Page:Little Daffydowndilly-1887.djvu/18

14 &ldquo;This will never do for me,&rsquo; thought Daffydowndilly.

Now, the whole of Daffydowndilly&rsquo;s life had hitherto been passed with his dear mother, who had a much sweeter face than old Mr. Toil and who had always been very indulgent to her little boy. No wonder, therefore, that poor Daffydowndilly found it a woful change, to be sent away from the good lady&rsquo;s side, and put under the care of this ugly-visaged schoolmaster, who never gave him any apples or cakes, and seemed to think that little boys were created only to get lessons.

&ldquo;I can't bear it any longer,&rsquo; said Daffydowndilly to himself, when he had been at school about a week. &ldquo;I&rsquo; run away, and try to find my dear mother; and, at any rate, I shall never find anybody half so disagreeable as this old Mr. Toil!&rsquo;

So, the very next morning, off started poor Daffydowndilly, and began his rambles about the world, with only some bread and cheese for his breakfast, and very little pocket-money to pay his expenses. But he had gone only a short distance when he overtook a man of grave and sedate appearance, who was trudging at a moderate pace along the road.

&ldquo;Good morning, my fine lad,&rsquo; said the stranger; and his voice seemed hard and severe, but yet had a sort of kindness in it; &ldquo;whence do you come so early, and whither are you going?&rsquo;

Little Daffydowndilly was a boy of very ingenuous disposition, and had never been known to tell a lie in all his life. Nor did he tell one now. He hesitated a moment or two, but finally confessed that he had run away from school, on account of his great dislike to Mr. Toil; and that he was resolved to find some place