Miss Slowboy, in
the mean time, who had a mechanical power of repro-
ducing scraps of current conversation for the delecta-
tion of the baby, with all the sense struck out of
them, and all the nouns changed into the plural num-
ber, inquired aloud of that young creature, Was it
Gruffs and Tackletons the toymakers then, and
Would it call at Pastry-cooks for wedding-cakes, and
Did its mothers know the boxes when its fathers
brought them homes; and so on.
'And that is really to come about!' said Dot. 'Why
she and I were girls at school together, John.'
He might have been thinking of her, or nearly
thinking of her, perhaps, as she was in that same
school time. He looked upon her with a thoughtful
pleasure, but he made no answer.
'And he's as old! As unlike her! -- Why, how many
years older than you, is Gruff and Tackleton, John?'
'How many more cups of tea shall I drink to-night
at one sitting, than Gruff and Tackleton ever took
in four, I wonder!' replied John, good-humoredly,
as he drew a chair to the round table, and began
at the cold ham.
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