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"At the shops, do you mean?"

"No, no; things in the streets."

"What things, love?"

"Little Italian girls and boys with monkeys and tambourines; and Happy Families, too. Oh, I do love Happy Families!"

"But you can see them any day in the Square."

"Yes; but I want to look at them with fresh eyes."

"Fresh eyes, Christian?"

"Yes. I dreamt about a little Italian girl last night, and I felt that I loved her."

"We can easily see them," said Miss Thompson, "wherever we are; and it needn't take the whole day."

"When we are tired we can have lunch somewhere," continued Christian; "and I should like to give the Italians a lot of buns, and the monkeys some nuts. Oh! I want to stare well at them all. I want to see for myself what the little Italians look like, and how they do their dancing, and how they manage their monkeys."

"You are a strange child, Christian; but there is nothing wrong in your wish to see the Italians. Have you any other desires?"

"Well, I should like—only I'm afraid you won't do it—to go into an awfully slummy place, and walk upstairs and see what the bedrooms are like, and to question some of the women as to what they eat, and how much they pay for what they eat. For, you see, even if you have close on eight pounds, it can't be expected to last forever. Oh, dear! what have I said? Have I said anything very, very funny, Miss Thompson?"