Jeremy’sface，raisedtohisfather’s，washardandsetandsullen。
“I’vetoldalie，“hesaid；“IsaidI’dcleanedmyteethwhenI
hadn’t。Nursewentandlooked，andthenIcalledherabeastlywoman。“
TheJampot’sfaceexpressedagrievedandatthesametimetriumphantconfirmationofthis。
“Youtoldalie？“Mr。Cole’svoicewasfullofalingeringsorrow。
“Yes，“saidJeremy。
“Areyousorry？“
“I’msorrythatItoldalie，butI’mnotsorryIcalledNurseabeastlywoman。“
“Jeremy！“
“No，I’mnot。Sheisabeastlywoman。“
Mr。Colewasalwaysatalosswhenanyonedefiedhim，eventhoughitwereonlyasmallboyofeight。Hetookrefugenowinhisecclesiasticalandparentalauthority。
“I’mverydistressed——verydistressedindeed。Ihopethatpunishment，Jeremy，willshowyouhowwrongyouhavebeen。I’mafraidyoucannotcomewithustothePantomimeto-night。“
AtthatjudgementaquiverforaninstantheldJeremy’sface，turningit，forthatmoment，intosomethingshapelessandold。Hishearthadgivenawildleapofterroranddismay。Butheshowednofurthersign。Hesimplystoodtherewaiting。
Mr。Colewasbaffled，ashealwayswasbyJeremy’smoods，sohecontinued：
“Anduntilyou’veapologisedtoNurseforyourrudenessyoumustremainbyyourself。Ishallforbidyoursisterstospeaktoyou。
MaryandHelen，youarenottospeaktoyourbrotheruntilhehasapologisedtoNurse。“
“Yes，Father，“saidHelen“Oh，Father，mayn’thecometo-night？“saidMary。
“No，Mary，I’mafraidnot。“
Atearrolleddownhercheek。“Itwon’tbeanyfunwithoutJeremy，“
shesaid。ShewishedtomakethefurthersacrificeofsayingthatshewouldnotgounlessJeremydid，butsomenaturalcautionrestrainedher。
Mr。Cole，hisfaceheavywithsorrow，departed。AtthedumbmiseryofJeremy’sfacetheJampot’shear——inrealityakindandevensentimentalheart——repentedher。
“There，MasterJeremy，youbeagoodboyallday，andIdaresayyourfatherwilltakeyou，afterall；andwewon’tthinknomoreaboutwhatyousaidtomeinthe’eatofthemoment。“
ButJeremyanswerednothing；nordidherespondtothesmellofbacon，northeadvancesofHamlet，northefloodofsunlightthatpouredintotheroomfromthefrostyworldoutside。
Acompletecatastrophe。Theynoneofthemhadwantedtoseethisthingwiththeurgentexcitementthathehadfelt。Theyhadnotdreamtofitfordaysandnightsandnightsanddays，ashehaddone。Theirwholefutureexistencedidnotdependupontheirwitnessingthis，asdidhis。
Duringthatmorninghewasadesperatecreature，likesomethingcagedandtortured。Dohappymiddle-agedphilosophersassureusthatchildrenarelight-heartedandunfeelinganimals？LetthemrealisesomethingoftheagonywhichJeremysufferedthatday。Hiswholeworldhadgone。
Hewaswicked，anoutcast；hiswordcouldneverbetrustedagain；hewouldbepointedat，astheboywhohadtoldalie……AndhewouldnotmeetDickWhittington。
Theeternityofhispunishmenthungaroundhisnecklikeanironchain。Childhood’stragediesareterribletragedies，becauseachildhasnosenseoftime；amoment’sdismayiseternal；acarelesswordfromanelderisalastingjudgment；aninstant’sfollyisalifetime’smistake。
Thedaydraggeditswearylengthalong，andhescarcelymovedfromhiscornerbythefire。Hedidnotattemptconversationwithanyone。
OnceortwicetheJampottriedtopenetratebehindthatlittlemaskofangeranddismay。
“Come，now，thingsaren’tsobadasallthat。Youbeagoodboy，andgoandtellyourfatheryou’resorry……“or“Well，then，MasterJeremy，there’llbeanothertime，Idaresay，youcangotothethe-
ayter……“
Butshefoundnoresponse。Iftherewasonethingthatshehated，itwassulks。Heretheywere，sulksoftheworst——andso，likemanywiserthanherself，shecoveredupwithawordasituationthatshedidnotunderstand，andleftitatthat。
Theeveningcameon；thecurtainsweredrawn。Teaarrived；stillJeremysatthere，notspeaking，notraisinghiseyes，acondemnedcreature。MaryandHelenandHamlethadhadawretchedday。Theyallsympathisedwithhim。
Thegirlswenttodress。Seveno’clockstruck。TheyweretakendownstairsbyNurse，whohadhereveningout。Rose，thehousemaid，wouldsitwithMasterJeremy。
Doorsclosed，doorsopened，voicesechoed，carriage-wheelswereheard。
JeremyandHamletwerelefttothemselves……
III
Thelastdoorhadclosed，andthesuddensensethateveryonehadgoneandthathemightbehavenowashepleased，removedthearmourinwhichalldayhehadencasedhimself。
Heraisedhishead，lookedaboutthedesertednursery，andthen，withthesuddenconsciousnessofthatotherlightedandbusiedplacewhereWhittingtonwaspursuinghisadventures，heburstintotears。
Hesobbed，hisheaddownuponhisarms，andhisbodysqueezedtogethersothathiskneeswereclosetohisnoseandhishairinhisboots。Hamletrestoredhimtohimself。Insteadofassistinghismaster’sgrief，asasentimentaldogwouldhavedone，bysighingorsniffingorhowling，heyawned，stretchedhimself，androlledonthecarpet。Hedidnotbelieveingivingwaytofeelings，andhewassurprised，andperhapsdisappointed，atJeremy’slackofrestraint。
Jeremyfeltthis，andinalittlewhilesobscameveryslowly，andatlastwereonlylittleshudders，ratherpleasantandhealthy。Helookedabouthim，rubbedhisrednosewithahideouslydirtyhandkerchief，andfeltimmenselysleepy。
No，hewouldnotcryanymore。Rosewouldshortlyappear，andhedidnotintendtocrybeforehousemaids。Nevertheless，hisdesolationwassupreme。Hewasaliar。Hehadtoldliesbefore，buttheyhadnotbeendiscovered，andsotheywerescarcelylies……Now，insomestrangeway，thepublicationofhisliehadshownhimwhattrulyimpossiblethingslieswere。Hehadwitnessedthiseffectuponthegeneralpublic；hehadnotbelievedthathewassowicked。Hedidnotevennowfeelreallywicked，buthesawquiteclearlythattherewasoneworldforliarsandonefortruthfulmen。Hewanted，terriblybadly，someonetotellhimthathewasstillintherightworld……
Andthen，ontheotherside，thethoughtthatMaryandHelenwereatthisverymomentwitnessingthecolouredhistoryofDickWhittinglon，thehistorythathehadpursuedceaselesslyduringallthesedaysandnights——thatpictureofthemallinthelightedtheatre——oncemorenearlyovercamehim。Buthepulledhimselftogether。
Hesniffed，lefthisdirtyhandkerchief，andwentslowlyandsorrowfullytodragouthistoyvillagefromitscornerandseewhetheranythingcouldbedonewithit……Afterall，hewasgoingtoschoolinSeptember。Hispunishmentcouldnotbequitelimitless。
HamlethadjustshownhisapprovalofthismanlyconductbystrollingupandsniffingattheNoahfamily，whowere，asusual，ontheirwaytochurch，whenthedoorsuddenlyopened，andincameUncleSamuel。
Jeremyhadforgottenhisuncle，andnowblinkedupathimfromthefloor，wherehewassquatting，ratherashamedofhisswolleneyesandrednose。
UncleSamuel，however，hadnotimefordetails；hewasapparentlyinahurry。Hedidnotwearhisbluepainting-smock，butwasinacomparativelycleanblacksuit，andonthebackofhisheadwasasquashybrownhat。
“Comeon，“hesaid，“orweshallbetoolate。“
Jeremychoked。“Toolate？“herepeated。
“You’recoming，aren’tyou——tothePantomime？Theysentmebackforyou。“
Theroomsuddenlygotontoitslegs，likethefoodandthefamiliesduringAlice’sfeastinthe“LookingGlass，“andswunground，lurchingfromsidetoside，andcausingthefiretorunintothegasandthegastoflyoutofthewindow。
“I——don’t——understand，“Jeremystammered。
“Well，ifyoudon’tunderstandinhalfashake，“saidUncleSamuel，“youwon’tseeanyoftheshowatall。Goon。Washyourface。TherearestreaksofdirtalldownitasthoughyouwereapaintedIndian；
stickonyourcapandcoatandbootsandcomealong。“
ExactlyasonemovesinsleepsoJeremynowmoved。Hehadoncehadawonderfuldream，inwhichhehadbeenatamealthatincludedeverythingthathehadmostloved——fish-cakes，sausages，ices，strawberryjam，sponge-cake，chocolates，andscrambledeggs——andhehadbeenabletoeat，andeat，andhadneverbeensatisfied，andhadneverfeltsick——alovelydream。
Heoftenthoughtofit。Andnowinthesamebewilderingfashionhefoundhisbootsandcapandcoatandthen，deliberatelykeepingfromhimthethoughtofthePantomimelestheshouldsuddenlywakeup，hesaid：