and make his burly
middle-age a leaning-staff not inappropriate to her blooming youth. It
was pleasant to observe how Tilly Slowboy, waiting in the background
for the baby, took special cognizance (though in her earliest teens) of
this grouping; and stood with her mouth and eyes wide open, and her

head thrust forward, taking it in as if it were air. Nor was it less
agreeable to observe how John the Carrier, reference being made by
Dot to the aforesaid baby, checked his hand when on the point of
touching the infant, as if he thought he might crack it; and bending
down, surveyed it from a safe distance, with a kind of puzzled pride,
such as an amiable mastiff might be supposed to show, if he found
himself, one day, the father of a young canary.
'An't he beautiful, John? Don't he look precious in his sleep?'
'Very precious,' said John. 'Very much so. He generally IS asleep, an't
he?'
'Lor, John! Good gracious no!'
'Oh,' said John, pondering. 'I thought his eyes was generally shut.
Halloa!'
'Goodness, John, how you startle one!'
'It an't right for him to turn 'em up in that way!' said the astonished
Carrier, 'is it? See how he's winking with both of 'em at once! And look
at his mouth! Why he's gasping like a gold and silver fish!'
'You don't deserve to be a father, you don't,' said Dot, with all the
dignity of an experienced matron. 'But how should you know what little
complaints children are troubled with, John! You wouldn't so much as
know their names, you stupid fellow.' And when she had turned the
baby over on her left arm, and had slapped its back as a restorative, she
pinched her husband's ear, laughing.
'No,' said John, pulling off his outer coat. 'It's very true, Dot. I don't
know much about it. I only know that I've been fighting pretty stiffly
with the wind to-night. It's been blowing north- east, straight into the
cart, the whole way home.'
'Poor old man, so it has!' cried Mrs. Peerybingle, instantly becoming
very active. 'Here! Take the precious darling, Tilly, while I make
myself of some use. Bless it, I could smother it with kissing it, I could!
Hie then, good dog! Hie, Boxer, boy! Only let me make the tea first,
John; and then I'll help you with the parcels, like a busy bee. "How
doth the little"--and all the rest of it, you know, John. Did you ever
learn "how doth the little," when you went to school, John?'
'Not to quite know it,' John returned. 'I was very near it once. But I
should only have spoilt it, I dare say.'
'Ha ha,' laughed Dot. She had the blithest little laugh you ever heard.

'What a dear old darling of a dunce you are, John, to be sure!'
Not at all disputing this position, John went out to see that the boy with
the lantern, which had been dancing to and fro before the door and
window, like a Will of the Wisp, took due care of the horse; who was
fatter than you would quite believe, if I gave you his measure, and so
old that his birthday was lost in the mists of antiquity. Boxer, feeling
that his attentions were due to the family in general, and must be
impartially distributed, dashed in and out with bewildering inconstancy;
now, describing a circle of short barks round the horse, where he was
being rubbed down at the stable-door; now feigning to make savage
rushes at his mistress, and facetiously bringing himself to sudden stops;
now, eliciting a shriek from Tilly Slowboy, in the low nursing-chair
near the fire, by the unexpected application of his moist nose to her
countenance; now, exhibiting an obtrusive interest in the baby; now,
going round and round upon the hearth, and lying down as if he had
established himself for