The Argosy — page 181: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Secret of the Sea. 169 never let go the advantage thus gained. In consequence of Madame’s complaint, Lady Dudgeon had taken Sophia by the hand, and had led her away with the avowed intention of shutting her up in a certain dark closet under the stairs, and there leaving her to do penance during the whole of a long summer’s day—a day when the sun was shining and all the birds in the shrubbery were whistling to her to go out of doors and be one with them. “ Mamma, you are not going to shut me up in that horrid hole?” said Sophia, when the door had been flung open for her toenter. “I certainlyam going toshutyou up here,” said Lady Dudgeon, with a portentous shake of her head. ‘Then do you know what I shall do, mamma?” “TI don’t know what you will do, Sophia, neither do I care.” ‘‘ You are going to have a dinner-party on Friday,” said Sophia, with determination. ‘In the middle of the dinner I shall walk into the room and tell everybody that you wear a ' wig and have five false teeth !” Lady Dudgeon glared down into the girl’s bold face as if she could hardly believe the evidence of her ears. What Sophia had just stated she had hitherto fondly believed to be a secret known to her husband and her maid alone. ‘“ You naughty, vile girl,” she stammered out. “I will send you right away from home to a school on the Continent, and you shall not come back any more until you are quite grown up.” “All right, mamma; I’ll go,” said the undaunted girl; “but I'll write to everybody by post and tell them about the wig and the teeth;” and, as Lady Dudgeon knew, her daughter was just the girl to carry out such a threat. Her ladyship was puzzled. ‘‘ Look here, mamma,” said Sophy: “ between you and me, Ribaud’s nothing but an old stupid, and no more fit to be a governess than Iam. You take my advice and send her about her business. I’m going to get my rope and have a jolly skip round the laurels.” And almost before her ladyship knew what had happened, she had been well hugged, and found herself alone, staring blankly into the closet under the stairs. A few days later Madame Ribaud received a month’s notice, and Lady Dudgeon never attempted extreme measures with Sophia after that time. It is not improbable that she had this very incident in her mind during her first interview with Miss Deane after the latter’s arrival at Stammars. ‘I place them entirely in your hands,” said her ladyship, in reference to her two girls. ‘‘ Exercise whatever discipline over them you may think best, only don’t box their ears, and don’t trouble me. If you find that they are becoming your master instead of you theirs, don’t come and complain in the expectation that I shall assist you to maintain an authority that you are not strong enough to keep in your own hands. Should such a contingency arise, it would be better for you to resign your situation at once.” | For the first two or three days all went tolerably well, but hardly to ECOMRRIC OOO Ss (GO)