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'Mrs Cork, miss, wishes me to tell you as it was never understood as

'ot water would be required after tea, and she hasn't got any'

Mrs Hopgood had a fire, although it was not yet the thirty-first of

October, for it was very damp and raw She had with much difficulty

induced Mrs Cork to concede this favour (which probably would not

have been granted if the coals had not yielded a profit of threepence

a scuttleful), and Clara, therefore, asked if she could not have the

kettle upstairs Again Maria disappeared and returned

'Mrs Cork says, miss, as it's very ill-convenient as the kettle is

cleaned up agin to-ed' It was of no use to continue the contest, and Clara bethought herself

of a little 'Etna' she had in her bedrooht some methylated spirit, and obtained what she

wanted

Mrs Cork had one virtue and one weakness Her virtue was

cleanliness, but she persecuted the 'blacks,' not because she

objected to dirt as dirt, but because it was unauthorised, appeared

without per

polish on varnished paint and red any was a pleasure to her

She liked the dirt, too, in a way, for she enjoyed the exercise of