“But that’s not all,” said the lady. “Spend your time no more in weeding in my garden, you can employ yourself much better; you shall have the reward of your ingenuity as well as of your industry. Make as many more such mats as you can, and I will take care and dispose of them for you.” “Thank’e, ma’am,” said Jem, making his best bow, for he thought by the lady’s looks that she meant to do him a favour, though he repeated to himself, “Dispose of them, what does that mean?” The next day he went to work to make more mats, and he soon learned to make them so well and quickly, that he was surprised at his own success. In every one he made he found less difficulty, so that, instead of making two, he could soon make four in a day. In a fortnight he made eighteen. It was Saturday night when he finished, and he carried, at three journeys, his eighteen mats to his mistress’ house; piled them all up in the hall, and stood with his hat off, with a look of proud humility, beside the pile, waiting for his mistress’ appearance. Presently a folding-door, at one end of the hall, opened, and he saw his mistress, with a great many gentlemen and ladies, rising from several tables. “Oh! there is my little boy and his mats,” cried the lady; and, followed by all the rest of the company, she came into the hall. Jem modestly retired whilst they looked at his mats; but in a minute or two his mistress beckoned to him, and when he came into the middle of the circle, he saw that his pile of mats had disappeared. “Well,” said the lady, smiling, “what do you see that makes you look so surprised?” “That all my mats are gone,” said Jem; “but you are very welcome.” “Are we?” said the lady, “well, take up your hat and go home then, for you see that it is getting late, and you know Lightfoot will wonder what’s become of you.” Jem turned round to take up his hat, which he had left on the floor. But how his countenance changed! the hat was heavy with shillings. Everyone who had taken a mat had put in two shillings; so that for the eighteen mats he had got thirty-six shillings. “Thirty-six shillings,” said the lady; “five and sevenpence I think you told me you had earned already—how much does that make? I must add, I believe, one other sixpence to make out your two guineas.” “Two guineas!” exclaimed Jem, now quite conquering his bashfulness, for at the moment he forgot where he was, and saw nobody that was by. “Two guineas!” cried he, clapping his hands together,—“O, Lightfoot! O, mother!” Then, recollecting himself, he saw his mistress, whom he now looked up to quite as a friend. “Will _you_ thank them all?” said he, scarcely daring to glance his eyes round upon the company; “will _you_ thank ’em, for you know I don’t know how to thank ’em _rightly_.” Everybody thought, however, that they had been thanked _rightly_.