It was during this year that the boy Ernest first gained special attention, and caused his father’s pride to increase. Mrs. Rollinson, with the improvement in income, and aided by a dressmaker of Theobald’s Road, cultivated a definite note in apparel, and her favourite costume was one of a tartan pattern, full in the flounces and so tightly stayed at the waist that the poor lady’s complexion was sometimes scarlet, sometimes purple. At the start, she had, for motives of economy, herself made the child’s clothes, but the boy reported to his father that these, by reason of their amplitude— “You must allow for growing,” urged his mother. —These caused him to become the object of ridicule, and his father at once put a stop to home manufactures. Ernest, thereafter, during Exhibition year, wore suits of velvet with frilled knickerbockers, and a stiffly carded cap with a blue tassel dependent, and his appearance extorted nothing but admiration as he walked, hand-in-hand with his father, along the transept of Mr. Joseph Paxton’s great building of glass. The boy had been furnished with several facts and arguments in connection with the place, and these he recited in a clear, distinct voice. “Looking around, dear papa, at this striking scene, it seems impossible to think that war will again occur in our time.” And, “I believe this immense building covers twenty acres of ground, and is no less than two thousand feet long. Please correct me, papa, if I am in error.” Quite distinguished-looking ladies and gentlemen took notice of the boy’s intelligence, and some gave him fourpenny pieces, patting him on the cap, and telling him he was a fine little fellow; a well-known politician prophesied of him, on one occasion, that he would grow up to be an Englishman in the best sense of the word. You can imagine Mr. Rollinson’s delight at these compliments, and the satisfaction in finding his own views confirmed from responsible quarters. It was his method, in regard to domestic affairs, to ascertain Mrs. Rollinson’s wishes and then to give instructions that the exact opposite should be adopted, but, returning home after one of these gratifying afternoons in Hyde Park, he took the unusual course of inviting her to his study, where, in smoking-cap and dressing-gown (a change from the restraint of out-door clothes) he bade her take the easy-chair, whilst he himself stood near the empty fireplace and leaned an elbow on the mantelpiece, in an attitude imposed by more than one artist upon the Prince Consort.