"For a birthday present," they said, "and, Johnnie, you're to let off
every one of them your own self; and lots more are coming from the
shop."
"My wig!" exclaimed Johnnie, feigning intense surprise, though he had
heard every word of the conference. "Let them all off mythelf, did you
thay? Well, I do call that a motht egregiouth and tender lark."
These epithets appeared to give rarity and splendour to his thanks.
Janie pondered over them a little, but when Crayshaw added, "Quite
parenthetical," she gave it up. That was a word she could not hope to
understand. When a difficulty is once confessed to be unconquerable, the
mind can repose before it as before difficulties overcome, so says
Whately. "If it had only been as hard a word as _chemical_" thought
Janie, "I would have looked it out in the spelling-book; but this word
is so very hard that perhaps nobody knows it but Cray."
For the remainder of the week, though many revolutionary speeches were
made in Parliament against the constituted schoolroom authorities, there
was, on the whole, better behaviour and less noise.
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