“It is wine, or spirits of some sort or other, I know by the smell,” said George; “and I will not drink it, thank you, ma’am.” “The boy’s a fool!” said Mrs. Dolly; “but it’s his mother’s fault. She won’t let him taste any thing stronger than water. But now your mother’s not by, you know,” said Mrs. Dolly, winking at the landlady; “now your mother’s not by--” “Yes, and nobody will tell of you,” added the landlady; “so do what you like: drink it down, love.” “No!” cried George, pushing away the glass which Mrs. Dolly held to his lips. “No! no! no! I say. I will not do any thing now my mother’s not by, that I would not do if she was here in this room.” “Well; hush, hush; and don’t bawl so loud though,” said Mrs. Dolly, who saw, what George did not see, a gentleman that was standing at the door of the parlour opposite to them, and who could hear every thing that was saying at the bar. “I say,” continued George, in a loud voice, “mother told me she could trust me to take care of myself; and so I will take care of myself; and I am not a fool, no more is mother, I know; for she told me the reasons why it is not good to drink spirituous--.” Mrs. Dolly pushed him away, without giving him time to finish his sentence, bidding him go and see whether the gig was ready; for it was time to be going home. As George was standing in the yard, looking at the mechanism of the one-horse chaise and observing how the horse was put to, somebody tapped him upon the shoulder, and looking up, he saw a gentleman with a very good-natured countenance, who smiled upon him, and asked him whether he was the little boy who had just been talking so loud in the bar? “Yes, sir,” says George. “You seem to be a good little boy,” added he; “and I liked what I heard you say very much. So you will not do any thing when your mother is not by, that you would not do if she was here--was not that what you said?” “Yes, sir; as well as I remember.” “And who is your mother?” continued the gentleman. “Where does she live?” George told him his mother’s name, and where she lived; and the gentleman said, “I will call at your mother’s house as I go home, and tell her what I heard you say; and I will ask her to let you come to my house, where you will see a little boy of your own age, whom I should be very glad to have seen behave as well as you did just now.”