Must have been a regular prig , ' growled Harry under his breath . ` Silence , sir ! go to your room , and do n't let me see you till tea-time . You must be taught respect as well as obedience , ' and Mr. Fairbairn gave the table a rap that caused his son to retire precipitately . On the stairs he met his sister Kitty looking as cross as himself . ` What 's the matter with you ? ' he asked , pausing a minute , for misery loves company . ` Mamma will make me dress up in a stiff clean frock , and have my hair curled over again just because some one may come . I want to play in the garden , and I ca n't all fussed up this way . I do hate company and clothes and manners , do n't you ? ' answered Kitty , with a spiteful pull at her sash . ' I hate being ordered round everlastingly , and badgered from morning till night . I 'd just like to be let alone , ' and Harry went on his way to captivity with a grim shake of the head and a very strong desire to run away from home altogether . ` So would I , mamma is so fussy . I never have any peace of my life , ' sighed Kitty , feeling that her lot was a hard one . The martyr in brown linen went up , and the other martyr in white cambric went down , both looking as they felt , rebellious and unhappy . Yet a stranger seeing them and their home would have thought they had everything heart could desire . All the comforts that money could buy , and all the beauty that taste could give seemed gathered round them . Papa and mamma loved the two little people dearly , and no real care or sorrow came to trouble the lives that would have been all sunshine but for one thing . With the best intentions in the world , Mr. and Mrs. Fairbairn were spoiling their children by constant fault-finding , too many rules and too little sympathy with the active young souls and bodies under their care .
As XXXXX said , they were ordered about , corrected and fussed over from morning till night , and were getting so tired of it that the most desperate ideas began to enter their heads .
Fairbairn Harry Kitty cambric manners minute night prig sympathy tea-time