His child he scarcely saw; Mrs.Jenkins discovered that to bring the 'bairn' into its father's presence was a sure occasion of wrath, so the son and heir took lessons in his native tongue from the housekeeper and her dependents, and profited by their instruction.

Dagworthy never inquired about the boy's health.

Once when Mrs.Jenkins, alarmed by certain symptoms of infantine disorder, ventured to enter the dining-room and broach the subject, her master's reply was: 'Send for the doctor then, can't you ?' He had formerly made a sort of plaything of the child when in the mood for it; now he was not merely indifferent--the sight of the boy angered him.

His return home was a signal for the closing of all doors between his room and the remote nursery.

Once, when he heard crying he had summoned Mrs.Jenkins.