"There might be some sense in your knock-ing," the Foot-man went on, "if we were not both on the same side of the door. If you were in the room, you might knock and I could let you out, you know." He looked up at the sky all the time he was speak-ing, which Al-ice thought was quite rude. "But per-haps he can't help it," she thought, "his eyes are so near the top of his head. Still he might tell me what I ask him--How am I to get in?" she asked. "I shall sit here," the Foot-man said, "till to-mor-row--" Just then the door of the house flew o-pen and a large plate skimmed out straight at his head; it just grazed his nose and broke on one of the trees near him. "--or next day, may-be," he went on in the same tone as if he had not seen the plate. [Illustration] "How am I to get in?" Al-ice asked as loud as she could speak. "Are you to get in at all?" he said. "That's the first thing, you know." It was, no doubt; but Al-ice didn't like to be told so. The Foot-man seemed to think this a good time to say a-gain, "I shall sit here on and off, for days and days." "But what am I to do?" said Al-ice. "Do what you like," he said. "Oh, there's no use to try to talk to him," said Al-ice; "he has no sense at all." And she o-pened the door and went in. The door led right in-to a large room that was full of smoke from end to end: the Duch-ess sat on a stool and held a child in her arms; the cook stood near the fire and stirred a large pot which seemed to be full of soup. "There's too much pep-per in that soup!" Al-ice said to her-self as well as she could for sneez-ing. There was too much of it in the air, for the Duch-ess sneezed now and then; and as for the child, it sneezed and howled all the time. A large cat sat on the hearth grin-ning from ear to ear. "Please, would you tell me," said Al-ice, not quite sure that it was right for her to speak first, "why your cat grins like that?" "It's a Che-shire cat," said the Duch-ess, "and that's why. Pig!" She said the last word so loud that Al-ice jumped; but she soon saw that the Duch-ess spoke to the child and not to her, so she went on: "I didn't know that Che-shire cats grinned; in fact, I didn't know that cats could grin." "They all can," said the Duch-ess; "and most of 'em do." "I don't know of an-y that do," Al-ice said, quite pleased to have some one to talk with. "You don't know much," said the Duch-ess; "and that's a fact." Al-ice did not at all like the tone in which this was said, and thought it would be as well to speak of some-thing else. While she tried to think of what to say, the cook took the pot from the fire, and at once set to work throw-ing things at the Duch-ess and the child--the tongs came first, then pots, pans, plates and cups flew thick and fast through the air. The Duch-ess did not seem to see them, e-ven when they hit her; and the child had howled so loud all the while, that one could not tell if the blows hurt it or not.