It was with unfeigned joy that I heard my father say,
"Well, thank you, Maria. I do think it will do him good. And I'll
certainly come and look you and Robert up myself."
There was only one drawback to my pleasure, when the much anticipated
time of my first visit to London came. Aunt Maria did not like dogs;
Uncle Ascott too said that "they were very rural and nice for the
country, but that they didn't do in a town house. Besides which,
Regie," he added, "such a pretty dog as Rubens would be sure to be
stolen. And you wouldn't like that."
"I will take good care of Rubens, my boy," added my father; and with
this promise I was obliged to content myself.
The excitement and pleasure of the various preparations for my visit
were in themselves a treat. There had been some domestic discussion as
to a suitable box for my clothes, and the matter was not quickly
settled. There happened to be no box of exactly the convenient size in
the house, and it was proposed to pack my things with Nurse Bundle's
in one of the larger cases. This was a disappointment to my dignity;
and I ventured to hint that I "should like a trunk all to myself, like
a grown-up gentleman," without, however, much hope that my wishes
would be fulfilled.
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