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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Holiday Tales, by Florence Wilford
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Holiday Tales
+
+Author: Florence Wilford
+
+Release Date: May 30, 2008 [EBook #25647]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOLIDAY TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chris Curnow, Lindy Walsh, Emmy and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: PLANNING OUT THE GROUND.
+
+_See page 14._]
+
+
+
+
+HOLIDAY TALES.
+
+BY FLORENCE WILFORD,
+
+AUTHOR OF 'NIGEL BARTRAM'S IDEAL,' 'AN AUTHOR'S CHILDREN,' ETC.
+
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+[Illustration: Emblem]
+
+
+          GRIFFITH, FARRAN, OKEDEN & WELSH,
+
+          SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS,
+
+          WEST CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, LONDON.
+          E. P. DUTTON & CO., NEW YORK.
+
+_The Rights of Translation and of Reproduction are reserved._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  SEVEN CAMPBELLS
+    I. MOTHER AND SONS                5
+   II. JOHNNIE'S PROTEGE             29
+  III. WHAT SEVEN CAMPBELLS CAN DO   56
+
+
+  CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK
+    I. CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK        73
+   II. A BACHELOR'S LUNCH            98
+  III. GOOD NEWS                    123
+   IV. IT'S ALL RIGHT!              139
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+SEVEN CAMPBELLS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+MOTHER AND SONS.
+
+
+'MAMMA, there's such a fine poem here about "seven lovely Campbells"
+whose father's name was Archibald; it must mean us,--don't you think
+so?' And a very pretty boy about ten years of age, who had been poring
+for some time over Wordsworth's Poems, lifted his roguish face to his
+mother's with a look of pretended conviction.
+
+'Not exactly, Willie, seeing that the poem begins, "Seven _daughters_
+had Lord Archibald!"'
+
+'Ah, mamma, you are not to be caught. I do believe you have read
+everything that ever was written! But now, mamma, which would you rather
+have--seven daughters or seven sons?'
+
+'I would rather have just what I've got, Willie.'
+
+'Seven sons, then. Oh! mamma, I'm glad you said that; and you know we
+shall be of much more use to you than a lot of girls. Why, if the French
+were to come, you needn't be a bit afraid, with all of us to defend
+you.'
+
+'Baby at the head, armed _cap-à-pie_, I suppose,' smiled the mother,
+dancing in her arms her youngest son, a little fellow of about two years
+old; but she soon set him down in her lap again, for she had been ill,
+and was still so weak that the least effort tired her.
+
+'Mamma, I think you'd better let me ring for nurse to take Georgie, and
+then you can lie upon your sofa again and have a nap; and I'll go and
+ask my brothers to play in the rough ground, where you won't hear their
+noise,' said thoughtful Willie.
+
+The mother assented to all these proposals; but when, after ringing the
+bell, the boy turned to go, she beckoned him back to her side. 'Tell my
+darling Johnnie that I hope he'll come and sit with me this afternoon;
+only he must be wise and quiet, and not get into one of his harum-scarum
+moods, or papa won't let me have him.'
+
+Willie nodded sagaciously. 'I'll keep guard over him, mamma, so that he
+shall behave like a mouse all dinner-time, and then papa won't be afraid
+to trust him. Now let me give Georgie one kiss.' His mother watched him
+fondly as he caressed the little brother, whose baby mind took small
+cognizance of such affectionate demonstrations, and then, drawing his
+curly head down to her, she gave him a true mother's kiss, and
+whispered, 'Mamma's own good boy.' Willie tripped lightly down the
+stairs and into the garden, where three little boys, of the respective
+ages of eight, six, and five, were playing at the well-known game which
+Charles Dickens terms 'an invasion of the imaginary domains of Mr.
+Thomas Tytler.'
+
+'Here, Duncan, Seymour, Archie, I want you to come into the "desert"
+with me and have a game there. Mamma's going to take a nap before
+dinner, and she won't be able to sleep while you make this row under her
+window. Come along, there's good fellows.' The two little ones left off
+picking up gold and silver directly, and Duncan descended from the rank
+of a landed proprietor with great good-humour;--not that Mr. Thomas
+Tytler's domains were the only ground belonging to him: he had a neat
+little flower-plot in one corner of the garden, as had all the elder
+brothers except Johnnie, who had been deprived of his by his father for
+having neglected to cultivate it, and who from that day forward had been
+known in the family by the soubriquet of 'Jean-sans-terre,' otherwise
+'Lackland.' Willie led the way out of the garden into a rough piece of
+ground covered with weeds and stones, and called by the children the
+'desert,' because nothing grew there but a few stunted shrubs. He left
+the younger ones to play about there, while he passed on and walked
+along the high road to meet his two elder brothers, Honorius and John,
+who attended a day school in the neighbourhood, and always came home at
+twelve and returned in the afternoon. Willie was of an age to go to
+school too; but his father, who was not a rich man, could not afford to
+send him just then, and therefore instructed him himself, together with
+Duncan and Seymour, though rather in a desultory fashion, as he was a
+doctor, and could not command much uninterrupted time.
+
+The Doctor's seven sons were well known in the neighbourhood, and
+acknowledged by every one to be 'nice, gentlemanly boys;' so Willie had
+to receive and return some greetings both from high and low as he passed
+along. But before he had gone far he descried an elder boy with some
+lesson-books in his hand coming towards him, whereupon he shouted 'Is
+that you, old fellow? What have you done with Johnnie?' and bounded to
+his side.
+
+Honorius was, like his name, grave and dignified,--at least as much so
+as a boy of fourteen can be without affectation. He answered quietly
+that Johnnie had taken the path through the fields in order to hunt for
+sticklebats in Farmer Merryman's pond, and that he did not know when
+they might expect to see him again. But at that very moment a bright,
+mischievous face peered over the hedge at one side of the road, and
+then, with a warning to them to stand clear, and 'a one, two, three, and
+away,' Johnnie--for he it was--took a running leap, cleared the hedge,
+and stood beside them. Willie explained his reason for coming to meet
+them, and the three boys took their way to the desert, lamenting that
+the ground was not smooth enough there to admit of their playing
+cricket, as they did on the lawn.
+
+'Do you know I've been thinking,' said Willie suddenly, 'that it would
+be very jolly if we could dig up the desert, and make it a nice place
+for mamma to walk in when she gets better? We might have paths this way
+and that, and then flower-beds or turf between; though, to be sure, papa
+_did_ say that when he could afford to have it cultivated, he would
+plant some of it with potatoes.'
+
+'Oh, plebeian notion!' said Johnnie, tossing his handsome head, 'he will
+propose keeping pigs next! What do you say to it, my Emperor? is not
+your royal mind duly horrified?' The Emperor, as his brother called him,
+in allusion to his imperial namesake, by no means showed the disgust
+expected of him: he turned up a bit of the soil with his pocket-knife,
+and said reflectively,
+
+'I should think it would grow potatoes very well, but it'll want a deal
+in the way of preparation. I don't believe we could dig it up properly,
+for there are none of us strong enough for the work but myself and you,
+Johnnie; and you're such an idle fellow, you wouldn't work for more than
+ten minutes together.'
+
+'Oh yes, he will, if it's for mamma,' cried Willie; 'and papa would be
+so pleased. Do let's begin, Honorius; I can dig quite well, and the
+little ones might pull up some of the weeds.'
+
+'We must mark the paths first if we're to do it at all,' said Honorius
+in his deliberate way. 'Who's got a ball of string?'
+
+'I have,' began Johnnie, putting his hand in his pocket; but he drew it
+forth again empty, and jestingly continued, 'No, "it's gone from my gaze
+like a beautiful dream." I have lost it, I suppose. We must advertise
+for it; or, considering all things, perhaps it would be cheaper to buy
+another.'
+
+'You'll lose your head some day,' observed Honorius calmly. 'Run into
+the house, Willie, and ask cook for some string; and you might fetch the
+spades, Lackland,--they're in the arbour.'
+
+The two boys darted off on their separate errands, and the Emperor
+walked up and down, devising how the desert might be best improved.
+
+'Rather stupid of us not to have thought of doing something to it
+before,--it's more than four months since papa bought it; but, to be
+sure, the weather has not been fit for out-of-door work, and papa always
+talked as if it would take two or three men to put it in order. I don't
+think he'll mind our having a try at it, for at any rate we can't do
+much harm. I'm very glad he bought it: it would have been horrid to have
+had it let on a building lease, and some great house run up that would
+shut out the view from our windows, that mamma likes so much. It's nice
+that her own room does not overlook this, or she'd see what we are
+about, and I should like it to be a surprise to her. It's quite Willie's
+idea; he's a capital chap for thinking of things to please her. I wish
+that funny fellow Lackland had half as much sense.'
+
+Willie came back very soon with the string, and assisted his brother in
+fastening a stake in the ground where the path was to begin, and then,
+tying the string to it, drew it along in a straight line to the place
+where the path was to end, at which they stuck in another stake, and
+again fastened the string.
+
+Johnnie did not reappear for some time, and then wore an air of rather
+droll vexation. 'Pity me,' he exclaimed as he gave the spades to
+Honorius, 'I have fallen foul of my paternal relative. I found a lot of
+birds in the arbour, and served them with a notice to quit by clapping
+my hands and hooting to them, when who should appear but papa, asking
+what the noise was about, and how I could be so inconsiderate as to
+disturb mamma?'
+
+'No wonder,' said Honorius.
+
+'Oh, and I promised to keep you quiet!' exclaimed Willie in great
+distress.
+
+Jean-sans-terre laughed his merriest of laughs.
+
+'Keep me quiet! you silly fellow. Did you really think it possible?'
+
+'Yes, for mamma's sake,' said Willie stoutly. 'You can be quiet if you
+choose; and I told you what she said about her wanting you to sit with
+her this afternoon.'
+
+'And you think paterfamilias will forbid it on account of my ill-timed
+sparrow-hooting?'
+
+'I think,' said Honorius, 'you had better speak of my father by his
+right name, and endeavour to behave rather less like an idiot. Here,
+take a spade, man, and come to work.'
+
+Johnnie shrugged his shoulders, made an indescribable grimace, and began
+digging vigorously, humming the Jacobite ditty,
+
+          'Wha is it noo we ha'e gotten for a king,
+           But a wee wee German lairdie?
+           And when we went to fetch him hame,
+           He was dibbling in his kail-yairdie.'
+
+Honorius sketched in his pocket-book a sort of plan of what the desert
+was to be like when its cultivation was completed. There was to be a
+path crossing it each way exactly through the centre, and along each
+side of these paths there was to be a broad flower-border, which would
+partially conceal from view the potatoes and other useful vegetables
+which were to occupy the chief part of the ground.
+
+'It's not too late in the spring to plant potatoes, I suppose, Honorius,
+is it?' said thoughtful Willie; 'and papa will give us those, I'm sure.
+But where shall we get the flowers? I don't think papa will buy them for
+us.'
+
+'We can get some seeds of different annuals, such as nemophila and
+candytuft, ourselves. That won't cost very much, and I've got three
+shillings that I can spend on it; but then we shall want roots of other
+things and rose-bushes, and they cost more. Have you got any money,
+Johnnie?'
+
+'No, not I. I am "sans argent" as well as "sans terre." I know one way
+of getting some, though. Papa said if I would translate that favourite
+piece of his in Cæsar all through, _well_, he would give me
+half-a-crown. But then, consider the labour! I have a strong suspicion
+that it might prove fatal to my constitution.'
+
+'Oh, humbug! you could do it easily if you chose,' said the elder
+brother. 'Besides, I'll help you, if papa doesn't mind.'
+
+'You'll do it, I know,' pleaded Willie softly; 'and I've got a shilling
+that'll go towards buying some roots.'
+
+'And Seymour and I have got sixpence between us,' cried Duncan. 'I say,
+Honorius, haven't we pulled up a jolly lot of weeds already?'
+
+'Oh, famous,' cried the Emperor approvingly. 'Work away; we shall have
+to go in to dinner soon.'
+
+He himself toiled with all his might, for the soil in some places was
+very stiff, and resisted the incision of the spade. Whenever he came to
+a part where it was looser, he turned that over to the younger ones; for
+Honorius, though occasionally sharp in speech, was almost invariably
+kind and considerate in his actions. 'Deeds, not words,' was his
+favourite motto; but it would sometimes have been well if he had
+remembered that we must give account for words as well as deeds, and
+that the law of love should govern both.
+
+The boys worked on for some time almost in silence. Johnnie was
+expending his energies in hard digging, and dropped for the while his
+usual character of 'merry-andrew.' He was considering with himself, too,
+whether he should undertake the task his father had proposed to him.
+
+'To be sure, I have a strong motive now for earning the half-crown,
+which I hadn't before,' thought he; 'but papa's so awfully particular,
+and I'm--yes, I must allow--I'm such an awful blockhead, that it's as
+likely as not I shall not win the money after all. However, I can but
+try; yes, and I will try too.'
+
+Lackland's face was very bright when he took his place at dinner that
+day, but his behaviour was more quiet and guarded than usual: he
+conducted himself more like Willie's ideal mouse, than like the noisy,
+rattling fellow he usually appeared. The brothers sat, three on each
+side of the table; no one claimed the place at the top, where the mother
+was accustomed to sit when well. Dr. Campbell looked tired, and was very
+silent, but took care that his sons' vigorous appetites should be duly
+satisfied, and was always ready with a kindly 'Willie, my boy, don't you
+want some more?' 'Seymour, pass your plate to me,' whenever the silence
+of one knife and fork told that its owner had finished the portion
+allotted to him. Johnnie glanced at him sometimes, but did not address
+him till after grace had been said and they had risen from table, when,
+approaching him, he asked gently if he might be allowed to sit a little
+while with his mother that afternoon.
+
+'Can I trust you to be quiet, Johnnie?' said the Doctor doubtfully.
+
+Lackland blushed, and fidgeted with his feet. 'I will try to be quiet
+indeed, papa. I am sorry I made such a row in the arbour this morning.'
+
+'Very well, you may go to mamma, then, as soon as I come down; but I
+shall beg her to send you away if you get riotous.'
+
+'Yes, papa; and, one thing more, may I do that bit of Cæsar that you
+offered the half-crown for? I didn't care about doing it the other day,
+but I should like to, now.'
+
+'You may do it, certainly. I am glad you wish to--without help,
+mind--and I will look over it as soon as I have time. Well, Honorius,'
+as his elder son drew near, 'have you something to ask too?'
+
+Honorius's errand was to obtain his father's sanction for the changes
+they were making in the desert. Dr. Campbell smiled as he heard their
+plans. 'It would take two men's hard labour to put that place in order,'
+he said; 'I don't think you'll be able to do it.'
+
+'Papa, you don't know what seven Campbells can do!' said Willie in a
+tone of triumphant heroism.
+
+'Seven! What! have you pressed Georgie into the service? Well, good luck
+to you all, it'll be a nice amusement for you; you can't do much harm,
+at any rate.'
+
+He left them and hastened up to his wife's room, but Willie ran after
+him to beg that the plan might be kept a secret from her. Dr. Campbell
+readily promised secrecy, but the boys were disappointed that he had not
+seemed more delighted with their scheme.
+
+'If papa thinks it's nonsense, there's no use going on with it,' said
+Honorius moodily.
+
+'Yes, there is,' said Willie; 'it'll show him what we can do. He thinks
+it nonsense, because he doesn't know how hard we mean to work, and how
+steadily we'll keep on at it. It'll be such fun when he sees we can do a
+great deal more than he thinks!'
+
+Honorius allowed himself to be convinced by this reasoning, and went
+with Willie and Seymour to the desert to work away till it got near
+three o'clock, at which time he had to return to school. Johnnie worked
+steadily at Cæsar till he heard his father go out, and then went
+up-stairs softly and tapped at his mother's door. Her 'come in' was glad
+and eager, and a soft pink colour flushed into her cheeks when she saw
+it was really Johnnie. This good mother, so just and tender to all her
+sons, kept a special corner of her heart for the merry scapegrace who
+excelled the family cat in a talent for unintentional mischief, and
+almost equalled that luckless animal in a facility for getting into
+universal disgrace. In another minute Johnnie was squatted on a
+footstool by the side of her sofa, holding her thin white hands in his
+own, and sometimes kissing them with a pretty devotion, which,
+mother-like, she thought very charming, though she pretended to call it
+'silly.'
+
+'And how is my Johnnie getting on at school?' she asked presently.
+'Whereabouts in the class are you now? At the top, I hope!'
+
+Johnnie screwed his mouth up, shook his head, groaned, and made all
+manner of funny faces. 'I'm at the bottom, mother,' he said at last, in
+a voice that might have been intended to be penitent, but did not sound
+so.
+
+'Oh, Johnnie! and I was hoping you would never do so badly again. What
+_will_ papa say if this half-year's report is as bad as the last?'
+
+'I don't know,' said Johnnie in a way that might almost have been taken
+to mean, 'I don't care;' then, more softly, 'I am sorry you are vexed,
+mother.'
+
+'Yes, I am indeed, Johnnie. It is not as if you were really dull and
+slow: then your low place in the school would not be your fault, and we
+shouldn't mind so much; but you can learn very well if you like.'
+
+'But I was born with a disposition _not_ to like it. I can't help being
+idle, really, mother; "it's the natur of the baste!"'
+
+'Then you must conquer your nature,' she said in the spirited tone of
+one who had never sat down helplessly under her faults and talked about
+'natural infirmity.' 'What should any of us be worth, Johnnie, if we
+yielded to all our foolish inclinations?'
+
+He had not an answer ready, so played with her rings, and glanced at her
+deprecatingly and coaxingly from under his long, dark eyelashes.
+
+'I didn't mean to scold,' she said relentingly, 'especially this day of
+all days, when I may have you for one of the little talks we haven't had
+for so long. But, Johnnie, you don't know how hard it makes it for me to
+submit to be ill and helpless, when I think that because I am not able
+to watch over you, you are running wild, neglecting your lessons, and
+vexing poor papa, who has so much to trouble him.'
+
+Jean-sans-terre's brown eyes looked odd in their expression of mingled
+fun and sadness; he was trying to feel sorry and ashamed, as he knew he
+ought, but penitence was so very difficult to him. 'Dear little mother,
+don't fret; I'll do better for the future,' he said caressingly.
+
+No experience of the fragile nature of his promises had availed to make
+his mother distrust him. 'My darling, I'm sure you will,' she answered
+with ready confidence.
+
+He was so anxious to assure her of his good intentions, that he had
+nearly revealed the secret of his intended labour at Cæsar, and his
+desire to obtain the half-crown to aid his plans for the desert, but he
+remembered in time that it was his brothers' secret as well as his own;
+and Lackland, if he lacked wisdom and steadiness and industry, was at
+least not deficient in a sense of honour, so he was silent. But he could
+almost have thought that she guessed at his scheme when she went on, 'If
+you would only pursue one thing steadily, and _make_ yourself do it in
+spite of disinclination, you don't know what good it would do you, and
+how it would help you in everything else. Be a hero, Johnnie, and
+conquer your idleness!'
+
+'I mean to be a real hero some day, mamma,' he answered, smiling. 'You
+know Uncle Gustavus has promised to use his interest to get me a
+commission, and then you shall see how well I'll serve the Queen. Don't
+you remember telling me how Bertrand du Guesclin was a great bother to
+everybody when he was a boy, but yet he grew up so jolly brave that
+people were glad to run to him for help when he was a man?'
+
+'And his mother hadn't patience with him, and yet afterwards lived to be
+proud of him: is that the inference you mean me to draw, Johnnie?'
+
+'No, no, no! she was a cross old thing. Don't you remember how she was
+going to have Bertrand beaten, when that kind old nun stopped her?
+You're not a bit like her, dear little mamma,--not a scrap, not an atom!
+But oh, mamma, when will you be able to read us all those famous stories
+about heroes? They're the only things I ever remember, and I'm pining
+for one of them.'
+
+'You shall have one as soon as papa thinks I'm strong enough to read
+aloud. But, my hero, I want you to consider that before you can get a
+commission you must pass an examination, and knowing about Du Guesclin
+won't make up for deficiency in arithmetic and French grammar.'
+
+'Oh, I'll see about all that; I'll work night and day sooner than not
+pass, for I _must_ be an officer. You know, mamma, we've settled it all.
+Honorius is to be a doctor, like papa, and I'm to be a soldier, and
+Willie is to be a clergyman, and Duncan a sailor, and Seymour a
+merchant, and Archie a lawyer, and Georgie--somehow we never can settle
+what Georgie is to be--but something, of course, you know; and then you
+will have us all, mamma, your seven sons, "seven Campbells," as Willie
+has taken a fit for saying, and we shall make you so proud of us!'
+
+'I hope so; but, my Johnnie, we must not forget that if my seven are
+spared to me, and I to them, it will be by GOD'S great mercy.'
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+JOHNNIE'S PROTEGE.
+
+JOHNNIE completed his task in two or three days, labouring at it at
+first very earnestly, then growing tired, getting careless, and finally
+finishing it up in a hurry, with so little effort at accuracy of
+rendering or clearness of style, that any one less sanguine than he
+would have considered the attainment of the half-crown hopeless.
+Honorius glanced over the translation, and shook his head ominously,
+wishing that he might be allowed to make some improvements in it; but
+his father's injunction to Johnnie to accept no help put this out of the
+question, so it was delivered into Dr. Campbell's hands just as it was.
+The first part was very satisfactory. 'Very good, very good indeed,
+Johnnie!' he exclaimed as his eye ran rapidly down the neatly written
+lines; but his face lengthened as he went on. 'Why, how you have begun
+to scribble here, Johnnie!' he said as he reached the middle. 'And what
+_do_ you mean by this? You have not even given the sense of this passage
+correctly. Here, take the book and translate it to me word by word.'
+
+Johnnie stumbled wofully in his rendering, not from confusion, but from
+sheer ignorance; and both the written and verbal translation went on
+getting worse and worse, till at last the Doctor, who was rather a hasty
+man, lost all patience, and tossed the whole production into the fire,
+exclaiming, 'Pshaw! far from deserving any reward, that translation is
+the most wretched exhibition of carelessness and idleness that I ever
+saw. I don't know what's to become of you, Johnnie, if you can't, or
+rather _won't_, do better than that!'
+
+The little boys glanced at poor Lackland in terror and dismay, and
+Willie's eyes filled with tears; but Johnnie only coloured, and,
+shutting up the volume of Cæsar, put it in its place again, and resumed
+the occupation of making a willow-wand into a bow, on which he had been
+engaged when his father summoned him. If Honorius had met with such a
+rebuff, he would have remained bitterly hurt and ashamed for the rest of
+the day, and Willie in the same case would have been utterly humbled and
+discouraged. Not so 'Jean-sans-terre.' What his cogitations were, his
+brothers could not decide; but the result was, that when he had bidden
+his father good-night, he paused a minute, and then added, 'May I have
+another try at Cæsar, papa?' The tone was bright and cheery, and Dr.
+Campbell looked up in pleased surprise--
+
+'Do you really mean it, Johnnie?' he said hopefully.
+
+'Yes, I do indeed, papa; but perhaps you wouldn't like the trouble of
+looking over another translation. I know that one was awful.'
+
+'If you can take the trouble of writing it, I shall not begrudge the
+trouble of looking over it; but mind, it must be well done. I'd rather
+you took a month about it than brought me such a one as that of
+to-night.'
+
+'Oh, thank you, papa, but that wouldn't suit me at all; I want the
+half-crown as quick as I can get it. I'll work night and day rather than
+not have the translation done soon.'
+
+'Then I am to understand it is merely for the sake of the half-crown you
+are willing to do this bit of Cæsar over again?' said Dr. Campbell
+disappointedly: 'I had hoped that it was from a better motive--a real
+desire to improve and conquer your carelessness, or a wish to please
+and satisfy your mother and me.' He looked full at his son as he spoke,
+and seemed to expect an answer. It came, bold and true: 'I was only
+thinking of the half-crown, papa.' Yet if Dr. Campbell could have known
+to what purpose the half-crown was to be devoted, he would have seen
+that love to the mother was the primary motive, after all, and would not
+have turned away so coldly as he did from this apparently mercenary
+speech. Honorius thought so, and would have explained; but Johnnie
+pulled his sleeve and whispered something, and meanwhile the Doctor left
+the room.
+
+'Oh, how could you answer like that, Johnnie?' remonstrated Willie when
+the two boys were alone in the attic which they shared together. 'If you
+had told papa what you wanted the half-crown for, he would have been
+pleased, whereas now I don't know what he thinks of you.'
+
+'I only gave a plain answer to a plain question,' said Johnnie. 'If he
+had asked me what I wanted the money for, I might have told him.'
+
+'But it appeared----'
+
+'I don't care what it appeared,' interrupted Lackland, laughing; 'I only
+wish papa hadn't burnt the whole of my translation: the beginning of it
+was all right, and I might have copied it straight off, instead of
+having to make it all out again.'
+
+'Oh yes! that was dreadful,' replied Willie. 'And then what he said too!
+I was so sorry, Johnnie; I knew you must be so ashamed.'
+
+Jean-sans-terre's eyes seemed to be searching after penitence again, as
+they had when his mother spoke to him.
+
+'_Ought_ I to have been ashamed?' he asked with simplicity.
+
+The question appeared to Willie so extraordinary, that he really didn't
+know what to say in answer. He pondered over it seriously while he was
+undressing, and added to his evening prayers this clause: 'Make Johnnie
+more sorry when he has vexed papa.'
+
+Dr. Campbell was certainly vexed and disappointed with his son, and
+showed it a little in his manner, which was, however, quite useless as
+far as Johnnie was concerned, for he never even remarked it. There are
+children so sensitive, that the faintest shade of sadness or disapproval
+in the manner of their elders towards them will suffice to make them
+unhappy for days; there are others who, unless they are actually scolded
+or punished, never perceive that anything is amiss: and Johnnie was one
+of these last. He was just as pleasant and affectionate to his father as
+usual, just as fearless in his remarks and questions, and showed up his
+translation, when he had finished it, quite as unconcernedly as if no
+previous one had ever existed. He got the half-crown this time, and a
+fair meed of praise, which he received with undisguised satisfaction,
+and the mental reflection that 'papa was very kind.'
+
+Dr. Campbell did not inquire how he meant to spend the money, not
+wishing to show a want of confidence in his son; and Johnnie tarried for
+no explanation, but raced off to the nurseryman's, only pausing to tell
+Honorius that he was no longer 'sans argent,' and to ask what plants he
+should buy.
+
+The boys, by constant labour, had managed already to dig up the proposed
+flower-border and to level the part intended for the paths; but Honorius
+was sadly at a loss as to where they should get gravel for the latter.
+He could not help looking rather wistfully at a great heap of
+it--beautiful golden gravel too--which lay in one corner of the garden
+of an old lady to whom his father one day sent him with a message; and
+Mrs. Western--as this old lady was called--noticed her young friend's
+expression, and asked what he was thinking of. He told her of his plans
+for the desert, and inquired where such gravel was to be bought, and if
+it were very dear. She replied that it was rather so, but this had been
+given her by her son-in-law, who had a gravel-pit on his estate, and
+added very kindly, 'You are quite welcome to have what you see there,
+for I have used as much as I shall want for the present; only you must
+send some one for it, for I can't ask my maid to carry gravel.' Honorius
+thanked her warmly, and joyfully accepted her offer, promising to send
+some one for the gravel as soon as he possibly could.
+
+The difficulty was to know whom to send, for the Campbells' in-door
+servants were all maids; and when the boys begged the old man who took
+care of their father's horse and drove his gig to go to Mrs. Western's
+for them, he replied surlily that he had hard work enough as it was
+('night and day both, sometimes, when master is sent for from a
+distance'), and declined to assist them.
+
+'I know,' said Johnnie. 'The next half-holiday Bob Middleton would do it
+for sixpence or a shilling; he could take the wheelbarrow and get a load
+at a time. I declare I wouldn't mind fetching it myself, if I thought
+papa wouldn't object.'
+
+'Oh, nonsense,' said Honorius. 'Work as hard as you like here, but don't
+take to wheeling gravel through the village, pray. Bob Middleton might
+do, only he's such an impudent fellow. I hate having anything to say to
+him.'
+
+'Oh, I'll transmit your royal commands to him, if that's all,' said
+Johnnie; 'only say yes, and I'll look him up this afternoon: perhaps he
+might go to Mrs. Western's for us at once.'
+
+Honorius gave a reluctant consent, and accordingly Johnnie appeared in
+the desert soon after three o'clock, accompanied by a youth of fifteen,
+very raggedly attired, and with a face which was an extraordinary
+compound of ugliness and roguery. Bob undertook for a shilling to fetch
+all the gravel from Mrs. Western's, and set off at once for the first
+load, with which he returned ere long. He came and went several times;
+but at last such a long interval elapsed between his going and
+returning, that the boys began to be alarmed.
+
+'He's gone off with the wheelbarrow, I do believe,' said Honorius.
+
+'"Body o' me!" as old King Jamie used to say, you don't suppose such a
+thing,' cried Johnnie. 'Spite of his objections to soap and water and
+the English grammar, I have a higher opinion of Bob than that.'
+
+But as still time passed on and Bob did not return, Duncan and Seymour
+were sent in search of him. They looked for him by the way, but saw
+nothing of him, and at length arrived at Mrs. Western's house and rang
+the bell.
+
+'Has a boy been here for some gravel Mrs. Western promised us, or is he
+here now?' inquired Duncan of the maid who came to the gate.
+
+'He has been here, Master Campbell,' she replied, 'but he's gone off as
+fast as his legs can carry him, and he's taken mistress's new
+thermometer with him that hung on the south wall, and he's trampled over
+all the beds, and Mrs. Western she saw him from the window; and your pa'
+was passing, so she called him in; but the boy made off, and it'll be a
+wonder if the police are not sent for. They're a bad set, those
+Middletons.'
+
+Duncan's eyes grew round with excitement, and Seymour, who was rather
+timid, began to cry. He wanted to run home again, but Duncan considered
+such a proceeding cowardly; and while they were debating the point, Dr.
+Campbell saw them, and called to them to come in.
+
+'Who sent Bob here for the gravel?' he inquired.
+
+'Johnnie sent him; Honorius said he might,' replied Duncan.
+
+'Of course they never thought how the boy would behave,' said kind old
+Mrs. Western. 'I daresay they didn't know he wasn't a fit person to be
+trusted.'
+
+'They might have known,' said Dr. Campbell; 'Johnnie at least has heard
+me say that Bob was ripe for any mischief, and he knows I refused to let
+him take him out fishing with him. If Honorius had told me of your kind
+present, I would have sent some proper person for the gravel.'
+
+'Honorius did say Mrs. Western had promised us some gravel after dinner,
+papa, but you were just going out, and I suppose you didn't hear him,'
+said Duncan. 'He didn't like sending Bob much, but we didn't know who
+else to get.'
+
+'You should have asked,' began his father; but seeing that Seymour was
+frightened, he checked himself, saying, 'It's no blame to you little
+ones; I don't suppose you had anything to do with it. Run away home if
+you like.'
+
+'Oh, but let Sarah cut you a piece of cake first,' said Mrs. Western.
+'My dear (to Seymour), don't fret; you shall have the gravel all the
+same.'
+
+Mrs. Western's maid brought them out two large slices of pound-cake,
+which, after they had thanked their kind old friend, they took away with
+them, Seymour beginning directly to munch at his slice, while Duncan put
+his into his pocket.
+
+'Papa didn't say we _must_ go home,' he observed,--'he only said we
+_might_ if we liked; so you can go, and I'll try and find Bob, and tell
+him I'll give him this piece of cake if he'll give back the thermometer.
+I'm so afraid, if he doesn't, Johnnie'll get into trouble; and besides,
+it's so wicked to steal.'
+
+'Yes,' said Seymour with his mouth full of cake; 'and I'll tell you
+what, Duncan,' reluctantly but firmly, 'you may take the rest of my
+piece too.'
+
+Duncan, however, declined this, and trudged away, resolutely resisting,
+as he went along, the temptation to eat even a _crumb_ of his own
+delicious-looking slice. He soon arrived at Mrs. Middleton's cottage,
+but of course Bob was not there; and his mother, who was a widow, and
+supported herself by washing, came to the door with her arms covered
+with soap-suds, and after hastily answering that 'Bob was nowhere's
+about, plunged them in the wash-tub again, and took no more heed of
+Duncan. He hesitated whether to tell her about the thermometer or not,
+but had been so impressed with the naughtiness of 'telling tales,' that
+he could not make up his mind it could be right, even in this case, and
+so turned away and ran back to the desert, where he found his father
+speaking to Honorius and Johnnie.
+
+'Didn't you remember, boys, what I said about Bob when you wanted to
+take him out fishing with you?' he was asking.
+
+'It was to me you said it; Honorius was not in the room,' Johnnie said
+quickly.
+
+'Very well, then, you at any rate knew my opinion of Bob Middleton, and
+must have known that you were doing wrong in employing him without my
+leave.'
+
+'I didn't think,' said Lackland carelessly.
+
+'Then I must teach you to think. Put down your spade and go into the
+house, and up to your room.'
+
+There was no mistaking Dr. Campbell's manner now; even Johnnie was
+obliged to perceive the displeasure he had provoked: he stuck his spade
+into the ground, and turned towards the house.
+
+Duncan dashed after him. 'Here, Johnnie, take this piece of cake. Mrs.
+Western gave it to me; it's so good--do have it, see!'
+
+Lackland was by no means too miserable to appreciate this attempt at
+consolation. 'It looks jolly,' he said, 'but I won't take it all; you
+must have half yourself, Duncan,' and he broke it in two.
+
+Duncan would rather his brother should have had the whole, but he was
+glad to see him munching the half even so contentedly. 'Do you think I
+may go up into your room with you?' he inquired.
+
+'No, no; papa didn't mean that, I'm sure. Don't stop me, old fellow;
+good-bye,' and Johnnie ran off and up to his room as fast as he could
+go. He had not been there more than five minutes, when there was a sound
+of little toddling steps along the passage, and two fat hands came
+drumming on the door. 'What do you want, baby?' said Johnnie, rising and
+opening it.
+
+'I want to tiss 'oo,' answered the child, lifting up his chubby face.
+
+Johnnie bent down and kissed him, asking, 'How did you know I was here,
+Georgie?'
+
+'Ma heard 'oo tome up 'tairs; ma say what matter wis 'oo?'
+
+'Tell her papa sent me up,' faltered Johnnie; 'or stay, say----'
+
+'I say 'oo naughty,' said Georgie, whose infantine mind had already
+jumped to the right conclusion. He scampered off with this message, but
+speedily returned: 'Ma say she vezy sorry; ma say I may tiss 'oo again.'
+
+'I wish I might go to her,' thought Johnnie, and in his softened mood
+the little brother's kisses were so sweet to him, that he could scarcely
+make up his mind to let Georgie go. But he did, and stepped back
+resolutely into his room, while the little one, announcing, 'I going to
+tea now,' trotted off again down the passage. Meantime Honorius was
+showing his father the scarlet geraniums that Johnnie had bought with
+his half-crown, and expatiating on the quantity of digging he had got
+through, although, being occupied with Cæsar, he had not had so much
+time to spend in the desert as the others.
+
+'Poor fellow! Well, he has behaved much better than I thought,' said Dr.
+Campbell relentingly. 'I'm afraid I was rather hard on him just now;
+that's the worst of being too hasty.'
+
+Of all things, Honorius could not bear that his father should reproach
+himself. 'I'm sure Johnnie admits that he was in fault about Bob, papa,'
+he said.
+
+'And do you know I've got a bright idea about Bob and the thermometer,
+papa,' said Willie. 'May I go as far as Farmer Merryman's field and
+back? I won't be long.'
+
+'Certainly you may, if it's necessary for the development of your bright
+idea, Willie; but make haste home to tea. And you, boys, come in with
+me; if you're not hungry, I am.'
+
+In the strength of his bright idea Willie ran along like a greyhound;
+moreover, it was pleasant to feel how completely his father trusted
+him. He went across the fields till he came to Farmer Merryman's pond,
+which was overhung by a willow-tree, whose branches were thick enough to
+afford a tempting seat: it was a lonely place, and a favourite resort of
+Bob's, as Willie well knew; and here he hoped to find him. Was he there?
+Yes--no--yes! and Willie almost shouted with delight, but restrained
+himself, and advanced cautiously to the foot of the tree. 'Bob,' he said
+softly, 'Bob, I want to speak to you, please.'
+
+Bob gave a violent start, and looked down rather savagely at the
+adventurous child who had discovered his hiding-place. 'What d'ye come
+prying here for?' he asked rudely.
+
+'I came to ask you to give back Mrs. Western's thermometer,' said
+Willie; 'and my brother Johnnie says he's _quite_ sure you didn't mean
+to steal it.'
+
+'No more I did; what's the worth of it to me? I'd only taken it down
+just to look at it, like, when out came those maids a-storming and
+a-scolding, and vowed they'd fetch the justice; so I made off, and took
+the 'mometer with me, for I hadn't had half a look at it.'
+
+'Oh, but you've done with it now, so do take it back,' pleaded Willie
+urgently.
+
+'Don't you wish you may get it? You'd like to see me make such a fool of
+myself, wouldn't you?'
+
+'Well, then, let me take it, and I'll tell Mrs. Western how it was, and
+ask her not to be angry with you. If you give it me, I'll give you the
+shilling that you were to have had when you fetched all the gravel: of
+course you can't fetch any more of it for us now, but we would rather
+you had the shilling. I'm so glad you didn't mean to steal.'
+
+Bob calmly surveyed the flushed, eager face that was turned up to his.
+'It's you that's to be the parson, ain't it?' he said mockingly.
+
+Willie made no reply, but folded his arms and leant back against the
+tree, looking such a perfect little gentleman, that some dim perception
+of his own impertinence flashed upon Bob's eccentric mind.
+
+'It worn't all on my account you comed along here, was it?' he inquired.
+
+'No; partly on Mrs. Western's, and partly on my brother Johnnie's. Papa
+is displeased with him for having sent you for the gravel; and, Bob, you
+know Johnnie _trusted_ you.'
+
+Bob grinned, and Willie felt that the appeal to his sense of honour had
+failed; but, though very impertinent and mischievous, he was not a
+thoroughly bad boy, and now swung himself down from the tree, bringing
+the thermometer with him.
+
+'If I give it to you, you must promise not to tell where you found me,'
+he said; 'I won't have other folks prying after me here.'
+
+'I won't tell Mrs. Western, if that's what you mean,' said Willie; 'and
+I'll ask her to forgive you.'
+
+[Illustration: 'CAN'T HELP THAT,--HERE GOES.'
+
+_See page 52._]
+
+'My! you may do as you like about that. I ain't in such a hurry to be
+forgiven. But what I mean is, you ain't to tell your father nor nobody
+where you found me.'
+
+'I must tell papa if he _asks_ me,' said Willie.
+
+'Then you shan't have the 'mometer; I'll pitch it into the pond.'
+
+'That would be wicked,' said undaunted Willie, 'for it does not belong
+to you.'
+
+'Can't help that; here goes,' and he held it over the edge of the pond.
+'It'll be in in another minute if you don't say you'll not tell your
+father.'
+
+'I shan't tell him if he doesn't say I am to; but if he does, I must.'
+
+'Why must you?'
+
+'Because I must obey him, even when I'd rather not; it's right.'
+
+'That beats all,' said Bob in unbounded surprise; but he didn't throw
+the thermometer into the pond. It was some time, however, before Willie
+could persuade him to give it up, though at length he did, and received
+the shilling, observing,
+
+'I could ha' took this from you if I'd liked, and kep' the 'mometer too;
+but I ain't a thief, let folks say what they please.'
+
+'No, I know you're not,' said Willie. 'Oh, Bob, if you would only----'
+
+'What?' said Bob; 'you hadn't no call to stop just then. I thought you
+was a-going to make a fine speech.'
+
+'No, I mustn't.'
+
+'Mustn't what?'
+
+'Mustn't lecture; mamma won't ever let me. There are other people to
+teach you.'
+
+'They did teach me a lot,--parson did, and schoolmaster did; but I got
+tired of it, and now I'm too big to go to school. But I'm thinking of
+looking out for a bit of work.'
+
+'Oh do, do, _please_; we should be so glad.'
+
+'If you ain't the funniest little gentleman!' said Bob with increasing
+astonishment. 'But I kind o' like you too, I ha' been thinkin' o'
+taking a turn for the better, as they say, lately; but bless you, not
+even my mother would believe I was in earnest, so who is there to care
+if I do?'
+
+'Seven Campbells,' said Willie; and then, fearing this was not quite the
+truth, he added, 'No, Georgie is too young to care, but all the rest of
+us would be glad, Bob;' and when he had said this he ran home. His
+arrival with the thermometer caused great delight to all his brothers,
+and Dr. Campbell called Lackland down to hear the good news, saying
+kindly, 'You have had opportunity for a little thought, Johnnie, my man,
+and I hope will be more careful not to act contrary to my known wishes
+another time; so now come and help us to rejoice over the recovery of
+poor Mrs. Western's thermometer.' Johnnie came, nothing loth, pausing,
+however, to ask, 'May I speak to mamma first? She heard me come
+up-stairs.'
+
+Permission was given, and after a preliminary tap the bonnie face
+peeped into the sickroom. 'All right, dear little mother: I _was_ rather
+in a scrape just now, but papa has forgiven me, and I'm going
+down-stairs again. Good-night, dear mamma.' The white curtains of the
+bed were drawn aside for one minute, and the sweet motherly eyes looked
+out at him.
+
+'Good-night, and thank you for coming to me, my darling boy; only
+remember'--very gently--'a _pardoned_ fault needn't be a _forgotten_
+one, Johnnie.'
+
+'No, mamma.' There was a momentary quiver in the gay, ringing voice, and
+it was quite enough for the mother. 'That will do; I can trust you not
+to forget _this_ time, Johnnie,' she said, and with a happy smile she
+lay down to sleep.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+WHAT SEVEN CAMPBELLS CAN DO.
+
+
+SPITE of obstacles, the labours of the 'Seven Campbells,' as Willie
+grandly called them, did effect a great improvement in the desert, and
+the seventh certainly took his share, so far as such a very small man
+could; for he pulled up a great many weeds with his little fat hands,
+and brushed down the gravel on the walks with a tooth-brush! The Doctor,
+seeing his boys were in earnest, lent them his help whenever he could
+spare time, sent for the remainder of the gravel for them, showed them
+how to lay it, trimmed the borders, sowed some potatoes, and presented
+them with four apple-trees, which he planted at four corners of the
+ground, and called 'Gozmaringa, Geroldinga, Crevedella, and Spirauca,'
+after the names of some apple-trees that belonged to King Charlemagne.
+But, spite of his assistance, there was a great deal requiring the boys'
+exertions; and they worked like Trojans, devoting nearly all their
+play-hours and pocket-money to this object, and finding in it both
+interest and amusement. Johnnie had learnt one or two lessons from this
+undertaking: first, that in working for a good object, it is not only
+necessary to have a right intention at starting, but that constant pains
+and perseverance are requisite,--as in the matter of Cæsar; secondly,
+that a privilege earned is sweeter than one bestowed as a favour,--as in
+the spending of the half-crown, which his own toil had procured;
+thirdly, that even for a good object we must not use bad or doubtful
+means,--as in the matter of the gravel; and fourthly, that hard
+work--digging, or what not--from a right motive, becomes a much greater
+pleasure than any that can be procured by idleness. And he had found
+true, too, what his mother had said, that if he would pursue _one_ thing
+steadily, and make himself do it in spite of disinclination, the
+determination and energy thus acquired would help him in everything
+else.
+
+Midsummer came, and by that time the desert was a desert no longer: it
+was a neat, trim-looking piece of ground with smooth walks, some small
+but promising crops, and a flower-border gay with geraniums,
+nasturtiums, sweet-peas, nemophila, and convolvulus. The mother was
+rapidly regaining strength, and had been down-stairs several times, but
+only into the drawing-room, which did not look towards the desert: from
+the school-room and dining-room, which had a full view of it, she had
+been jealously excluded. It is to be feared that this precaution had
+caused her a little anxiety, and that she had a secret vision of broken
+slates, torn pinafores, and blotted lesson-books, which she imagined
+were being concealed from her in these forbidden chambers till she was
+supposed to be strong enough to bear the sight of such calamities. But
+the day was now come when her fears were to be dispersed, and a far
+different and much pleasanter surprise was to dawn upon her.
+
+She was to take her first walk, leaning on her husband's arm; and he had
+been privately instructed by his sons to bring her in the direction of
+the quondam desert. They had erected a triumphal arch over the little
+entrance-gate, formed of bent osiers twined with flowers, and surmounted
+with paper flags, on which were inscribed, in large coloured letters,
+such mottoes as the Scotch 'Ye're gey welcome,' and the Irish 'Cead mile
+failte.' Archie and Georgie, gaily bedizened, and with wands in their
+hands, were stationed at each side of the gate to welcome her, and were
+to marshal her up the centre walk, at the top of which her other sons
+were to receive her, and conduct her to a seat which had been prepared
+for her to rest upon. Such was the programme; but how could English boys
+adhere to anything so formal? Directly Archie announced that 'mamma was
+coming' Georgie pushed the gate open, and toddled to meet her, followed
+by all the rest of the boys, leaping, shouting, and laughing, forgetting
+all preconcerted speeches, and much too happy to be even coherent.
+
+'Papa' was afraid such noisy glee would be too much for the invalid, but
+'mamma' would have her way for once, and indulge the boys to the top of
+their bent; so they led the way into the desert, all laughing and
+talking at the same time, till Willie bethought himself that the noise
+and excitement would really be too much for his mother, and first loudly
+exhorted his brothers to be quiet, and then--which was much
+better--became quiet himself, and thus set an example of
+considerateness.
+
+Mrs. Campbell's surprise and delight were great enough to satisfy her
+sons, which is saying a good deal. She would not sit down till she had
+made the tour of the garden (it would be an insult to say 'desert' any
+longer); and she accepted a sprig of Johnnie's geranium, and a handful
+of Duncan's sweet-peas; _tasted_ one of Archie's nasturtium flowers when
+assured by him that it was 'so nice;' was duly edified by the sight of
+the remains of the tooth-brush, worn to a stump by Georgie's sedulous
+and novel use of it; allowed Honorius to pull up a potato root, that she
+might see how healthy and free from disease it was; submitted patiently
+to have her hair ornamented with some of Seymour's convolvuluses; and
+only declined to taste the one hard green apple born by Geroldinga
+(Gozmaringa, Crevedella, and Spirauca were as yet fruitless), from a
+fear that the tender, careful guardian at her side would be
+irrecoverably shocked at such imprudence. She sat down at last on the
+chair of state that had been prepared for her, and owned herself a
+little tired; but her interest and amusement never flagged, and she
+listened with eager pleasure to the history of her sons' exertions.
+
+'They've all worked like horses,--even Georgie, I do believe,' said Dr.
+Campbell, smiling.
+
+'And Johnnie too!' said the mother delightedly.
+
+'Yes, Johnnie has done his work manfully, and has found out that
+industry is pleasure, after all. Haven't you, my boy?' and the father
+laid his hand on his son's shoulder with a proud, pleased look, such as
+Lackland had but seldom called up before.
+
+The bright eyes, which never looked down in fear, looked down now.
+Jean-sans-terre was not so unsensitive to _praise_ as he was to
+_blame_.
+
+'Ah, papa,' said Willie, 'you laughed at us when we began to dig up the
+desert, but now you see seven Campbells can do more than you thought
+they could.'
+
+'And now, when we want anything done, we may look to our seven Campbells
+for it, said Mrs. Campbell gaily. 'Honorius, you were the directing
+genius, were you not?'
+
+'Yes, I believe I planned how it was to be, but it was Willie who first
+thought of it, and proposed that we should do it to please you. I am so
+glad you are satisfied with our work, mother.'
+
+'Satisfied! I am delighted, my Emperor. But now that the desert is _put_
+in order, who is going to _keep_ it so? Are we to look to our seven sons
+for that?'
+
+'Yes, oh yes!' was chorused by six of the seven voices. Johnnie alone
+was silent; but his dimples were all in play, and he had never looked
+more roguish.
+
+'Sans-terre means to steal a march on us, and do more than any of us, I
+do believe, though he won't make promises,' said Honorius.
+
+'Sans-terre shall be sans-terre no longer,' said Dr. Campbell; 'he has
+earned back a right to his own plot of flower-garden, and may enter into
+possession again to-night, if he pleases.'
+
+But Lackland shrugged his shoulders, and declined the burden of
+proprietorship.
+
+'I don't care to have any garden of my own, thank you, papa,' he
+answered; 'I'm happier without it than with it, and there's plenty of
+work for me here. I never want to have anything belonging to me except a
+sword.'
+
+'And some clothes, Johnnie,' said Seymour, who was very matter-of-fact.
+
+The boys laughed, and Johnnie replied, 'Oh, certainly, Seymour. I'm not
+prepared to adopt the full dress of a Mexican general even--a cocked hat
+and a pair of spurs; I must have a full suit of uniform, at any rate.
+But I mean to say I'll never be bothered with a house or a wife, or
+anything like that.'
+
+'Ah, Johnnie,' said his father, 'I may say to you in the words of the
+old song,
+
+          "Bide ye yet, and bide ye yet,
+           Ye dinna ken what'll betide ye yet."
+
+For aught you know,
+
+          "A canty wee house and a cosie wee fire,
+           And a bonnie wee bodie to praise and admire,"
+
+may be your destiny; and perhaps some day you will appreciate those
+treasures as much as I do now.'
+
+Johnnie looked incredulous. But the attention of all was diverted by the
+sudden appearance of a sun-burnt, grinning face over the paling which
+separated the kitchen garden (no longer desert) from the road.
+
+'That's Bob Middleton, I declare!' said Honorius. 'Do you know, papa,
+Farmer Jennings has taken him to work in his hay-field, and says if he
+does well he may perhaps keep him as a farm-labourer?'
+
+'And Mrs. Middleton told Mrs. Western that Bob was beginning to hold up
+his head a bit, and that if he had only a decent jacket she really
+thought he would go to church with her on Sundays,' said Willie.
+
+'Honorius has an old jacket that is only fit for giving away,' said Mrs.
+Campbell; 'don't you think we might make poor Bob a present of it, dear
+Archibald?'
+
+'Oh do, papa,' cried the boys unanimously.
+
+Dr. Campbell had no objection; so Honorius ran into the house to fetch
+the jacket, observing, 'I shall tell him to take himself off when I've
+given it him; it's not manners to stare over at us in this way.' When he
+returned, however, from his colloquy with the grinning Bob, he
+explained, 'He doesn't mean to be rude, he says, but he's so pleased
+that we've made the desert so trim, and that "madam," as he calls mamma,
+is able to come out and see it. He's immensely pleased with the jacket,
+but he doesn't want to go away till he's spoken to Johnnie and Willie.'
+
+Willie ran off at once. Johnnie turned to go with equal haste, then
+paused and glanced at his father: the forgiven fault had _not_ been
+forgotten.
+
+'Yes, go, my man,' said Dr. Campbell; 'and you may bring Bob in if you
+like, just to take a turn round the garden; but don't encourage him to
+stay.'
+
+'Oh, and mayn't we give him Geroldinga's apple?' said Duncan; but the
+Doctor answered, laughing, 'that that would be anything but a benevolent
+present, and that Geroldinga's solitary fruit had better be allowed to
+ripen.'
+
+'I shan't take it,' said Archie, thus innocently revealing, what was
+indeed the case, that he felt some temptation to do so.
+
+'Nor baby won't,' said Georgie manfully.
+
+'No, my little boys will not touch what is not their own,' said the
+mother, glancing down tenderly at the two small faces; 'and some
+summer, perhaps, we may find Gozmaringa and the rest covered with
+apples, and then what apple dumplings we shall have!'
+
+Archie's broad smile told that he relished the idea. Georgie, to whom
+apple dumplings were as yet an unknown delicacy, looked grave and asked,
+'Is appy dumpions nice?'
+
+'Very,' said the laughing mamma. 'But see, here is Bob coming this way.
+Well, Bob, what do you think of my sons' work?'
+
+'It's fust-rate,' said Bob, pulling his rough forelock. 'I hopes you
+finds yourself better, mum.'
+
+'Much better, thank you, and very glad to be out again. I have been
+watching the hay-making in Farmer Jennings' field from my window; I was
+very glad to see _you_ at work there, Bob.'
+
+Bob made an indescribable contortion of his figure, charitably supposed
+to be intended for a bow, and passed on.
+
+'Madam looks palish,' he observed to Johnnie, who was escorting him
+about; 'I doubt she's not very hearty yet.'
+
+'No, it'll be some time before she's quite strong. Has she ever spoken
+to you before, Bob?'
+
+'Oh my! yes. Why, she brought me some doctor's stuff and some sweet cold
+drink when I was so bad with fever two winters ago, and she took and
+spoke up to me last autumn when I was throwin' stones at parson's
+chickens. Besides, I've seen her in the school when I was a little
+chap.' He was evidently proud of his acquaintance with so sweet-spoken
+and kind a lady, and when he left the garden with the jacket under his
+arm, remarked, 'I'll make a bigger haycock than e'er a one else in the
+field right under madam's window, that'll pleasure her, maybe, for it
+smells fust-rate, it does.'
+
+He fulfilled his intention, and pleased Farmer Jennings so much by his
+cheerful industry in the hay-field, that he took him on trial for a
+month as farm-lad, and finding him tolerably satisfactory in that
+capacity, gave him permanent employment. His impudence was not at once
+conquered, and brought him into some trouble; but when he found that the
+farmer and his men would not put up with it as his mother had, he
+learned to put a check on it, and others besides the seven Campbells
+encouraged him in taking a turn for the better.
+
+Johnnie still remained 'sans terre,' by his own desire, but worked away
+in his father's garden as he never had done in the part that was called
+his own. He began to get on better at school too; and Willie joined him
+there after the summer vacation, and helped to keep him steady by his
+example and admonitions. For Willie had certainly a little taste for
+lecturing; and Lackland, the harum-scarum and good-humoured, was just
+the boy both to provoke it and to bear it: if he was a Du Guesclin in
+bravery, he was not in quarrelsomeness, and nothing that Willie could
+say ever made him angry. The mother, too, became well and strong again,
+able once more to exercise her sweet influence through all the
+household; and between the father's firmness and the mother's
+gentleness, those seven boys were well and wisely trained.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Many years have passed since then, and the seven Campbells are no longer
+boys Honorius has been taken into partnership with his father, and is
+known by the whole country-side as 'the young doctor;' Johnnie is
+serving the Queen in a line regiment in India; and Willie has lately
+been ordained, and is working hard as a curate in a large manufacturing
+town. So three of the seven have had their wish. But Seymour has been
+taken by one of his uncles, a rich banker, into his counting-house;
+Duncan is not gone to sea,--he has just passed a competitive
+examination for the Indian Civil Service; as for Archie, he is still
+only a schoolboy, and he and Honorius live at home, while the others are
+scattered far and wide.
+
+But nowhere on earth could you find all those seven Campbells now, and
+there has never been any need to decide on a profession for Georgie: the
+youngest, the darling, the flower of the flock, has been called to rest
+the first. Wide tracts of sea and land lie between the mother and her
+darling Johnnie, and a wider distance still severs her from her little
+George, yet to her the seven are but as one band, united for ever by a
+common faith and mutual love. And so much is this the feeling of them
+all, that if you should chance to meet one of those Campbells, and to
+ask of their number, I think, like the child in the ballad, he would
+answer, 'We are Seven.'
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE SENTENCE.
+
+
+IT would be hard to find a pleasanter family group than that which had
+gathered round the tea-table at Wilbourne Rectory one hot bright evening
+in the end of July: a kindly-looking mother, with a dark, sweet,
+brunette face, that _would_ not be careworn spite of forty years of
+life, seven children, and a slender purse; a tall, slight, brown-bearded
+father, a little bald, and with deep lines of thought on the broad
+forehead and around the rather sunken blue eyes; a fair, round-faced
+girl of fifteen, sitting next him; two smaller lasses, with long black
+hair almost straight, clear brown complexions, and a bit of bright
+scarlet bloom on each cheek, that was just like the mother's, only
+fresher and less fixed; a little curly-haired lad of eight, that was
+like nobody in particular; and last, but not least, a Sandhurst cadet, a
+well-grown youth of seventeen, with dark hair, cut very short in
+military style, and a little dark down on cheek and lip, which _he_
+called whiskers and moustaches. He sat on one side of his mother, and on
+the other sat a person who was _not_ a member of the family--Mr.
+Cunningham's curate, a great big broad-shouldered young man, six feet
+three at least in height, with a pleasant, open face, rather sun-burnt,
+and the most good-tempered smile that you can possibly conceive.
+
+Two of the children of the house were absent--the second son, a
+midshipman in the Queen's service, who was now on his way to Japan; and
+the third, who was expected home this very evening from school.
+
+A little talk sprang up about him among his brothers and sisters, begun
+by a 'wonder' from one of the little girls as to when he would arrive;
+and strange to say, at the mention of his name, the lines on the
+father's brow deepened a little, and Mrs. Cunningham's face took for a
+moment quite a sorrowful expression.
+
+'I almost hope he will not come till tea is over,' she said.
+
+It did not sound like a motherly sentiment, but it was spoken out of the
+depths of a true motherly feeling.
+
+Cecil Cunningham was coming home in a kind of disgrace. He had been
+placed at a good grammar school in the county town, some fourteen miles
+from Wilbourne, had won for himself an 'exhibition,' as it was called,
+by which the greater part of his school expenses were defrayed, and
+would have been allowed to keep it till he went to college had his
+progress during the first year been sufficiently good. But, alas! it had
+just been discovered that the marks he had gained for his various
+studies throughout this time did not, when counted up, amount to the
+rather high total which the founder's will required; and so it had been
+announced to him and his parents that he had forfeited the 'exhibition,'
+and could not be received at the school again unless his father were
+prepared to pay the full terms, which, though not very high, happened to
+be more than Mr. Cunningham could justly afford. The middy had lately
+been fitted out for sea. The son at Sandhurst was a considerable
+expense; and though it was hoped that after another six months he would
+succeed in getting a commission without purchase, there would be his
+outfit and yearly allowance to provide; and altogether, Mr. Cunningham
+did not see his way to giving Cecil such advantages as he could wish,
+without the help of that 'exhibition' which the boy had just lost by
+his own fault.
+
+Cecil was very clever, and, though rather idle by nature, had promised
+to work hard at school, and had been supposed to be conscientious enough
+to be sure to keep his word. He greatly wished to be a clergyman; and
+this desire of his had been an intense joy to his father, who, though a
+good deal disappointed at his two elder sons choosing army and navy, had
+consoled himself with the thought that _one_ at least of his children
+had a real desire for the priesthood, and this the very one whose
+talents best fitted him for a university education. From school he was
+to have gone to Oxford; and his whole prospects had seemed fair enough
+till now, so that it was not wonderful that the unexpected news of his
+failure had occasioned great disappointment at the Rectory. His father
+was much displeased with him, and meant that he should feel how great a
+fault his idleness had been; and his mother, who knew this, and believed
+that her boy was _already_ feeling it, was anxious that the first
+meeting should be got over without the presence of spectators.
+
+But just as she spoke, Cecil, followed by the gardener wheeling his
+luggage in a barrow, was seen coming up the gravel walk towards the
+house.
+
+The little curly-haired boy rushed off at once to meet him,--not to open
+the hall door, for that stood wide open already,--but a restraining look
+from the mother stopped the girls, who were rising also; and when Cecil
+came in, the greetings were very quiet, though not in the least cold,
+except perhaps on Mr. Cunningham's part. Cecil had his mother's face, at
+once dark and bright, with brown clear eyes that looked full of
+intelligence, and, alas! seemed to say that their owner might have kept
+his place in the school with ease had he but so chosen. He did not seem
+very conscious or very miserable: he had the true boyish instinct of
+hiding feelings, and looked much as usual, though there was nothing like
+bravado or nonchalance in his manner. When his father shook hands with
+him gravely, and merely said, 'Well, Cecil,' in a short dry way, a
+sudden flush mounted up in his brown cheek; and there was a little
+anxiety in his face when he turned to kiss his mother, as if a sudden
+fear had come over him that she might refuse the caress. But she did
+not; and he sat down calmly enough to his bread and butter, showing a
+very tolerable schoolboy appetite, and munching away rather quickly when
+he found that the others were near the end of their meal. His sisters
+and his little brother volunteered some information about his rabbits,
+and so on; but when they began to ask questions concerning his
+schoolfellows, their father said quietly, 'Let Cecil have his tea,' and
+began a conversation about politics with the curate, in which none of
+the juniors ventured to join except the cadet.
+
+When they rose from the table, the two gentlemen went off to the study;
+and with a sigh of relief one of the little girls exclaimed, 'Oh, now
+you _can_ come and see the rabbits, Cecil; father won't want you!'
+
+Cecil glanced at his mother; but though she was longing for a good hug
+and a little private talk, she thought it better to refrain just then,
+and said gently, 'Yes, you can go with Jessie, but don't go out of
+earshot;' after which she turned away and went up-stairs.
+
+Jessie, who was just a year younger than Cecil, was his special friend
+and ally, and the other long-haired lassie considerately left them
+together, and went off to do some gardening; while little Lewis followed
+at a respectful distance, not able to tear himself quite away from
+Cecil, and yet not presuming to interrupt the confidential talk between
+him and his sister.
+
+The rabbit hutch was in a little yard not far from the house, and within
+view, as it happened, of the study window. Cecil stroked the soft
+creatures' ears, and fondled them a little, and fed them with some
+cabbage leaves with which Jessie supplied him; but his manner was rather
+absent, and presently he said abruptly, 'I say, Jessie, isn't it an
+awful shame?'
+
+Jessie was not prepared for this view of the question.
+
+'I am so sorry,' she said doubtfully. 'I never once thought of its
+happening till Dr. Lomax's letter came; for you know, Cecil, you told me
+you meant to work. Oh! don't you remember saying it here, in this very
+place, when you were making the new bars to Lop-ear's hutch?'
+
+'Well, and I did,' said Cecil gruffly.
+
+'Yes, I know you did; and that made me think you would do it.'
+
+'Well, so I did do it--that's what I mean' said he more gruffly still.
+
+'Did work!' exclaimed she gladly, and quite ready of belief, with the
+tender trustfulness of a true sister. 'But oh, then, Cecil how was it
+that they didn't give you marks enough? I thought you would have lots to
+spare--I did indeed!'
+
+'Humbug!' said Cecil, but not gruffly now; 'it's not so easy to get
+marks as all that. I was quite sure of having enough, though--so sure
+that I hadn't a second thought about it; and I can't tell to this moment
+how it was I didn't, except that Lomax is such a brute!'
+
+'The Doctor!'
+
+'No--his son, the junior master; it was he who counted up the marks.'
+
+'Do you mean the marks you got at the examination?'
+
+'No, the weekly marks I had got in all my studies during the half-year;
+that's the way they calculate to see whether one may keep the
+"exhibition."'
+
+'Do you think he can have made any mistake?'
+
+'He might, perhaps, to spite me; it's not likely otherwise, for he's a
+dab at arithmetic. I asked the Doctor to let me see the book, but he
+wouldn't; and of course I couldn't tell him what I thought, and it would
+have been no use if I had.'
+
+'And you did really work all the time?' said Jessie, looking at him
+tenderly and seriously out of her big black eyes.
+
+'Well, almost all--not quite the last week or two, perhaps: it was
+awfully hot weather, and being so sure, I thought I might take it easy;
+but that couldn't have made the difference.'
+
+'I wish you had been able to say you worked quite all the time,' said
+Jessie gravely, with a little sigh, 'for then father couldn't have been
+angry.'
+
+'I'm afraid he's awfully vexed, isn't he?' said Cecil, with rather an
+anxious glance towards the study.
+
+'I think so; and Percy says' (Percy was the cadet) 'that he doesn't know
+how to manage about your education. Francie and I have been so anxious
+about it: it would be too dreadful if you were not to be a clergyman,
+wouldn't it, Cecil?'
+
+Cecil said nothing, but absently doled out the last cabbage leaf to the
+rabbits in such small morsels, that they nibbled at his fingers as if
+they thought those part of the provender. Jessie was lost in a
+calculation of whether if Frances and she were to have no new frocks for
+a twelvemonth, and to save up all their pocket-money, that would make it
+possible for Cecil to go back to the grammar school, when Mr. Cunningham
+leaned out of the study window and called him.
+
+Though he had been expecting the summons, he started and coloured
+violently, but ran off at once, going in by the back door, which was the
+nearest way.
+
+Jessie went into a little tool-shed, which was close to the rabbits'
+dwelling-place. She did not like to watch the window, but was too
+anxious to be able to go and help Francie with her gardening, or to play
+with Lewis, who was wandering aimlessly about. 'Father,' who was so
+tender to his little girls, who was the very very best man, as Jessie
+believed, in the whole world, could nevertheless be very severe when he
+saw occasion--could reprove in a way which an offender was not likely to
+forget. He had wonderful patience for the blunders of little Lewis, who
+was rather dull, and found lessons a daily difficulty; but he had always
+expected much more of Cecil, who was really full of ability, and had
+sometimes dealt seriously with his fits of idleness in the days of his
+home teaching. And _now_--now when the boy had failed just when every
+principle of duty should have made him exert himself to the utmost--what
+could be looked for? Oh, what a bitter half-hour this must be to Cecil!
+
+Yes, for half an hour passed, and still Cecil did not come back.
+Jessie's fright and agitation were growing very hard to bear. 'Oh I know
+it is right!' she said, clasping her hands together; 'I know we _must_
+be scolded and punished for our faults; only I wish it was me, and not
+Cecil. And, after all, I think there must have been some mistake, for he
+says he _did_ work; and if father could only believe it, I am sure he
+wouldn't be angry, even though Cecil _has_ lost his place in school! Oh,
+I wish it could be made clear somehow! I know! I will ask God to make it
+clear.' And then the little girl prayed to the heavenly Father, whom the
+earthly father had taught her to seek in all her troubles.
+
+Eight o'clock struck, and she started to her feet.
+
+'Oh! I must go in and do my work--I shall only just be able to finish it
+before bed-time. Father must have gone to the choir practice. I wonder
+if he has taken Cecil with him, and if _that_ is the reason why he
+hasn't come back?'
+
+With a deep-drawn breath of relief at this possibility, she ran into the
+house, and meeting her eldest brother in the hall, hastily inquired if
+he knew what had become of Cecil.
+
+'He's in his room, I think,' was the answer. 'Poor little beggar! I
+fancied I heard him sobbing, and wanted to go in, but he wouldn't let
+me. I've just been telling Mary, that if I don't succeed in getting my
+commission without purchase I shall enlist as a private, and never come
+home at all. I couldn't stand seeing you all look as glum about me as
+you do about Cecil.'
+
+'Oh, but, Percy, would that be--' began little Jessie in consternation;
+and then he laughed, and she saw that he was joking.
+
+'Mother's been looking for you,' he said as she turned towards the
+staircase; 'she wants you to do some work.'
+
+'Where's father?'
+
+'Gone to the choir practice a quarter of an hour ago. Good-bye; I'm
+going out for a stroll. Try and cheer up that poor little chap; perhaps
+he'll let you in, as you're his chum.'
+
+Jessie longed to try that moment, but she knew she was due at her
+needle-work, and very unwillingly went into the drawing-room, where her
+mother and sisters were sitting round a lamp-lit table, stitching away
+very busily at a new set of shirts for Percy.
+
+'I was looking for you, Jessie,' said the mother in her pleasant voice;
+'come and work at double speed, to make up for lost time.'
+
+Jessie had never felt less disposed to work; but when Mrs. Cunningham
+made room for her, and gave her the seam she was to do, with a kindly
+sympathy in tone and glance that seemed to say she knew just what the
+little girl was feeling, though she wasn't going to talk about it, all
+her unwillingness melted away. 'Mother is sad too,' she thought. 'I
+won't do anything to vex her;' and so she worked away as neatly and
+diligently as she could till nine o'clock, which was her bed-time.
+
+'I may go to Cecil before I go to bed, mother, mayn't I?' she whispered
+as she was bidding good-night.
+
+Mrs. Cunningham gave permission, and Jessie rushed up-stairs two steps
+at a time, but controlled herself to give a very gentle tap at Cecil's
+door. It must have been too gentle, for he took no notice of it; but in
+answer to another, rather louder, came the question, 'Is it you,
+Jessie?' And when he found it was, he opened the door, which was locked,
+and let her in.
+
+He seemed to have been unpacking, for his little portmanteau was open on
+the floor, and some of his clothes and other possessions were strewn
+upon the bed and the one chair, which was the only seat that the little
+attic could boast; but he was flushed, and his eyes were red, as if he
+had been crying, and he turned away abruptly from his sister when he had
+let her in, and began to dive into the portmanteau again.
+
+'Can't I help you?' said she, not knowing well how to begin her task of
+comfort. 'I'll fold up the clothes and put them in the drawers, while
+you take out the books. Oh! perhaps you meant to leave them in, though.
+You won't want them for the holidays?'
+
+
+'Pretty holidays!' said Cecil passionately, more to himself than to her.
+'A single week!'
+
+'I don't understand,' she rejoined in consternation. 'You're not going
+back to school in a week, surely?'
+
+'I'm not going back to Eastwood at all, but I'm going to a horrid,
+odious, beastly little day school in Fairview;' and Cecil flung out some
+books upon the floor, in a manner which did not bespeak very exemplary
+submission to his father's decrees.
+
+[Illustration: 'JESSIE CAME OVER TO HIM AND HUGGED HIM.'
+
+_See page 92._]
+
+The information itself, and Cecil's terrible adjectives, both dismayed
+Jessie, and for a minute or two she did not speak. Then she said, 'But
+surely there must be holidays at the day school too?'
+
+'They're just over--they began in June. Of course those sort of places
+don't break up at the same time as the public schools, like _we_ do,'
+said Cecil with wrathful contempt.
+
+'And must you begin when the school does?'
+
+'I've got to--that's all; it's to be my punishment, father says,--just
+as if losing the exhibition were not punishment enough!' And he buried
+his face in the portmanteau to hide his tears.
+
+Jessie came over to him and hugged him; and he didn't seem to mind,
+though she could only kiss the side of his cheek and his shirt collar,
+for the greater part of his face was hidden among the books.
+
+'Did you tell him you worked nearly all the time?' she faltered in an
+unsteady voice.
+
+'I began to say something, and he asked me if I could honestly say I had
+done my very best, and I couldn't quite say that, you know, and then he
+wouldn't hear any more. And oh, I'm sure he thinks I did nothing but
+idle my time away!'
+
+'Did you tell him you thought there must be some mistake?'
+
+'I said something about Lomax spiting me, but he wouldn't listen to
+that.'
+
+'Oh no,' said Jessie, who readily understood that her father would never
+admit _that_ explanation of the affair. 'Oh, Cecil, I am so sorry, so
+_very_ sorry!'
+
+'If I had really been idle,' said Cecil, raising up his tear-wet face,
+more crimson than ever from its sojourn in the box, 'then I shouldn't
+care--I mean, it would only be fair that I should be served out for it;
+but when I haven't--when I have tried all this year--oh!----' and he was
+nearly choked by the sobs which, in his desire to be manly, he was
+struggling to repress.
+
+Jessie believed him entirely, and was grieved to the very heart. 'I am
+so sorry,' she repeated. 'But, dear Cecil, _God_ knows; He sees you have
+been trying; _He_ isn't angry with you.'
+
+'Then why does He let this happen?' said Cecil fiercely.
+
+Jessie was startled and shocked, and had no answer ready. 'I don't
+know,' she said at last, through her tears; 'I can't tell why, but He is
+so good--oh, He is _so_ good!--perhaps it will all come right still. I
+will ask Him; and you will, won't you, Cecil? Isn't there something in
+the Bible about its being acceptable with God, if we do well and suffer
+for it?'
+
+'Yes; but I'm not suffering because I've done well, but because I'm
+supposed to have done ill,' said Cecil gloomily. 'There's no good
+talking, Jessie; you'd better go to bed.'
+
+'Perhaps I had,' said Jessie, a sudden thought striking her as she heard
+her father's voice in the passage below; 'but I can't bear to leave you,
+Cecil. I am so sorry, and I do love you so!'
+
+He half returned her tender, sorrowful hug; and then she ran away, but
+not straight to her own room. She darted down one flight of stairs, and
+caught hold of her father, who had come in from the practice, and had
+been washing his hands before going to supper.
+
+'Father,' she said breathlessly, 'please let me say it: Cecil _has_ been
+working--he has indeed. Oh, I am sure you would believe it if you had
+heard what he said to me just now!'
+
+Mr. Cunningham did not draw himself away from the detaining clasp, but
+he said gravely, 'I quite believe that Cecil does not think he has been
+so very idle, but he admits that he has not done his best, and I hope
+in a little while he will see all his fault, and be sorry for it. Don't
+let him talk to you any more to-night.'
+
+'But don't you think there may have been some mistake?'
+
+'No, indeed,' he answered in a surprised tone, which showed that no such
+supposition had ever entered his head.
+
+Then, as she still lingered, he stooped to kiss her, and said kindly,
+'Don't try to comfort Cecil with such an idea as that, my child, but see
+if you can encourage him to do his best for the future.'
+
+'And--father,' she said timidly, 'is he really only to have a week's
+holiday?'
+
+'Yes,' said Mr. Cunningham in his most decided tone; then more gently he
+added, 'I am afraid that is punishing you as well as him, but it can't
+be helped; and as he is only going to a day school, you will not lose
+him entirely.'
+
+Remembering the adjectives Cecil had heaped upon the day school, Jessie
+could not feel this to be quite consolatory; but she only said
+'Good-night, father,' and held up her face for another kiss, which was
+given very tenderly.
+
+Poor little girl! there was a great deal of grief and perplexity in her
+heart that night; but the comfort was, that though she so pitied Cecil,
+she did not distrust the goodness of either the heavenly or the earthly
+father. She could not see the why and wherefore of it all; but when she
+had said her prayers, she laid herself down to sleep trustfully and
+patiently, while Cecil was tossing and tumbling about, feeling as if
+everybody except Jessie were against him.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A BACHELOR'S LUNCH.
+
+
+THE bells were ringing for Sunday Morning Prayer at Wilbourne Church,
+and the congregation was pouring in at the large west door, and the
+choir boys taking the little path towards the vestry, when Mr. Yorke,
+the tall curate, opened the small side gate, which was his nearest
+entrance to the churchyard.
+
+He was passing quickly along, when he caught sight of a boy leaning over
+the paling a little beyond the gate, in rather a disconsolate attitude;
+and first he paused for a minute, and then struck across the grass and
+laid his hand kindly on the boy's shoulder.
+
+'Come in with me, Cecil,' he said in his most cheery tone--knowing that
+the lad usually formed one of the choir when at home, and thinking that
+his ill success at school had made him shy of facing the other
+choristers, who probably knew all about it by this time.
+
+'No, I mustn't,' said Cecil, turning round abruptly and colouring very
+much.
+
+Mr. Yorke was surprised, and showed it. Knowing that Cecil's general
+conduct at school had been very good, he had not thought that exclusion
+from the choir would have formed part of his punishment.
+
+'It's not because of _that_,' said the boy, reading his thoughts in his
+open, kindly face, 'at least not of that alone; it's because I don't say
+I'm sorry, and behave as I'm expected to behave. But oh, if father
+knew----'
+
+He broke off and turned his face away; but Mr. Yorke, who liked the boy
+well, and had one of those sympathetic natures that can feel for
+everybody's troubles, was touched by the bitter, hopeless tone.
+
+'Suppose you come home with me after service, and spend the rest of the
+day with me,' said he, feeling it might really do the boy good to have
+his Sunday free from the sort of atmosphere of disgrace which he felt or
+fancied surrounded him at home.
+
+He could see that Cecil caught at the notion, by the eager way in which
+he looked up; though the answer was,
+
+'Thank you; but perhaps father wouldn't like it.'
+
+'I don't think he will mind; I'll ask him myself. Don't suppose I'm
+inviting you to any great treat: cold mutton and bread and marmalade are
+about all that I have to offer. I don't like to keep my landlady from
+church.'
+
+'Oh, thanks,' said Cecil, laughing, not at all as if the prospect
+alarmed him; and Mr. Yorke laughed too, and saying, 'Well, then, look
+out for me after service,' strode away across the grass, looking back,
+however, at the vestry door, to see if Cecil were turning his steps
+towards the church.
+
+Cecil had not at all liked the idea of taking his place among the
+congregation: he thought that those who noticed him would wonder why he
+was not in the choir, and in his present mood the least humiliation was
+intolerable to him. The two days which had intervened since his coming
+home had not been well or happily spent: he had gone about in a sulky
+injured way, keeping aloof from his father and mother, answering shortly
+when spoken to, and being anything but sociable even with his brothers
+and sisters. Some of them had almost ceased to be sorry for him, because
+he made himself, as they said, 'so disagreeable;' but his faithful
+friend Jessie had borne with him uncomplainingly, and continued to feel
+for him with all her heart. He was a little cheered now by the thought
+that Mr. Yorke felt for him too, and did not seem to condemn him
+altogether; and so--rather slowly--he walked towards the church and went
+in, and took a place near the door, where he thought scarcely anybody
+would see him.
+
+His thoughts wandered far and wide during the prayers, though now and
+then he recalled them by an effort, and tried to attend for at least a
+few minutes; but he could not help listening to the sermon, which was
+preached by his father--his father, whom at the bottom of his heart he
+did warmly love and respect, spite of all the rebellious feelings of the
+last day or two. The text was, 'While I live will I praise the Lord: I
+will sing praises unto my God while I have any being;' and there
+followed a beautiful, fervent exhortation to the spirit of constant
+praise, and then a consideration of the hindrances which check this flow
+of thankfulness in Christian souls. Cecil listened most attentively, and
+with a kind of awe, when among these was named the pride of heart which
+would not acknowledge as deserved such punishment as God might send,
+either directly from Himself or through others--the temper which called
+it 'very hard' that this or that suffering should be laid upon us. He
+did not suppose that his father was thinking of him--nor was he; but in
+the vivid description of feelings which followed he recognised his own,
+and a strange thrill of heart seized him when Mr. Cunningham went on:
+'There is no peace like the peace of those who have conquered all such
+rebellious impulses, such self-justifying thoughts, who have given
+themselves up lovingly to God to be chastened as much and as long as He
+wills. There is no praise like the praise of a soul that can say with
+holy Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him;" or with
+Habakkuk, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit
+be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields
+shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and
+there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I
+will joy in the God of my salvation."'
+
+'If I had sung in the choir to-day, it wouldn't have been real praise; I
+shouldn't have thought of it or meant it,' Cecil owned to himself; and
+it did not seem to him so hard as before that he had been excluded,
+though he was far from entering fully into the spirit of submission
+which Mr. Cunningham had set before his people as the thing to be longed
+and striven for. Entering fully! Ah, with most of us it takes a lifetime
+to do that; but none of us are too young to _begin_ to learn it.
+
+Cecil went back to his old position by the churchyard palings after
+service to wait for Mr. Yorke, but could not quite escape some greetings
+from his village friends, who were 'glad to see him back, and hoped he
+had his health.' He looked up anxiously when he saw his father and the
+curate come forth from the vestry together; but they soon parted, and
+Mr. Yorke came across the grass to him, saying, 'All right, Cecil; you
+can come home with me.'
+
+'Home' was some bachelor lodgings in a very rustic cottage with a porch
+all overgrown with Tangier peas, and a queerly-shaped dining-room, the
+ceiling of which was so low that Mr. Yorke's head seemed but a little
+way off it as he walked about. On the other side of the passage was a
+drawing-room, wonderfully smart and uncomfortable, with groups of wax
+fruit under glass shades on rickety tables, crochet couvrettes over the
+back of almost every chair as well as on the sofa, and a wonderful
+festoon of green and yellow tissue paper round the glass above the
+mantelpiece. Mr. Yorke took Cecil in there while the cloth was being
+laid, but told him he never sat there, as there was not a single chair
+which would bear his weight, nor a table which did not creak when it was
+leant upon.
+
+'I should turn all this trumpery out, and make Mrs. Keeling give me
+something sensible,' said Cecil, with a boy's rough-and-ready way of
+disposing of difficulties.
+
+'No, you wouldn't, if you saw what a delight she takes in it all, and
+what a solace it is to her to come and dust and admire. Between the
+dining-room and a little den I have up-stairs, I do very well. I only
+hope you'll have as snug a little hole and as worthy a little landlady
+when _you_ are a curate in lodgings.'
+
+'I don't know whether I shall ever be a clergyman now,' said Cecil
+gloomily.
+
+Mr. Yorke, who was standing at the window looking out, while his guest
+had ventured on one of the dangerous chairs, turned round in surprise.
+'You don't mean to say you are giving up that? I thought you had wished
+it ever since you were four years old.'
+
+'So I have; and if I had stayed at Eastwood, I might some day have got
+one of the Hulston scholarships, and that would have helped me at
+college; but now there's no chance for me. I'm going to old Bardsley's
+day school in Fairview, and there's nothing to be got _there_.'
+
+'Still I wouldn't give up if I were you, my boy; I would keep the hope
+before me. There's nothing like a high aim to help one through the
+drudgery of school-work, and keep one out of stupid, little, mean
+temptations.'
+
+'I know, and it was for that I worked,' said Cecil, 'at least for that
+chiefly; but it was all no use, and it doesn't seem worth while to try
+any more.'
+
+Mr. Yorke, who had supposed that Cecil _hadn't_ worked, did not quite
+know what answer to make to this.
+
+'I think it seems more worth while than ever,' he said after a minute.
+'If one has lost ground, one must make it up again somehow. You know you
+might be ordained even without going to Oxford, though I don't mean to
+say that a college education is not a good thing, if one can have it.'
+
+'Father went to Oxford, and so did you, didn't you?' said Cecil.
+
+'Yes, there was no difficulty about that, as it happened; but my way was
+not all smooth, any more than yours. I had not been meant for a
+clergyman, and there were objections to be got over, and a good deal
+that was discouraging; but it all came right at last.'
+
+He broke off his sentence rather abruptly, but in his heart it was ended
+thus: 'Thanks be to God for it.'
+
+If Cecil had ever seen the luxurious home from which the curate came, or
+had known what good worldly prospects he had given up to enter holy
+orders, he would have made quite a hero of him in his own mind; but,
+even as it was, he looked up admiringly at the tall manly figure and
+bright resolute face. He liked to feel that Mr. Yorke was his friend,
+and for the moment longed to tell him all his trouble, and see if he
+could give him more help in bearing it than little Jessie could. But he
+was shy of beginning; and before he had opened his lips, a plump little
+old woman in a black silk dress and spotless apron appeared at the door,
+and announced, 'Your lunch is ready, sir.'
+
+_Lunch!_--so they were to dine late; and though the cold mutton was not
+likely to prove a much greater dainty at six than at one, Cecil felt a
+little pride and pleasure in keeping such grown-up hours.
+
+In honour of the young guest, Mrs. Keeling had set out every small
+luxury that either her lodger or she possessed; and there were poached
+eggs, and gooseberries, and sardines, and honey, and pickles, and
+gingerbread, and potted meat, arranged with great display upon the
+table, while the bread and butter and cheese, as being altogether
+ordinary, were exiled to a little sideboard behind Mr. Yorke's chair.
+
+'Is there anything more you require, sir?' said the old dame before
+withdrawing, in a complacent tone that seemed to say, What _could_ they
+require when such a variety was before them?
+
+'Thank you, let me see: would you like some mutton, Cecil?'
+
+Mrs. Keeling almost frowned at this proposal. How could the good young
+gentleman be so inconsiderate, she thought, as to propose to his visitor
+for _lunch_ what was by and by to come up for _dinner_? She was quite
+relieved, however, by Cecil's eager negative, and went off to her
+kitchen well satisfied; while Mr. Yorke, after saying grace, proceeded
+to do the honours of the repast.
+
+'May I give you some pickles, Cecil?' he said mischievously. 'I don't
+see anything to eat with them, so I suppose they are meant to form a
+course by themselves.'
+
+'They wouldn't be bad with bread and cheese,' rejoined Cecil, laughing;
+'some of our seniors eat them with all sorts of things.'
+
+'Well, you can try the combination if you like, but I don't see any
+cheese; and oh, hulloa! there's no bread either. Will you ring the bell
+while I help the eggs?'
+
+'I see them--they're behind you--I'll get them,' and Cecil jumped up and
+set down the bread, but, among the array of dishes which covered the
+small table, could find no room for the butter or cheese.
+
+'We can turn out the pickles, and the gooseberries too, for the
+present,' said Mr. Yorke with a look of amusement. 'Thank you, Cecil; I
+seem to have brought you here to wait upon me.'
+
+'Oh, it's such fun!' said Cecil delightedly. A thoroughly well-arranged
+meal would not have given him half the pleasure that this queer little
+bachelor lunch did.
+
+Before it was over, his spirits were such as entirely to satisfy his
+host; and Mrs. Keeling, when she came to clear away, was gratified to
+find that her home-made gingerbread had by no means been despised,
+though she had been a little offended in the interval by water being
+rung for. What could Mr. Yorke be thinking of, to let the little
+gentleman drink water, when there was cowslip wine and raspberry vinegar
+of her own making in the house, supposing that ordinary wine or beer
+were thought too strong for him?
+
+But Cecil had affirmed that he always drank water at home, and wished
+for nothing else, and Mr. Yorke knew better than to try to lead him to
+other tastes. He liked Cecil's bringing-up altogether--the hardiness and
+the good sense of it, and the kindness that was never spoiling; and
+could sympathize the more with the boy, under the cloud which had come
+between him and his father, because he knew how happy the relations
+between them had been till now. He was ready to talk about school and
+cricket, and his own younger brothers, and anything that seemed to
+interest him; and was rather startled when, as they sat together after
+lunch in a queer little arbour at the end of the garden, Cecil suddenly
+said, 'Do you think a person can help being miserable when they are
+punished for a fault they haven't done?'
+
+'I think it is a great trial,' he answered after a moment's reflection.
+'But surely they would have more reason to be miserable if they _had_
+committed the fault.'
+
+Cecil pondered over this a minute; then he said, 'But how is it _just_
+that they should be punished for what they haven't done?'
+
+'Why, I suppose the person punishing thinks they have done it.'
+
+'Yes, the person,' said Cecil,--and there he hesitated,--'I mean,' he
+said at last, not irreverently, but in a low, earnest tone, 'why are
+things like _this let_ happen?'
+
+Mr. Yorke could only guess what 'this' was, and did not seek to have it
+explained, not wishing to make himself a judge of anything that lay
+between Cecil and his father.
+
+'You mean, why is disgrace allowed to come upon a person which they
+cannot feel they have deserved? I don't think we can always tell why--I
+think we must be content to trust and submit; but it may often be to
+teach them some lesson which they could not have learned without it. For
+instance, suppose a very proud person were punished for telling an
+untruth, which he had not really told: the humiliation might be a check
+to his pride, and in that way might be for his real good.'
+
+'And he deserved it, you mean, for being proud, though he didn't for
+untruth?'
+
+'Yes; and when he came to see this, he would no longer say it was very
+hard.'
+
+This reminded Cecil of his father's sermon, which indeed Mr. Yorke had
+in his mind when he spoke. He was silent a good while, then he began on
+what seemed at first another subject. 'If something that wasn't your own
+fault had come to hinder you when you were being educated for a
+clergyman, shouldn't you have thought you weren't meant to be one?'
+
+'I think it would have depended on what the hindrance was, and a good
+many other circumstances. It isn't only book-learning that makes people
+fit to be clergymen; perhaps I might have been hindered in that, only to
+make me more fit in some other way.'
+
+'What kind of way?'
+
+'Well, I might have needed to learn submission or humility, or a hundred
+things.'
+
+Cecil clasped both hands round his knees, and went swaying himself
+backwards and forwards in a queer kind of way that was more reflective
+than polite.
+
+'I suppose it wouldn't do for a clergyman to be cock-a-hoop,' he said
+presently.
+
+'Well, not exactly, if he meant to be in any sense an example to his
+flock,' returned Mr. Yorke with a smile.
+
+'I know I was very cock-a-hoop just before this disappointment came,'
+thought Cecil, 'and that last week I was careless and all. I wonder
+whether that is why all this has happened!'
+
+He did not say any of this aloud, but it was not pride that kept him
+from the avowal, only a very natural and reasonable shyness of talking
+about himself. He stopped rocking, and sat with his gaze fixed on the
+trees in the distance, without really seeing them a bit. A new feeling
+of half-dismayed contrition was springing up in his heart, but the
+bitterness of resentment and the sense of injury were passing away.
+
+He started when the church bells began to ring. There was evening
+prayer, with catechizing, at three o'clock at Wilbourne Church, and
+evening prayer again, with a sermon, at seven. 'Are you going, sir?' he
+said as Mr. Yorke rose up.
+
+'Not to church now, but I must be off to Bar-end, where I have my class
+of hobbledehoys from the farms.'
+
+'Do you think father will expect me at the catechizing?'
+
+'I should think he would be glad to see you there.'
+
+'I mustn't stand with the choir, I suppose,' said Cecil, hesitating.
+
+'No; but I think, if I were you, I should be all the more anxious to go.
+You're not sulking, I can see, Cecil; so why should you let any one
+think you are?'
+
+'I have been, though,' said Cecil rather awkwardly, breaking through his
+shyness now that truth seemed to require it.
+
+'Well, Sunday is a good day for turning over a new leaf,' said Mr.
+Yorke, with a smile in his eyes that seemed to make no doubt at all of
+Cecil's willingness to do it.
+
+'It seemed so hard at first,' he answered, feeling as if he must excuse
+himself a little.
+
+'Yes, it _is_ a struggle sometimes to accept one's position; but when
+once one has, all the bitterness goes, and one finds oneself not half so
+miserable as one expected.'
+
+How true this was, Cecil soon began to find out from his own experience.
+It was a struggle to take his place beside the schoolboys, instead of
+with the choir, at the catechizing; it cost him something to open his
+lips when first his father seemed to address a question to him, but
+after the first effort it was not half so hard as he had thought it
+would be. He answered thoughtfully and well, and, without putting
+himself unduly forward, showed that he was paying attention, and was
+really anxious to understand and to learn.
+
+Jessie ran up to him in the churchyard after service.
+
+'Oh, Cecil, I am so glad you came! I thought you would have gone to
+Bar-end with Mr. Yorke. Are you coming home now?'
+
+'No, I am going back to his place; he said I might amuse myself with his
+books till he came in. I haven't had dinner yet,' and Cecil felt a
+momentary importance in saying it.
+
+'How hungry you must be!' rejoined Jessie innocently. 'Are you going,
+Cecil? I shall wait for father.'
+
+'Here he is!' said Frances, who was waiting also.
+
+Cecil felt an impulse to rush away instantly, but was glad he had not,
+when his father said in a kind voice, 'Are you coming with us, Cecil?'
+Though he answered, of course, in the negative, his heart felt lighter
+for that kind tone and those few casual words. It was his own sulkiness
+which had made great part of his misery before, and he could see that
+plainly now that he was beginning to get the better of it.
+
+The rest of the day passed very pleasantly, and Cecil enjoyed his talk
+with his good-natured friend very much, though nothing more was said on
+the one subject which absorbed him the most. It was quite bed-time when
+he went home, so he had no opportunity of putting in practice that night
+the good resolutions which were springing up within him; but the next
+day all the brothers and sisters remarked how much more amiable he was,
+and little Jessie's intense belief in his goodness revived in full
+force. He was not so merry as usual: it was impossible he should be
+after his deep disappointment, and with the sense of his father's
+displeasure resting on him, and the prospect of the day school before
+him. Both father and mother were touched sometimes when they caught the
+sad expression of his face; but he was no longer sullen; and if a
+pettish word escaped him, he seemed to catch himself up quickly before
+it could be followed by another.
+
+'I can't see the rights of it yet,' he said to Jessie privately, 'nor
+why I should be so served out for not working, when I _did_ work; but I
+think there were things--feeling set up, you know, and crowing over
+other fellows, and all that--which may have brought me in for this in a
+kind of way.'
+
+Jessie could hardly bring herself to believe that he could have deserved
+it in _any_ way, but his submission was much less grievous and
+perplexing to her than his rebellion had been; and she received these
+few words--spoken rather gruffly, with his back turned to her--as a
+great proof of confidence, which indeed they were.
+
+'If being very good makes people ready to be clergymen, I'm sure Cecil's
+getting ready as fast as he can,' she remarked to Frances.
+
+And though Frances was not so firmly convinced as her sister that
+Cecil's troubles had not been brought on him by his own fault, she
+answered readily, 'Yes, he has been so nice and pleasant since Sunday,
+and hasn't grumbled once about having to go to Mr. Bardsley's.'
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+GOOD NEWS.
+
+
+MR. BARDSLEY'S was rather a large day school, in a town about two miles
+distant from Wilbourne. His terms were low, and he was not particular
+who the boys might be that came to him, so that they behaved themselves
+when they did come; but he taught really well, and was very
+conscientious, and therefore even very careful parents allowed their
+sons to go to him, convinced that there they would be at least well
+grounded in classics and mathematics, and would learn nothing amiss from
+the general tone of the school, though individual pupils in it might not
+be all that could be wished.
+
+[Illustration: 'GOOD-BYE, CECIL.'
+
+_See page 124._]
+
+Cecil was to start from home each day about half-past eight, and not to
+return till after the school broke up at five o'clock, except on the two
+half-holidays--Wednesday and Saturday. Eight miles' walking would have
+been too much for him; and it had been arranged that on the four other
+days he should dine with Mr. and Mrs. Bardsley, and his hours of work
+would be from nine to twelve and from two to five, with tasks to prepare
+at home in the evening.
+
+It seemed rather hard to begin this routine just in the first days of
+August, when the weather was so lovely, and the woods so enticing, and
+holiday cricket-matches going on in Wilbourne Park. Cecil's face was a
+little dismal at breakfast the first morning, and it was real
+self-government which kept him from grumbling when Jessie was helping
+him to put his schoolbooks together. Just as they were firmly strapped,
+his mother came to bid him 'good-bye for a few hours,' with a tender
+kiss and a few cheerful words, and after that his heart felt lighter,
+and he set out bravely; but he was just beginning to think what a long
+dull walk it was, and what a dusty road, and how delightful it would be
+if he might shy his books over the hedge and strike off across the
+meadows to join Percy, who had gone out fishing, when he heard steps
+behind him, and turning, saw the tall curate running along with rapid
+strides. His first impression was that something had happened at the
+Rectory since he started, and that Mr. Yorke was come to take him back;
+but he was soon undeceived.
+
+'I've got business in Fairview,' the young clergyman explained, 'and I
+meant to go in early; and when I saw you pass by, I thought I might as
+well get ready and try to overtake you. I like company myself; don't
+you?'
+
+'Yes, very much,' said Cecil, swinging his books over his shoulder
+cheerfully again, instead of dangling them drearily from the end of the
+strap, as he had been doing before. 'Lewis wanted to come with me, but
+mother wouldn't have liked his walking back alone; and besides, one
+doesn't always want a little chap like that after one.'
+
+'I thought Percy might want to get his watch-chain mended,' said Mr.
+Yorke, with rather a droll expression in his eyes. 'Doesn't it require
+mending periodically? That was what he always used to tell me last
+vacation, when I met him going into Fairview.'
+
+'He hadn't had his watch long then, and was always taking it out to look
+at it,' said Cecil, laughing. 'I think that was how the chain got
+broken. He's used to it now. I wonder if Uncle Percy will give _me_ a
+watch when I'm sixteen. Of course Percy wanted one particularly, because
+of his going to Sandhurst. He's gone out fishing this morning: mustn't
+it be jolly in the water-meadows?'
+
+'Very; but how well this part of the road is watered!--it's quite
+pleasant walking here. I suppose the Fairview water-carts come out as
+far as this.'
+
+'I wish they'd come all the way,' said Cecil; 'I was just thinking how
+dusty it was before I met you.'
+
+'And I was wondering whether you chose the road instead of the path on
+purpose, because you _liked_ the dust: there's no accounting for
+tastes.'
+
+'I'll try the path next time,' said Cecil with a smile. 'Do you know old
+Bardsley, Mr. Yorke?'
+
+'Yes, I met him at the Institute one day, and we had a lively discussion
+about Greek roots. He's a clever man, I think, and has a real taste for
+teaching. When he gets hold of a fellow that cares to learn, I'm told
+there's no limit to the pains he'll take with him.'
+
+'Jim Payne didn't like him at all,' said Cecil, alluding to the son of a
+small farmer in the neighbourhood; 'he said he was an awful brute.'
+
+'Jim Payne likes nothing but idleness, and his father is mistaken enough
+to let him have his way.'
+
+Cecil wisely suppressed some further quotations which he had meant to
+make from Jim Payne's account of Mr. Bardsley; and they walked on
+sociably together, talking of other things. It really seemed quite a
+short walk, after all, though Cecil had fancied it very long when he
+first set out.
+
+He was in tolerably good spirits when he trod that road again in the
+evening, though this time he was alone the whole way. He did not dislike
+either the school or the schoolmaster as much as he had expected; and he
+felt that if he worked hard, and conformed to rules, there was no danger
+of his ever finding Mr. Bardsley the terrible monster that Jim Payne had
+described him to be.
+
+It would, and did, seem a drudgery to prepare school tasks that evening,
+while Percy was enjoying 'elegant leisure;' but there was the Saturday
+half-holiday to look forward to, and Cecil's health was good, and not
+likely to suffer from his speedy return to work. Seeing him so patient
+and industrious, his father wondered how it was that he still expressed
+no sorrow for his past idleness, but did not press him for any such
+acknowledgment. He believed that it would come in time, and was quite
+content to take his present good conduct as a sign of penitence. 'He
+would not bear his punishment so well if he were not really sorry for
+his fault,' he said to himself.
+
+'You are not angry with Cecil now, father, are you?' said Jessie softly
+the next morning, as they stood watching him trudge down the gravel path
+towards the gate on his way to school.
+
+'No; very much pleased in some ways,' he answered. 'How late the post is
+this morning! I'm afraid old Hawkins is stopping for a long chat with
+Mrs. Giles. Just run down the lane and see; and if there is any letter
+for me, bring it at once to my study. I have to go out in five minutes.'
+
+Jessie was running off directly, with her long hair streaming in the
+wind, when her mother called to her to put something on; and she came
+back, snatched her garden-hat and holland cape from their peg, and flew
+away again. Yes, the old postman was standing gossiping with Mrs. Giles
+at her garden gate, just as Mr. Cunningham had foreseen. When Jessie
+breathlessly inquired if there were any letters for the Rectory, the old
+man answered composedly, 'Yes, Missy, three letters for your house--two
+for your reverend father, and one for Miss Mary. Shall I take 'em round,
+or shall I give 'em to you?'
+
+'Oh, I'll take them, please,' said Jessie; and back she flew with them,
+and straight into the study she went, holding out the two that belonged
+to Mr. Cunningham.
+
+'Thanks. This is the one I wanted, from your Uncle Percy,' he said as he
+took them from her; 'and this is from Dr. Lomax. What makes him write
+again, I wonder?'
+
+'Oh, father, do open it, please!' said Jessie excitedly, a sudden hope
+springing up in her breast.
+
+'My child, what can there be in it to signify? It is an account for some
+schoolbooks, perhaps,' said Mr. Cunningham, rather as if he thought her
+a very silly little girl. But when he looked up and saw her eager,
+quivering face, he added, with a smile, 'Well, to set your mind at rest,
+I will just take a glance.'
+
+He opened the letter as he spoke, but it was much more than a glance
+which he gave it. A minute passed, two minutes, three, and still he read
+on and did not speak. Jessie never took her eyes off his face; hope and
+fear struggled together in her heart, and hope was uppermost. But for
+the gravity of her father's silence, she would have felt sure that all
+was coming right.
+
+At last he spoke. 'There _was_ a mistake, Jessie: the marks were counted
+up wrong, it seems, and your brother has not been to blame, after all.'
+
+'And not lost the "exhibition?"'
+
+'No; his marks more than entitle him to keep it.'
+
+'And you will let him go back next month, father?'
+
+'Certainly. Why, my dear----' For Jessie was off like an arrow from a
+bow, and did not even hear his exclamation.
+
+He supposed she had gone to tell the others, and paused to read over the
+letter once more, with deep thankfulness, and much sympathy for Cecil.
+It was from young Mr. Lomax, not from the Doctor: the similarity in the
+handwriting had misled Mr. Cunningham. He said the mistake had been
+discovered by his father, but that, as it had been made by him, he
+could not rest without personally acknowledging it, and expressing his
+regret. He had been himself surprised, in the first instance, at the
+result of his addition; but as he had only to do with Cecil in
+mathematics, in which he was not _remarkably_ proficient, it did not
+seem so astonishing to him as it did to his father, who had watched the
+boy's progress in classics. Dr. Lomax had not gone over the books
+himself at the time, but having occasion to refer to them for something
+the morning of the day on which Mr. Lomax wrote, he had counted up
+Cecil's marks throughout the year, just for his own satisfaction, and in
+doing so had discovered the mistake that had been made. 'We have since
+been over it all together,' continued the son; 'and being now fully
+convinced of my mistake, I hasten to apprise you of it, and to express
+my deep regret.' If Cecil had seen this sentence, and some which
+followed, he would certainly have abandoned his idea that 'young Lomax
+might have done it to spite him.'
+
+'Mother!' called Mr. Cunningham, suddenly remembering the appointment
+which this letter had made him forget for a few minutes; and as his wife
+came running down in answer to his call, he went on: 'Has Jessie told
+you, love? I mustn't stay--but take the letter; I shall try to get down
+in time to meet that poor boy as he comes out from morning school.'
+
+'I haven't seen Jessie,' Mrs. Cunningham answered; but she seemed to
+guess instinctively what the letter contained, and one glance at it
+confirmed her impression.
+
+'My darling boy! oh, thank God!' she exclaimed. 'Lewis, you will bring
+him straight home with you, won't you?'
+
+'If I don't, I shall have you following me and hugging him before the
+whole school,' said her husband, laughing, but almost with tears in his
+eyes; and he hurried away, while she went joyfully back to the
+drawing-room to tell Mary and Frances the good news.
+
+They literally 'jumped for joy;' and there was a kind of triple hug
+between the mother and her daughters, from which Frances was the first
+to break away, crying, 'Oh, where's Jessie? do let me tell her! how glad
+she will be!'
+
+'She knows, I think,' said Mrs. Cunningham; 'it was she who brought
+father the letter. But find her by all means, and Lewis too, that we may
+all be happy together.'
+
+Lewis was easily found, but nothing could be seen of Jessie; and
+presently her little brother was sent to the meadows where Percy was
+fishing, to see if she had run there with the tidings; but there she was
+not, and there was some consternation at the Rectory when the fact was
+announced.
+
+'I really think she must have gone to Fairview,' said Mary anxiously.
+
+'Perhaps she thought she could overtake Cecil,' suggested Frances. And
+though they did not know it, this guess hit the exact truth.
+
+When Jessie left the study, she firmly believed that if she were only
+quick enough she could catch Cecil, who was very likely to linger on his
+way; and she had a vision of finding him leaning over a certain gate
+which opened into a harvest-field, and which was a favourite
+halting-place with all the young people.
+
+No, he was not at the gate; but Jessie, full of her one idea of
+overtaking him, flew on and on till she had reached the outskirts of the
+town, and still she saw nothing of him--the truth being, that not having
+allowed himself more than enough time for his walk that morning, he had
+hurried on instead of stopping anywhere, and was in school by this time.
+She was dismayed when the country road began to turn into a street, and
+realized for the first time how far she had come. She had not had a
+thought of doing wrong when she began to run after Cecil, but now she
+was struck with a sudden sense of misdemeanour, and a fear that 'mother'
+would be angry.
+
+'I wonder if I ought to go back,' she said to herself, 'or whether I may
+just go on to Mr. Bardsley's! It isn't far now, and then Cecil could
+come back with me, I daresay. Perhaps I could still catch him just as
+he's going in.'
+
+Inspirited by this thought, she began to run again, and in a little
+while she was standing opposite the square brick house which she knew to
+be Mr. Bardsley's. There was not a sign of a boy on the steps, nor was
+there any sound of voices from the playground; evidently Cecil and his
+companions were already at study. She stood there, panting and weary,
+not very well knowing what to do next.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+'IT'S ALL RIGHT!'
+
+
+JESSIE fancied that if she rang the bell and asked for Cecil, she should
+be either sent away or shown into the great schoolroom; and the idea of
+facing Mr. Bardsley and all the boys seemed to her very terrible--almost
+too terrible to be entertained for a moment. But then, to leave Cecil in
+ignorance of the good tidings that she had run all this way to bring to
+him!--to let him go on through the day still feeling himself in
+disgrace, and not knowing that all was explained! No, she could not bear
+that either. She put up a trembling hand, and not daring to meddle with
+the big knocker, which looked prepared to make any amount of noise,
+took hold of the bell at the side of it, and gave a feeble tinkle,
+which would scarcely have been audible to the housemaid had she not
+happened to be close at hand cleaning the hall lamp. She opened the door
+so suddenly, that Jessie, who was prepared to wait some time, was quite
+startled, and so confused that she could not say anything.
+
+'Did you ring?' asked the maid sharply, looking down in amazement at the
+dusty little figure and flushed frightened face.
+
+'Yes; oh, please,' said Jessie, recovering herself, 'is Master
+Cunningham here? and would you tell him that I want to speak to him a
+minute?'
+
+'The young gentlemen are in school--they can't be disturbed now,'
+replied the servant, preparing to shut the door.
+
+'But oh, please, if you would tell him I've come with news from home,
+and I want to see him so much,' said Jessie desperately; 'I'm his
+sister.'
+
+The maid looked hard at her, and Jessie felt sure she spied out the
+gloveless hands under the holland cape; but with as much dignity as she
+could muster, the child added, 'I'm Miss Jessie Cunningham;' and
+something in her tone and manner must have borne out the assertion, for
+with a quick 'Step in here, please, and I'll speak to Mrs. Bardsley,'
+the maid opened the door wider instead of shutting it, and allowed her
+to enter the hall.
+
+She then gave her a chair, and went into a room close by, from which she
+soon reappeared, followed by a quiet-looking lady, not very old, but
+with a cap and spectacles, and something about her which made Jessie
+feel quite ashamed of her own heated, untidy condition.
+
+'You have come with a message for Master Cunningham, I understand; I
+trust no accident has occurred at his home,' said Mrs. Bardsley in a
+voice as quiet as her face.
+
+'Oh no! it's all good news, and I thought I should have overtaken him,
+but I didn't; and oh! if you would please let me see him, and then
+perhaps he would come back with me.'
+
+'I don't think he can return till after school, unless you have brought
+an order from his father to that effect,' said the schoolmaster's wife;
+'but come and sit down, and then perhaps you will be able to explain
+yourself more fully.'
+
+She took Jessie into a prim-looking sitting-room; and in rather a
+confused way the little girl did contrive to explain what had brought
+her, and how important her news would be to Cecil. 'And if Mr. Bardsley
+would let him come back with me I don't think father would mind, and
+mother would like it so much better than my going back alone. I oughtn't
+to have come, I'm afraid,' she wound up, feeling every minute more and
+more dismayed at herself.
+
+'I fear you must be causing anxiety at home,' said Mrs. Bardsley, still
+rather stiffly. 'I will send and ask Mr. Bardsley to allow your brother
+to speak to you for a minute;' and she went out of the room, leaving
+Jessie alone.
+
+Some minutes passed, and Jessie grew more and more nervous; but at
+length appeared Cecil, looking very schoolboyish, with a great dab of
+ink on his collar.
+
+She jumped off her chair and ran to him, and got out one great 'Oh,
+Cecil!' and then, instead of saying anything more, she began to sob.
+
+'What is it? what's up?' said he in utter amazement. 'Don't cry, don't
+cry; is anything wrong at home?'
+
+'Oh no! it's all right! and you've got enough marks, and you're to go
+back after the holidays. And oh, Cecil! I'm so glad! and I'm so hot, and
+I've run all the way!'
+
+'And you're obliged to cry about it,' said Cecil, laughing, and kissing
+her. 'I say, sit down here in this arm-chair; there, I'll fan you with
+my pocket-handkerchief. How's it all come out? has the Doctor
+written--or what?'
+
+'Yes, I think it was he; and father's so glad, and he said himself you
+should go back. He counted up the marks wrong--not father, but somebody,
+you know--and you've got plenty, and you're not a bit to blame; father
+says you're not.'
+
+A sort of dancing light came into the boy's black eyes, but he didn't
+say a word. Jessie was quite astonished, and a good deal disappointed,
+at his taking the matter so quietly.
+
+'Aren't you glad?' she said; 'I thought you would have been ready to
+jump out of your skin for joy. _I_ was; but I came straight off,
+thinking I should overtake you. How fast you must have walked to get
+here first! Oh, Cecil, do you think I could have a little water?'
+
+'You're too hot to drink cold water,' said Cecil in a wise,
+elder-brotherly way. 'I've got an apple in my pocket; you shall have a
+bit of that.'
+
+It was rather a greenish specimen, and one bite of it more than
+satisfied Jessie, without refreshing her in the least; but she sat
+holding it in her hand, and looking at Cecil with loving eyes, too happy
+to mind much about her thirst and fatigue.
+
+'Do you think Mr. Bardsley will let you come back with me?' she said
+presently.
+
+'Not till twelve o'clock, I'm sure; perhaps he would then. Father didn't
+say I was to come, did he?'
+
+'No, I was so silly I didn't wait to ask him; he didn't know I was
+coming. Cecil, do you think they will be very angry with me? I have
+never been so far alone before.'
+
+'I'm afraid mother won't like it,' said Cecil; but he thought to himself
+that he should always love her for it; and if he had been a girl instead
+of a boy, he would have told her so. 'I must go back to study now; but
+I think you had better wait here, if Mrs. Bardsley will let you,' he
+continued, after a minute's reflection.
+
+'But what will they think at home? They must have missed me. Cecil, I'd
+better go;' and she stood up, feeling how dreary the lonely walk back
+would be, with those tired feet of hers that had run along so merrily
+when the thought of telling the joyful news had been the only one
+present to her mind.
+
+'There's father, I do declare, in old Mr. Rawson's gig!' exclaimed
+Cecil, who was looking out of the window; and sure enough, at this
+moment, a funny old-fashioned carriage drew up at the door, and Mr.
+Cunningham got down from it and shook hands with the owner.
+
+_He_ was not afraid of the big knocker, but the maid was much longer in
+answering his rat-tat-tat than Jessie's feeble ring; and only a sense
+that they were not in their own house, and must not take liberties,
+restrained the children from opening the door themselves. They could not
+resist running out into the hall to meet him, thus forestalling any
+inquiry for them by their immediate appearance.
+
+'Well, Cecil!'--oh, such a different 'well' from the one that had
+greeted him on his return for the holidays!--then to Jessie: 'And so you
+are _here_, little madam! Mother is making herself quite unhappy about
+you.'
+
+Before Jessie could answer, he turned to the maid, asking her to request
+Mr. Bardsley to see him for a minute; and she ushered him into the
+sitting-room where the children had been, and went off with the message.
+
+Then his little daughter got hold of his hand and whispered, 'I didn't
+mean to vex mother; I thought I could have overtaken Cecil. I am very
+sorry.'
+
+'Well, I don't think I need tell you not to do such a thing again,' said
+Mr. Cunningham with a smile, 'for the temptation is not likely to
+recur. These things don't happen every day; do they, Cecil? My boy, I am
+sorry for this week of disgrace, and more glad than I can tell you to
+find it was not deserved.'
+
+Cecil looked down, coloured, put his hands in his pockets and took them
+out again, twisted his eyes in a vain attempt to see the whole extent of
+the ink spot on his collar, and finally, standing quite upright, and
+looking straight before him, said in a very modest and yet manly way, 'I
+am glad you know that I was not really idle, father; but I didn't work
+so hard as I ought the last week, and I was stuck-up and made too sure
+of success. I would rather you knew that.'
+
+Jessie, looking to see how her father took this, was struck by the
+shining of his eyes as they rested on his son; but before he had time to
+make any reply, Mr. Bardsley came in; only, Cecil was sure, by the way
+his father's hand remained upon his shoulder while he was speaking to
+the master, that he understood and appreciated the frank confession, and
+that they should be closer friends henceforth than ever before.
+
+Mr. Bardsley gave leave for Cecil to return home at once; and Mr.
+Cunningham said he would call again the next day, out of school hours,
+to explain more fully how Cecil's prospects were altered, and 'make some
+arrangement.' Jessie was rather alarmed at the sound of this, but Cecil
+guessed that his father meant to withdraw him from the day school, and
+wished to offer some compensation for taking him away in this sudden
+fashion, just at the beginning of the half-year.
+
+Spite of Jessie's tired feet, the walk back was very pleasant; and
+neither she nor Cecil were insensible to the honour of having their
+father all to themselves, and at this unusual time of day too. He
+explained that he had met their mother in the village, so anxious about
+Jessie, that instead of waiting till towards twelve o'clock to go into
+Fairview, he had got Mr. Yorke to finish his parish business for him,
+and had started off at once, accepting a lift from Mr. Rawson by the
+way. And when he added quietly, 'You will take care that she is never
+made uneasy again by any thoughtlessness on your part, Jessie!' the
+little girl answered, 'Yes, father,' in a very subdued and humble tone,
+and felt quite as sorry as if he had lectured her for an hour.
+
+'Do you think Mr. Yorke will be at home again now? Might I run in for a
+minute, father?' said Cecil as they passed the curate's lodging.
+
+'I am not sure; you can see if you like.' And Cecil _did_ see; and
+finding his friend busily engaged sermon-writing in the queer little
+dining-room, tarried only for a few words.
+
+'I suppose father has told you,' he said as he burst in.
+
+'Yes, I am _so_ glad;' and Cecil's inky little paw was enfolded in the
+curate's heartiest grasp.
+
+'I shan't forget this week in a hurry,' the boy continued; 'but I'm not
+so very sorry now that it all happened. Thank you for that nice Sunday.'
+
+He did not say, but he implied how much it had helped him through; and
+Mr. Yorke answered cheerily, 'I could have sympathized more if I had
+known all that I know now; but I don't think you wanted pity. I believe
+your father's sermon showed you the way to bear your trouble.'
+
+Cecil's cheeks were burning, and he only said shyly, 'You showed me
+too;' and then hastily adding, 'I want to catch up with father before he
+gets home,' ran off again, after one more hearty shake of the hand had
+been exchanged between them.
+
+If the memory of pain could be effaced by after-happiness, the remainder
+of this day would have amply sufficed to blot out the past week. Never
+did Cecil feel more glad than when his mother kissed him, called him her
+own darling boy, and at his request forgave Jessie's escapade, and gave
+her and Frances a week's holiday, that he might have as much of their
+company as he chose. And on the following Sunday, when he took his place
+in the choir again, and Mr. Yorke came to dinner at the Rectory, and all
+was thankful rejoicing, that sorrowful Sunday on which he had felt as if
+the whole world were against him seemed already far away.
+
+The trial was gone by, and some of the effects it had left behind it
+were very pleasant. But for it, Cecil felt he never could have known Mr.
+Yorke so well, nor his own little sister Jessie. They were his especial
+friends from henceforth, in a way which they had never been before, even
+though Jessie had always been regarded by Percy and others as 'Cecil's
+particular chum.' Percy himself had seemed hitherto at an immeasurable
+distance from Cecil, and had generally appeared to expect to be treated
+with the same sort of respect as would have been shown to a school
+'senior;' but now, wonderful to relate, a change came over him, and he
+condescended to unbend not only a little, but a very great deal. It
+actually seemed as if he had begun to respect Cecil! No one but a
+schoolboy, with an admired and venerated elder brother rather given to
+snubbing, can quite realize how astonishing this change appeared to the
+person most concerned. For Percy to invite Cecil to come out fishing
+with him, in the genial tone of an equal who really cared for his
+companionship, instead of ordering him in a lordly way to take his
+tackle down to the river for him, was something so unexpected and
+flattering, that it went nearer to turning Cecil's head than anything
+that had happened yet. Perhaps it really might have done so, but for the
+wholesome lessons the boy had learned during his time of humiliation.
+
+These fishings with Percy became a sort of institution during that week,
+which Jessie had rather counted on for having Cecil all to herself.
+'Francie doesn't care, because she wants to do her gardening; but what
+made me like so to have holidays, was only that I might go about with
+Cecil, and now he goes off with Percy and doesn't want me!' thought the
+poor little maiden, in rather an injured way, as she sat forlornly in
+the wide window-seat on Wednesday morning, watching the retreating
+figures of her brothers. Spite of all her unselfishness, that sense of
+injury _would_ come, and was very disagreeable.
+
+'Who will take the boys' dinner down to the meadows for them by and by?'
+said her father, coming suddenly into the room. 'I have promised them a
+long, uninterrupted time for their sport to-day, because to-morrow we
+are all going for a picnic to the Beacon, and there will be no fishing
+then. You and Francie are the two idlest folk in the house just now,
+aren't you, Jessie? so suppose you turn errand-women?'
+
+'Oh, father, are they going to fish all day?' exclaimed Jessie, jumping
+up when she was spoken to, but showing no great alacrity in offering her
+services.
+
+'Till tea-time, I believe, if they don't get tired of it. Do you know I
+am so glad of these fishings, Jessie?'
+
+'Are you, father?' she said, rather drearily, conscious that there was
+no gladness in her own face or voice.
+
+'Yes, because I know what a brother's friendship is worth. I believe
+Percy's good-natured patronage seems to Cecil the greatest reward he has
+had yet for his bravery in bearing his misfortunes.'
+
+Jessie did not like the idea much; it seemed to her that if it were
+true, her father and she had _both_ reason to feel slighted.
+
+'Use your imagination, Jessie,' said Mr. Cunningham, smiling; 'you have
+plenty, I know, and the great use of it is to help us to see things from
+other people's point of view. Shall I tell you something else? I am so
+glad of this companionship because I believe Cecil, though the younger,
+will do Percy good.'
+
+Jessie quite understood this; her face brightened, as it always did at
+anything like praise of Cecil, and she felt it very delightful to be
+taken into her father's confidence in such a 'grown-up' kind of way.
+
+'I can carry the dinner, if you like, father,' she said briskly.
+
+'Suppose Francie and you both go, and take your own dinners as well?
+That will be a kind of picnic on a small scale, almost as pleasant,
+perhaps, as the grand one of to-morrow. You can come away afterwards,
+and leave the boys to their sport.'
+
+Jessie looked rather cloudy again for a minute; it was so like being
+offered a little slice when she had wanted the whole loaf!
+
+Her father was standing quite near her now, and he smoothed down her
+hair softly with his hand, as he said, 'Jessie, have you ever thought
+what a sweet and happy thing love is when it has overcome jealousy? It
+is not worth _very_ much till then.'
+
+For one moment there was a sharp struggle within her, and then she
+pressed her cheek against his arm, with a loving, grateful gesture. He
+had no fear that his little maiden would give way to jealousy any
+longer. Now that he had given the sore feeling a name, he knew that she
+would be as anxious to drive it away as he was.
+
+That dinner in the meadows was very pleasant--'Quite enchanting,'
+Frances declared. 'Awfully jolly,' said Cecil, who was not so choice in
+his vocabulary. Percy looked on it as rather a childish entertainment,
+and said more than once that he wished 'they' hadn't forgotten that he
+always took pepper with everything; but he never blamed either of his
+sisters, only this mysterious 'they,' and made an excellent dinner,
+spite of the absence of the pepper-box. He was very kind to Jessie
+too,--so kind that she quite forgave Cecil from henceforth for thinking
+Percy's notice a very grand sort of thing; it seemed as if he almost
+included _her_ in the new respect he had begun to have for his younger
+brother. And then, Cecil! Cecil was so entirely delightful on this
+occasion, that she wondered how, even for a moment, she could have
+thought him anything but the most perfect of all possible brothers. From
+the noble way in which he dispensed the tart, only leaving himself a
+very small piece, though she _knew_ he liked it better than anything,
+down to the good-nature with which he gave his last bit of cheese to the
+lame old setter, that had limped down to see after them, everything in
+his behaviour was just according to her own heart, and totally unlike
+the selfish greediness of what she called 'common schoolboys.' And then,
+when, instead of going back to his fishing directly after dinner, he
+asked her to walk with him as far as the bridge and watch the trout
+leap, she was the very happiest and proudest of little sisters. If it
+had not been for what her father had said, she would have lingered near
+him the whole afternoon; but as it was, she came away quite contentedly
+after she had watched his angling for a minute or two, and really felt
+how nice it was that Percy and he should have become such allies,--how
+much pleasanter for him than having only her for a companion. Percy's
+vacation would be over before his, and then her time would come perhaps;
+anyhow, she was much too sure of Cecil's love to have any excuse for
+jealousy in seeing him taken up with others. He had opened his heart to
+her when he was in trouble, she should never forget that. Oh! how dear
+this had made him to her, both 'for then and for always!'
+
+No after-trial worth recording shadowed Cecil's boyhood; and now he is a
+man--just such a man as Jessie longed to see him. He very seldom thinks
+of the incidents here related, but yet the lesson he learnt in that
+memorable week is still bearing fruit in his life; and when any trial
+comes to him, he does not say it is 'very hard,' but takes it as a new
+proof of the fatherly love that watches over him, and, in dark seasons
+as well as bright ones, is ready to sing with the psalmist, 'Every day
+will I give thanks unto Thee, and praise Thy name for ever and ever.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+The original text had no table of contents. One was added as an aid to
+the reader.
+
+Page 31, "emained" changed to "remained" (have remained bitterly)
+
+Page 51, "See page 52." was added to the text to conform to remaining
+illustrations.
+
+Page 52, "tel" changed to "tell" (you'll not tell)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Holiday Tales, by Florence Wilford
+
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+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Holiday Tales, by Florence Wilford.
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Holiday Tales, by Florence Wilford
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Holiday Tales
+
+Author: Florence Wilford
+
+Release Date: May 30, 2008 [EBook #25647]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOLIDAY TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chris Curnow, Lindy Walsh, Emmy and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 317px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="317" height="500" alt="Cover" title="Cover" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i002.png" width="400" height="565" alt="PLANNING OUT THE GROUND." title="PLANNING OUT THE GROUND." />
+<span class="caption">PLANNING OUT THE GROUND. <br /> <span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i><a href="#Page_14">See page 14</a>.</i></span></span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+<h1>HOLIDAY TALES.</h1>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">By</span> FLORENCE WILFORD,</h3>
+
+<div class='center'>AUTHOR OF 'NIGEL BARTRAM'S IDEAL,' 'AN AUTHOR'S CHILDREN,' ETC.<br />
+<br /><br /><br />
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.<br /><br /></div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 100px;">
+<img src="images/emblem.png" width="100" height="81" alt="Emblem" title="Emblem" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'><br /><br />
+<big>GRIFFITH, FARRAN, OKEDEN &amp; WELSH,</big><br />
+<small>SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS,</small><br />
+WEST CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, LONDON.<br />
+E. P. DUTTON &amp; CO., NEW YORK.<br /></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class='center'><i>The Rights of Translation and of Reproduction are reserved.</i></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'><img src="images/ispine.jpg" width="72" height="500" alt="Spine" title="Spine" />
+</td><td align='left'><h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="0">
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'>SEVEN CAMPBELLS</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Mother and Sons</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Johnnie's Protege</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_29">29</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">What Seven Campbells Can Do</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><br />CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK</td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Cecil's Memorable Week</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_73">73</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Bachelor's Lunch</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Good News</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">It's All Right!</span></td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_139">139</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+</td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i005a.png" width="400" height="91" alt="Decoration" title="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2>SEVEN CAMPBELLS.</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>MOTHER AND SONS.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 75px;">
+<img src="images/i123m.png" width="75" height="76" alt="M" title="M" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br />AMMA, there's such a fine poem
+here about "seven lovely Campbells"
+whose father's name was
+Archibald; it must mean us,&mdash;don't you
+think so?' And a very pretty boy about
+ten years of age, who had been poring for
+some time over Wordsworth's Poems, lifted
+his roguish face to his mother's with a look of
+pretended conviction.</div>
+
+<p>'Not exactly, Willie, seeing that the poem
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span>begins, "Seven <i>daughters</i> had Lord Archibald!"'</p>
+
+<p>'Ah, mamma, you are not to be caught.
+I do believe you have read everything that
+ever was written! But now, mamma, which
+would you rather have&mdash;seven daughters or
+seven sons?'</p>
+
+<p>'I would rather have just what I've got,
+Willie.'</p>
+
+<p>'Seven sons, then. Oh! mamma, I'm glad
+you said that; and you know we shall be of
+much more use to you than a lot of girls.
+Why, if the French were to come, you needn't
+be a bit afraid, with all of us to defend you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Baby at the head, armed <i>cap-&agrave;-pie</i>, I suppose,'
+smiled the mother, dancing in her arms
+her youngest son, a little fellow of about two
+years old; but she soon set him down in her
+lap again, for she had been ill, and was still
+so weak that the least effort tired her.</p>
+
+<p>'Mamma, I think you'd better let me ring
+for nurse to take Georgie, and then you can
+lie upon your sofa again and have a nap; and
+I'll go and ask my brothers to play in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span>
+rough ground, where you won't hear their
+noise,' said thoughtful Willie.</p>
+
+<p>The mother assented to all these proposals;
+but when, after ringing the bell, the boy
+turned to go, she beckoned him back to her
+side. 'Tell my darling Johnnie that I hope
+he'll come and sit with me this afternoon;
+only he must be wise and quiet, and not get
+into one of his harum-scarum moods, or papa
+won't let me have him.'</p>
+
+<p>Willie nodded sagaciously. 'I'll keep guard
+over him, mamma, so that he shall behave
+like a mouse all dinner-time, and then papa
+won't be afraid to trust him. Now let me give
+Georgie one kiss.' His mother watched him
+fondly as he caressed the little brother, whose
+baby mind took small cognizance of such
+affectionate demonstrations, and then, drawing
+his curly head down to her, she gave him
+a true mother's kiss, and whispered, 'Mamma's
+own good boy.' Willie tripped lightly down
+the stairs and into the garden, where three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>
+little boys, of the respective ages of eight, six,
+and five, were playing at the well-known game
+which Charles Dickens terms 'an invasion of
+the imaginary domains of Mr. Thomas Tytler.'</p>
+
+<p>'Here, Duncan, Seymour, Archie, I want
+you to come into the "desert" with me and
+have a game there. Mamma's going to take
+a nap before dinner, and she won't be able to
+sleep while you make this row under her
+window. Come along, there's good fellows.'
+The two little ones left off picking up gold and
+silver directly, and Duncan descended from
+the rank of a landed proprietor with great
+good-humour;&mdash;not that Mr. Thomas Tytler's
+domains were the only ground belonging to
+him: he had a neat little flower-plot in one
+corner of the garden, as had all the elder
+brothers except Johnnie, who had been deprived
+of his by his father for having neglected
+to cultivate it, and who from that day forward
+had been known in the family by
+the soubriquet of 'Jean-sans-terre,' otherwise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span>
+'Lackland.' Willie led the way out of the
+garden into a rough piece of ground covered
+with weeds and stones, and called by the children
+the 'desert,' because nothing grew there
+but a few stunted shrubs. He left the younger
+ones to play about there, while he passed on
+and walked along the high road to meet his
+two elder brothers, Honorius and John, who
+attended a day school in the neighbourhood,
+and always came home at twelve and returned
+in the afternoon. Willie was of an age to go to
+school too; but his father, who was not a rich
+man, could not afford to send him just then, and
+therefore instructed him himself, together with
+Duncan and Seymour, though rather in a desultory
+fashion, as he was a doctor, and could
+not command much uninterrupted time.</p>
+
+<p>The Doctor's seven sons were well known
+in the neighbourhood, and acknowledged by
+every one to be 'nice, gentlemanly boys;' so
+Willie had to receive and return some greetings
+both from high and low as he passed along.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span>
+But before he had gone far he descried an
+elder boy with some lesson-books in his hand
+coming towards him, whereupon he shouted
+'Is that you, old fellow? What have you done
+with Johnnie?' and bounded to his side.</p>
+
+<p>Honorius was, like his name, grave and
+dignified,&mdash;at least as much so as a boy of
+fourteen can be without affectation. He
+answered quietly that Johnnie had taken the
+path through the fields in order to hunt for
+sticklebats in Farmer Merryman's pond, and
+that he did not know when they might expect
+to see him again. But at that very
+moment a bright, mischievous face peered
+over the hedge at one side of the road, and
+then, with a warning to them to stand clear,
+and 'a one, two, three, and away,' Johnnie&mdash;for
+he it was&mdash;took a running leap, cleared
+the hedge, and stood beside them. Willie
+explained his reason for coming to meet them,
+and the three boys took their way to the
+desert, lamenting that the ground was not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span>
+smooth enough there to admit of their playing
+cricket, as they did on the lawn.</p>
+
+<p>'Do you know I've been thinking,' said
+Willie suddenly, 'that it would be very jolly
+if we could dig up the desert, and make it a
+nice place for mamma to walk in when she
+gets better? We might have paths this way
+and that, and then flower-beds or turf between;
+though, to be sure, papa <i>did</i> say that
+when he could afford to have it cultivated, he
+would plant some of it with potatoes.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, plebeian notion!' said Johnnie, tossing
+his handsome head, 'he will propose keeping
+pigs next! What do you say to it, my
+Emperor? is not your royal mind duly horrified?'
+The Emperor, as his brother called
+him, in allusion to his imperial namesake, by
+no means showed the disgust expected of
+him: he turned up a bit of the soil with his
+pocket-knife, and said reflectively,</p>
+
+<p>'I should think it would grow potatoes very
+well, but it'll want a deal in the way of preparation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span>
+I don't believe we could dig it up
+properly, for there are none of us strong
+enough for the work but myself and you,
+Johnnie; and you're such an idle fellow, you
+wouldn't work for more than ten minutes
+together.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh yes, he will, if it's for mamma,' cried
+Willie; 'and papa would be so pleased. Do
+let's begin, Honorius; I can dig quite well,
+and the little ones might pull up some of the
+weeds.'</p>
+
+<p>'We must mark the paths first if we're to
+do it at all,' said Honorius in his deliberate
+way. 'Who's got a ball of string?'</p>
+
+<p>'I have,' began Johnnie, putting his hand
+in his pocket; but he drew it forth again
+empty, and jestingly continued, 'No, "it's
+gone from my gaze like a beautiful dream."
+I have lost it, I suppose. We must advertise
+for it; or, considering all things, perhaps it
+would be cheaper to buy another.'</p>
+
+<p>'You'll lose your head some day,' observed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>
+Honorius calmly. 'Run into the house, Willie,
+and ask cook for some string; and you might
+fetch the spades, Lackland,&mdash;they're in the
+arbour.'</p>
+
+<p>The two boys darted off on their separate
+errands, and the Emperor walked up and
+down, devising how the desert might be best
+improved.</p>
+
+<p>'Rather stupid of us not to have thought of
+doing something to it before,&mdash;it's more than
+four months since papa bought it; but, to be
+sure, the weather has not been fit for out-of-door
+work, and papa always talked as if it
+would take two or three men to put it in
+order. I don't think he'll mind our having a
+try at it, for at any rate we can't do much
+harm. I'm very glad he bought it: it would
+have been horrid to have had it let on a
+building lease, and some great house run up
+that would shut out the view from our windows,
+that mamma likes so much. It's nice
+that her own room does not overlook this, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span>
+she'd see what we are about, and I should like
+it to be a surprise to her. It's quite Willie's
+idea; he's a capital chap for thinking of things
+to please her. I wish that funny fellow Lackland
+had half as much sense.'</p>
+
+<p>Willie came back very soon with the string,
+and assisted his brother in fastening a stake
+in the ground where the path was to begin,
+and then, tying the string to it, drew it along
+in a straight line to the place where the path
+was to end, at which they stuck in another
+stake, and again fastened the string.</p>
+
+<p>Johnnie did not reappear for some time,
+and then wore an air of rather droll vexation.
+'Pity me,' he exclaimed as he gave the spades
+to Honorius, 'I have fallen foul of my paternal
+relative. I found a lot of birds in the arbour,
+and served them with a notice to quit by
+clapping my hands and hooting to them, when
+who should appear but papa, asking what
+the noise was about, and how I could be so
+inconsiderate as to disturb mamma?'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'No wonder,' said Honorius.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, and I promised to keep you quiet!'
+exclaimed Willie in great distress.</p>
+
+<p>Jean-sans-terre laughed his merriest of
+laughs.</p>
+
+<p>'Keep me quiet! you silly fellow. Did
+you really think it possible?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, for mamma's sake,' said Willie stoutly.
+'You can be quiet if you choose; and I told
+you what she said about her wanting you to
+sit with her this afternoon.'</p>
+
+<p>'And you think paterfamilias will forbid
+it on account of my ill-timed sparrow-hooting?'</p>
+
+<p>'I think,' said Honorius, 'you had better
+speak of my father by his right name, and
+endeavour to behave rather less like an
+idiot. Here, take a spade, man, and come to
+work.'</p>
+
+<p>Johnnie shrugged his shoulders, made an
+indescribable grimace, and began digging
+vigorously, humming the Jacobite ditty,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+'Wha is it noo we ha'e gotten for a king,<br />
+But a wee wee German lairdie?<br />
+And when we went to fetch him hame,<br />
+He was dibbling in his kail-yairdie.'<br />
+</div>
+
+<p>Honorius sketched in his pocket-book a
+sort of plan of what the desert was to be like
+when its cultivation was completed. There
+was to be a path crossing it each way exactly
+through the centre, and along each side of
+these paths there was to be a broad flower-border,
+which would partially conceal from
+view the potatoes and other useful vegetables
+which were to occupy the chief part of the
+ground.</p>
+
+<p>'It's not too late in the spring to plant
+potatoes, I suppose, Honorius, is it?' said
+thoughtful Willie; 'and papa will give us
+those, I'm sure. But where shall we get the
+flowers? I don't think papa will buy them
+for us.'</p>
+
+<p>'We can get some seeds of different annuals,
+such as nemophila and candytuft, ourselves.
+That won't cost very much, and I've<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>
+got three shillings that I can spend on it; but
+then we shall want roots of other things and
+rose-bushes, and they cost more. Have you
+got any money, Johnnie?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, not I. I am "sans argent" as well as
+"sans terre." I know one way of getting some,
+though. Papa said if I would translate that
+favourite piece of his in C&aelig;sar all through,
+<i>well</i>, he would give me half-a-crown. But
+then, consider the labour! I have a strong
+suspicion that it might prove fatal to my
+constitution.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, humbug! you could do it easily if
+you chose,' said the elder brother. 'Besides,
+I'll help you, if papa doesn't mind.'</p>
+
+<p>'You'll do it, I know,' pleaded Willie softly;
+'and I've got a shilling that'll go towards
+buying some roots.'</p>
+
+<p>'And Seymour and I have got sixpence
+between us,' cried Duncan. 'I say, Honorius,
+haven't we pulled up a jolly lot of weeds already?'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Oh, famous,' cried the Emperor approvingly.
+'Work away; we shall have to go in
+to dinner soon.'</p>
+
+<p>He himself toiled with all his might, for the
+soil in some places was very stiff, and resisted
+the incision of the spade. Whenever he
+came to a part where it was looser, he turned
+that over to the younger ones; for Honorius,
+though occasionally sharp in speech, was almost
+invariably kind and considerate in his
+actions. 'Deeds, not words,' was his favourite
+motto; but it would sometimes have been
+well if he had remembered that we must give
+account for words as well as deeds, and that
+the law of love should govern both.</p>
+
+<p>The boys worked on for some time almost
+in silence. Johnnie was expending his energies
+in hard digging, and dropped for the
+while his usual character of 'merry-andrew.'
+He was considering with himself, too, whether
+he should undertake the task his father had
+proposed to him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'To be sure, I have a strong motive now for
+earning the half-crown, which I hadn't before,'
+thought he; 'but papa's so awfully particular,
+and I'm&mdash;yes, I must allow&mdash;I'm such an
+awful blockhead, that it's as likely as not I
+shall not win the money after all. However,
+I can but try; yes, and I will try too.'</p>
+
+<p>Lackland's face was very bright when he
+took his place at dinner that day, but his
+behaviour was more quiet and guarded than
+usual: he conducted himself more like Willie's
+ideal mouse, than like the noisy, rattling fellow
+he usually appeared. The brothers sat, three
+on each side of the table; no one claimed the
+place at the top, where the mother was accustomed
+to sit when well. Dr. Campbell looked
+tired, and was very silent, but took care that
+his sons' vigorous appetites should be duly
+satisfied, and was always ready with a kindly
+'Willie, my boy, don't you want some more?'
+'Seymour, pass your plate to me,' whenever
+the silence of one knife and fork told that its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span>
+owner had finished the portion allotted to
+him. Johnnie glanced at him sometimes, but
+did not address him till after grace had been
+said and they had risen from table, when,
+approaching him, he asked gently if he might
+be allowed to sit a little while with his mother
+that afternoon.</p>
+
+<p>'Can I trust you to be quiet, Johnnie?'
+said the Doctor doubtfully.</p>
+
+<p>Lackland blushed, and fidgeted with his feet.
+'I will try to be quiet indeed, papa. I am
+sorry I made such a row in the arbour this
+morning.'</p>
+
+<p>'Very well, you may go to mamma, then,
+as soon as I come down; but I shall beg her
+to send you away if you get riotous.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, papa; and, one thing more, may I do
+that bit of C&aelig;sar that you offered the half-crown
+for? I didn't care about doing it the
+other day, but I should like to, now.'</p>
+
+<p>'You may do it, certainly. I am glad you
+wish to&mdash;without help, mind&mdash;and I will look<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span>
+over it as soon as I have time. Well, Honorius,'
+as his elder son drew near, 'have you
+something to ask too?'</p>
+
+<p>Honorius's errand was to obtain his father's
+sanction for the changes they were making in
+the desert. Dr. Campbell smiled as he heard
+their plans. 'It would take two men's hard
+labour to put that place in order,' he said; 'I
+don't think you'll be able to do it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Papa, you don't know what seven Campbells
+can do!' said Willie in a tone of triumphant
+heroism.</p>
+
+<p>'Seven! What! have you pressed Georgie
+into the service? Well, good luck to you all,
+it'll be a nice amusement for you; you can't
+do much harm, at any rate.'</p>
+
+<p>He left them and hastened up to his wife's
+room, but Willie ran after him to beg that
+the plan might be kept a secret from her.
+Dr. Campbell readily promised secrecy, but
+the boys were disappointed that he had not
+seemed more delighted with their scheme.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'If papa thinks it's nonsense, there's no use
+going on with it,' said Honorius moodily.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, there is,' said Willie; 'it'll show him
+what we can do. He thinks it nonsense, because
+he doesn't know how hard we mean to
+work, and how steadily we'll keep on at it.
+It'll be such fun when he sees we can do a
+great deal more than he thinks!'</p>
+
+<p>Honorius allowed himself to be convinced
+by this reasoning, and went with Willie and
+Seymour to the desert to work away till it
+got near three o'clock, at which time he had
+to return to school. Johnnie worked steadily
+at C&aelig;sar till he heard his father go out, and
+then went up-stairs softly and tapped at his
+mother's door. Her 'come in' was glad and
+eager, and a soft pink colour flushed into her
+cheeks when she saw it was really Johnnie.
+This good mother, so just and tender to all
+her sons, kept a special corner of her heart
+for the merry scapegrace who excelled the
+family cat in a talent for unintentional mischief,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span>
+and almost equalled that luckless animal
+in a facility for getting into universal
+disgrace. In another minute Johnnie was
+squatted on a footstool by the side of her
+sofa, holding her thin white hands in his own,
+and sometimes kissing them with a pretty
+devotion, which, mother-like, she thought very
+charming, though she pretended to call it
+'silly.'</p>
+
+<p>'And how is my Johnnie getting on at
+school?' she asked presently. 'Whereabouts
+in the class are you now? At the top, I
+hope!'</p>
+
+<p>Johnnie screwed his mouth up, shook his
+head, groaned, and made all manner of funny
+faces. 'I'm at the bottom, mother,' he said
+at last, in a voice that might have been intended
+to be penitent, but did not sound so.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, Johnnie! and I was hoping you would
+never do so badly again. What <i>will</i> papa
+say if this half-year's report is as bad as the
+last?'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'I don't know,' said Johnnie in a way that
+might almost have been taken to mean, 'I
+don't care;' then, more softly, 'I am sorry
+you are vexed, mother.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I am indeed, Johnnie. It is not as if
+you were really dull and slow: then your low
+place in the school would not be your fault,
+and we shouldn't mind so much; but you can
+learn very well if you like.'</p>
+
+<p>'But I was born with a disposition <i>not</i> to
+like it. I can't help being idle, really, mother;
+"it's the natur of the baste!"'</p>
+
+<p>'Then you must conquer your nature,' she
+said in the spirited tone of one who had
+never sat down helplessly under her faults
+and talked about 'natural infirmity.' 'What
+should any of us be worth, Johnnie, if we
+yielded to all our foolish inclinations?'</p>
+
+<p>He had not an answer ready, so played
+with her rings, and glanced at her deprecatingly
+and coaxingly from under his long,
+dark eyelashes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'I didn't mean to scold,' she said relentingly,
+'especially this day of all days, when
+I may have you for one of the little talks we
+haven't had for so long. But, Johnnie, you
+don't know how hard it makes it for me to
+submit to be ill and helpless, when I think
+that because I am not able to watch over you,
+you are running wild, neglecting your lessons,
+and vexing poor papa, who has so much to
+trouble him.'</p>
+
+<p>Jean-sans-terre's brown eyes looked odd in
+their expression of mingled fun and sadness;
+he was trying to feel sorry and ashamed, as
+he knew he ought, but penitence was so very
+difficult to him. 'Dear little mother, don't
+fret; I'll do better for the future,' he said
+caressingly.</p>
+
+<p>No experience of the fragile nature of his
+promises had availed to make his mother distrust
+him. 'My darling, I'm sure you will,'
+she answered with ready confidence.</p>
+
+<p>He was so anxious to assure her of his good<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span>
+intentions, that he had nearly revealed the
+secret of his intended labour at C&aelig;sar, and his
+desire to obtain the half-crown to aid his plans
+for the desert, but he remembered in time that
+it was his brothers' secret as well as his own;
+and Lackland, if he lacked wisdom and steadiness
+and industry, was at least not deficient
+in a sense of honour, so he was silent. But he
+could almost have thought that she guessed
+at his scheme when she went on, 'If you
+would only pursue one thing steadily, and
+<i>make</i> yourself do it in spite of disinclination,
+you don't know what good it would do you,
+and how it would help you in everything else.
+Be a hero, Johnnie, and conquer your idleness!'</p>
+
+<p>'I mean to be a real hero some day,
+mamma,' he answered, smiling. 'You know
+Uncle Gustavus has promised to use his interest
+to get me a commission, and then you
+shall see how well I'll serve the Queen. Don't
+you remember telling me how Bertrand du<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span>
+Guesclin was a great bother to everybody
+when he was a boy, but yet he grew up so
+jolly brave that people were glad to run to
+him for help when he was a man?'</p>
+
+<p>'And his mother hadn't patience with him,
+and yet afterwards lived to be proud of him:
+is that the inference you mean me to draw,
+Johnnie?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, no, no! she was a cross old thing.
+Don't you remember how she was going to
+have Bertrand beaten, when that kind old
+nun stopped her? You're not a bit like her,
+dear little mamma,&mdash;not a scrap, not an atom!
+But oh, mamma, when will you be able to
+read us all those famous stories about heroes?
+They're the only things I ever remember,
+and I'm pining for one of them.'</p>
+
+<p>'You shall have one as soon as papa
+thinks I'm strong enough to read aloud. But,
+my hero, I want you to consider that before
+you can get a commission you must
+pass an examination, and knowing about Du<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>
+Guesclin won't make up for deficiency in
+arithmetic and French grammar.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, I'll see about all that; I'll work night
+and day sooner than not pass, for I <i>must</i> be
+an officer. You know, mamma, we've settled
+it all. Honorius is to be a doctor, like papa,
+and I'm to be a soldier, and Willie is to be a
+clergyman, and Duncan a sailor, and Seymour
+a merchant, and Archie a lawyer, and
+Georgie&mdash;somehow we never can settle what
+Georgie is to be&mdash;but something, of course,
+you know; and then you will have us all,
+mamma, your seven sons, "seven Campbells,"
+as Willie has taken a fit for saying, and we
+shall make you so proud of us!'</p>
+
+<p>'I hope so; but, my Johnnie, we must not
+forget that if my seven are spared to me,
+and I to them, it will be by <span class="smcap">God's</span> great
+mercy.'</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i139a.png" width="400" height="91" alt="Decoration" title="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>JOHNNIE'S PROTEGE.</h3>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 75px;">
+<img src="images/i139j.png" width="75" height="75" alt="J" title="J" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br />OHNNIE completed his task in two
+or three days, labouring at it at
+first very earnestly, then growing
+tired, getting careless, and finally finishing it
+up in a hurry, with so little effort at accuracy
+of rendering or clearness of style, that any
+one less sanguine than he would have considered
+the attainment of the half-crown
+hopeless. Honorius glanced over the translation,
+and shook his head ominously, wishing
+that he might be allowed to make some
+improvements in it; but his father's injunction
+to Johnnie to accept no help put this
+out of the question, so it was delivered into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>
+Dr. Campbell's hands just as it was. The
+first part was very satisfactory. 'Very good,
+very good indeed, Johnnie!' he exclaimed
+as his eye ran rapidly down the neatly
+written lines; but his face lengthened as he
+went on. 'Why, how you have begun to
+scribble here, Johnnie!' he said as he reached
+the middle. 'And what <i>do</i> you mean by this?
+You have not even given the sense of this
+passage correctly. Here, take the book and
+translate it to me word by word.'</div>
+
+<p>Johnnie stumbled wofully in his rendering,
+not from confusion, but from sheer ignorance;
+and both the written and verbal translation
+went on getting worse and worse, till at last
+the Doctor, who was rather a hasty man, lost
+all patience, and tossed the whole production
+into the fire, exclaiming, 'Pshaw! far
+from deserving any reward, that translation
+is the most wretched exhibition of carelessness
+and idleness that I ever saw. I don't
+know what's to become of you, Johnnie, if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span>
+you can't, or rather <i>won't</i>, do better than
+that!'</p>
+
+<p>The little boys glanced at poor Lackland
+in terror and dismay, and Willie's eyes filled
+with tears; but Johnnie only coloured, and,
+shutting up the volume of C&aelig;sar, put it in
+its place again, and resumed the occupation
+of making a willow-wand into a bow, on
+which he had been engaged when his father
+summoned him. If Honorius had met with
+such a rebuff, he would have <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'emained'">remained</ins> bitterly
+hurt and ashamed for the rest of the
+day, and Willie in the same case would have
+been utterly humbled and discouraged. Not
+so 'Jean-sans-terre.' What his cogitations
+were, his brothers could not decide; but the
+result was, that when he had bidden his
+father good-night, he paused a minute, and
+then added, 'May I have another try at
+C&aelig;sar, papa?' The tone was bright and
+cheery, and Dr. Campbell looked up in
+pleased surprise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span>&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>'Do you really mean it, Johnnie?' he said
+hopefully.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I do indeed, papa; but perhaps you
+wouldn't like the trouble of looking over
+another translation. I know that one was
+awful.'</p>
+
+<p>'If you can take the trouble of writing it,
+I shall not begrudge the trouble of looking
+over it; but mind, it must be well done. I'd
+rather you took a month about it than brought
+me such a one as that of to-night.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, thank you, papa, but that wouldn't
+suit me at all; I want the half-crown as quick
+as I can get it. I'll work night and day
+rather than not have the translation done
+soon.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then I am to understand it is merely for
+the sake of the half-crown you are willing
+to do this bit of C&aelig;sar over again?' said Dr.
+Campbell disappointedly: 'I had hoped that
+it was from a better motive&mdash;a real desire
+to improve and conquer your carelessness, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span>
+a wish to please and satisfy your mother
+and me.' He looked full at his son as he
+spoke, and seemed to expect an answer. It
+came, bold and true: 'I was only thinking
+of the half-crown, papa.' Yet if Dr. Campbell
+could have known to what purpose the
+half-crown was to be devoted, he would have
+seen that love to the mother was the primary
+motive, after all, and would not have turned
+away so coldly as he did from this apparently
+mercenary speech. Honorius thought so, and
+would have explained; but Johnnie pulled his
+sleeve and whispered something, and meanwhile
+the Doctor left the room.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, how could you answer like that,
+Johnnie?' remonstrated Willie when the two
+boys were alone in the attic which they
+shared together. 'If you had told papa
+what you wanted the half-crown for, he
+would have been pleased, whereas now I
+don't know what he thinks of you.'</p>
+
+<p>'I only gave a plain answer to a plain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span>
+question,' said Johnnie. 'If he had asked
+me what I wanted the money for, I might
+have told him.'</p>
+
+<p>'But it appeared&mdash;&mdash;'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't care what it appeared,' interrupted
+Lackland, laughing; 'I only wish papa hadn't
+burnt the whole of my translation: the beginning
+of it was all right, and I might have
+copied it straight off, instead of having to
+make it all out again.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh yes! that was dreadful,' replied
+Willie. 'And then what he said too! I was
+so sorry, Johnnie; I knew you must be so
+ashamed.'</p>
+
+<p>Jean-sans-terre's eyes seemed to be searching
+after penitence again, as they had when
+his mother spoke to him.</p>
+
+<p>'<i>Ought</i> I to have been ashamed?' he asked
+with simplicity.</p>
+
+<p>The question appeared to Willie so extraordinary,
+that he really didn't know what to
+say in answer. He pondered over it seriously<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span>
+while he was undressing, and added to his
+evening prayers this clause: 'Make Johnnie
+more sorry when he has vexed papa.'</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Campbell was certainly vexed and disappointed
+with his son, and showed it a little
+in his manner, which was, however, quite useless
+as far as Johnnie was concerned, for he
+never even remarked it. There are children
+so sensitive, that the faintest shade of sadness
+or disapproval in the manner of their elders
+towards them will suffice to make them unhappy
+for days; there are others who, unless
+they are actually scolded or punished, never
+perceive that anything is amiss: and Johnnie
+was one of these last. He was just as pleasant
+and affectionate to his father as usual, just as
+fearless in his remarks and questions, and
+showed up his translation, when he had
+finished it, quite as unconcernedly as if no
+previous one had ever existed. He got the
+half-crown this time, and a fair meed of praise,
+which he received with undisguised satisfaction,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span>
+and the mental reflection that 'papa was
+very kind.'</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Campbell did not inquire how he meant
+to spend the money, not wishing to show a
+want of confidence in his son; and Johnnie
+tarried for no explanation, but raced off to
+the nurseryman's, only pausing to tell Honorius
+that he was no longer 'sans argent,' and
+to ask what plants he should buy.</p>
+
+<p>The boys, by constant labour, had managed
+already to dig up the proposed flower-border
+and to level the part intended for the paths;
+but Honorius was sadly at a loss as to where
+they should get gravel for the latter. He
+could not help looking rather wistfully at a
+great heap of it&mdash;beautiful golden gravel
+too&mdash;which lay in one corner of the garden
+of an old lady to whom his father one day
+sent him with a message; and Mrs. Western&mdash;as
+this old lady was called&mdash;noticed her
+young friend's expression, and asked what he
+was thinking of. He told her of his plans for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span>
+the desert, and inquired where such gravel
+was to be bought, and if it were very dear.
+She replied that it was rather so, but this had
+been given her by her son-in-law, who had a
+gravel-pit on his estate, and added very kindly,
+'You are quite welcome to have what you see
+there, for I have used as much as I shall
+want for the present; only you must send
+some one for it, for I can't ask my maid to
+carry gravel.' Honorius thanked her warmly,
+and joyfully accepted her offer, promising to
+send some one for the gravel as soon as he
+possibly could.</p>
+
+<p>The difficulty was to know whom to send,
+for the Campbells' in-door servants were all
+maids; and when the boys begged the old
+man who took care of their father's horse and
+drove his gig to go to Mrs. Western's for
+them, he replied surlily that he had hard
+work enough as it was ('night and day both,
+sometimes, when master is sent for from a
+distance'), and declined to assist them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'I know,' said Johnnie. 'The next half-holiday
+Bob Middleton would do it for sixpence
+or a shilling; he could take the wheelbarrow
+and get a load at a time. I declare I
+wouldn't mind fetching it myself, if I thought
+papa wouldn't object.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, nonsense,' said Honorius. 'Work as
+hard as you like here, but don't take to wheeling
+gravel through the village, pray. Bob
+Middleton might do, only he's such an impudent
+fellow. I hate having anything to
+say to him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, I'll transmit your royal commands to
+him, if that's all,' said Johnnie; 'only say yes,
+and I'll look him up this afternoon: perhaps
+he might go to Mrs. Western's for us at
+once.'</p>
+
+<p>Honorius gave a reluctant consent, and accordingly
+Johnnie appeared in the desert soon
+after three o'clock, accompanied by a youth
+of fifteen, very raggedly attired, and with a
+face which was an extraordinary compound<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span>
+of ugliness and roguery. Bob undertook for
+a shilling to fetch all the gravel from Mrs.
+Western's, and set off at once for the first
+load, with which he returned ere long. He
+came and went several times; but at last such
+a long interval elapsed between his going
+and returning, that the boys began to be
+alarmed.</p>
+
+<p>'He's gone off with the wheelbarrow, I do
+believe,' said Honorius.</p>
+
+<p>'"Body o' me!" as old King Jamie used to
+say, you don't suppose such a thing,' cried
+Johnnie. 'Spite of his objections to soap
+and water and the English grammar, I have
+a higher opinion of Bob than that.'</p>
+
+<p>But as still time passed on and Bob did
+not return, Duncan and Seymour were sent
+in search of him. They looked for him by
+the way, but saw nothing of him, and at
+length arrived at Mrs. Western's house and
+rang the bell.</p>
+
+<p>'Has a boy been here for some gravel Mrs.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span>
+Western promised us, or is he here now?' inquired
+Duncan of the maid who came to the
+gate.</p>
+
+<p>'He has been here, Master Campbell,' she
+replied, 'but he's gone off as fast as his legs
+can carry him, and he's taken mistress's new
+thermometer with him that hung on the south
+wall, and he's trampled over all the beds, and
+Mrs. Western she saw him from the window;
+and your pa' was passing, so she called him
+in; but the boy made off, and it'll be a wonder
+if the police are not sent for. They're a bad
+set, those Middletons.'</p>
+
+<p>Duncan's eyes grew round with excitement,
+and Seymour, who was rather timid, began
+to cry. He wanted to run home again, but
+Duncan considered such a proceeding cowardly;
+and while they were debating the
+point, Dr. Campbell saw them, and called to
+them to come in.</p>
+
+<p>'Who sent Bob here for the gravel?' he
+inquired.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Johnnie sent him; Honorius said he
+might,' replied Duncan.</p>
+
+<p>'Of course they never thought how the boy
+would behave,' said kind old Mrs. Western.
+'I daresay they didn't know he wasn't a fit
+person to be trusted.'</p>
+
+<p>'They might have known,' said Dr. Campbell;
+'Johnnie at least has heard me say that
+Bob was ripe for any mischief, and he knows
+I refused to let him take him out fishing with
+him. If Honorius had told me of your kind
+present, I would have sent some proper person
+for the gravel.'</p>
+
+<p>'Honorius did say Mrs. Western had promised
+us some gravel after dinner, papa, but
+you were just going out, and I suppose you
+didn't hear him,' said Duncan. 'He didn't
+like sending Bob much, but we didn't know
+who else to get.'</p>
+
+<p>'You should have asked,' began his father;
+but seeing that Seymour was frightened, he
+checked himself, saying, 'It's no blame to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span>
+you little ones; I don't suppose you had
+anything to do with it. Run away home
+if you like.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, but let Sarah cut you a piece of cake
+first,' said Mrs. Western. 'My dear (to Seymour),
+don't fret; you shall have the gravel all
+the same.'</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Western's maid brought them out two
+large slices of pound-cake, which, after they
+had thanked their kind old friend, they took
+away with them, Seymour beginning directly
+to munch at his slice, while Duncan put his
+into his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>'Papa didn't say we <i>must</i> go home,' he observed,&mdash;'he
+only said we <i>might</i> if we liked; so
+you can go, and I'll try and find Bob, and tell
+him I'll give him this piece of cake if he'll
+give back the thermometer. I'm so afraid, if
+he doesn't, Johnnie'll get into trouble; and
+besides, it's so wicked to steal.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes,' said Seymour with his mouth full of
+cake; 'and I'll tell you what, Duncan,' reluctantly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span>
+but firmly, 'you may take the rest of
+my piece too.'</p>
+
+<p>Duncan, however, declined this, and trudged
+away, resolutely resisting, as he went along,
+the temptation to eat even a <i>crumb</i> of his own
+delicious-looking slice. He soon arrived at
+Mrs. Middleton's cottage, but of course Bob
+was not there; and his mother, who was a
+widow, and supported herself by washing,
+came to the door with her arms covered with
+soap-suds, and after hastily answering that
+'Bob was nowhere's about, plunged them in
+the wash-tub again, and took no more heed of
+Duncan. He hesitated whether to tell her
+about the thermometer or not, but had been
+so impressed with the naughtiness of 'telling
+tales,' that he could not make up his mind it
+could be right, even in this case, and so turned
+away and ran back to the desert, where he
+found his father speaking to Honorius and
+Johnnie.</p>
+
+<p>'Didn't you remember, boys, what I said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span>
+about Bob when you wanted to take him out
+fishing with you?' he was asking.</p>
+
+<p>'It was to me you said it; Honorius was
+not in the room,' Johnnie said quickly.</p>
+
+<p>'Very well, then, you at any rate knew my
+opinion of Bob Middleton, and must have
+known that you were doing wrong in employing
+him without my leave.'</p>
+
+<p>'I didn't think,' said Lackland carelessly.</p>
+
+<p>'Then I must teach you to think. Put
+down your spade and go into the house, and
+up to your room.'</p>
+
+<p>There was no mistaking Dr. Campbell's
+manner now; even Johnnie was obliged to
+perceive the displeasure he had provoked: he
+stuck his spade into the ground, and turned
+towards the house.</p>
+
+<p>Duncan dashed after him. 'Here, Johnnie,
+take this piece of cake. Mrs. Western gave
+it to me; it's so good&mdash;do have it, see!'</p>
+
+<p>Lackland was by no means too miserable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span>
+to appreciate this attempt at consolation. 'It
+looks jolly,' he said, 'but I won't take it all;
+you must have half yourself, Duncan,' and he
+broke it in two.</p>
+
+<p>Duncan would rather his brother should
+have had the whole, but he was glad to see
+him munching the half even so contentedly.
+'Do you think I may go up into your room
+with you?' he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>'No, no; papa didn't mean that, I'm sure.
+Don't stop me, old fellow; good-bye,' and
+Johnnie ran off and up to his room as fast
+as he could go. He had not been there more
+than five minutes, when there was a sound
+of little toddling steps along the passage, and
+two fat hands came drumming on the door.
+'What do you want, baby?' said Johnnie,
+rising and opening it.</p>
+
+<p>'I want to tiss 'oo,' answered the child, lifting
+up his chubby face.</p>
+
+<p>Johnnie bent down and kissed him, asking,
+'How did you know I was here, Georgie?'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Ma heard 'oo tome up 'tairs; ma say
+what matter wis 'oo?'</p>
+
+<p>'Tell her papa sent me up,' faltered Johnnie;
+'or stay, say&mdash;&mdash;'</p>
+
+<p>'I say 'oo naughty,' said Georgie, whose
+infantine mind had already jumped to the
+right conclusion. He scampered off with
+this message, but speedily returned: 'Ma
+say she vezy sorry; ma say I may tiss 'oo
+again.'</p>
+
+<p>'I wish I might go to her,' thought Johnnie,
+and in his softened mood the little brother's
+kisses were so sweet to him, that he could
+scarcely make up his mind to let Georgie go.
+But he did, and stepped back resolutely into
+his room, while the little one, announcing, 'I
+going to tea now,' trotted off again down the
+passage. Meantime Honorius was showing
+his father the scarlet geraniums that Johnnie
+had bought with his half-crown, and expatiating
+on the quantity of digging he had got
+through, although, being occupied with C&aelig;sar,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span>
+he had not had so much time to spend in the
+desert as the others.</p>
+
+<p>'Poor fellow! Well, he has behaved much
+better than I thought,' said Dr. Campbell
+relentingly. 'I'm afraid I was rather hard on
+him just now; that's the worst of being too
+hasty.'</p>
+
+<p>Of all things, Honorius could not bear that
+his father should reproach himself. 'I'm sure
+Johnnie admits that he was in fault about
+Bob, papa,' he said.</p>
+
+<p>'And do you know I've got a bright idea
+about Bob and the thermometer, papa,' said
+Willie. 'May I go as far as Farmer Merryman's
+field and back? I won't be long.'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly you may, if it's necessary for the
+development of your bright idea, Willie; but
+make haste home to tea. And you, boys,
+come in with me; if you're not hungry, I am.'</p>
+
+<p>In the strength of his bright idea Willie
+ran along like a greyhound; moreover, it was
+pleasant to feel how completely his father<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span>
+trusted him. He went across the fields till he
+came to Farmer Merryman's pond, which was
+overhung by a willow-tree, whose branches
+were thick enough to afford a tempting seat:
+it was a lonely place, and a favourite resort of
+Bob's, as Willie well knew; and here he hoped
+to find him. Was he there? Yes&mdash;no&mdash;yes!
+and Willie almost shouted with delight, but
+restrained himself, and advanced cautiously
+to the foot of the tree. 'Bob,' he said softly,
+'Bob, I want to speak to you, please.'</p>
+
+<p>Bob gave a violent start, and looked down
+rather savagely at the adventurous child who
+had discovered his hiding-place. 'What d'ye
+come prying here for?' he asked rudely.</p>
+
+<p>'I came to ask you to give back Mrs.
+Western's thermometer,' said Willie; 'and
+my brother Johnnie says he's <i>quite</i> sure you
+didn't mean to steal it.'</p>
+
+<p>'No more I did; what's the worth of it to
+me? I'd only taken it down just to look at
+it, like, when out came those maids a-storming<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>
+and a-scolding, and vowed they'd fetch the
+justice; so I made off, and took the 'mometer
+with me, for I hadn't had half a look
+at it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, but you've done with it now, so do
+take it back,' pleaded Willie urgently.</p>
+
+<p>'Don't you wish you may get it? You'd
+like to see me make such a fool of myself,
+wouldn't you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, then, let me take it, and I'll tell
+Mrs. Western how it was, and ask her not to
+be angry with you. If you give it me, I'll
+give you the shilling that you were to have
+had when you fetched all the gravel: of course
+you can't fetch any more of it for us now, but
+we would rather you had the shilling. I'm
+so glad you didn't mean to steal.'</p>
+
+<p>Bob calmly surveyed the flushed, eager
+face that was turned up to his. 'It's you
+that's to be the parson, ain't it?' he said
+mockingly.</p>
+
+<p>Willie made no reply, but folded his arms<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span>
+and leant back against the tree, looking such
+a perfect little gentleman, that some dim perception
+of his own impertinence flashed upon
+Bob's eccentric mind.</p>
+
+<p>'It worn't all on my account you comed
+along here, was it?' he inquired.</p>
+
+<p>'No; partly on Mrs. Western's, and partly
+on my brother Johnnie's. Papa is displeased
+with him for having sent you for the gravel;
+and, Bob, you know Johnnie <i>trusted</i> you.'</p>
+
+<p>Bob grinned, and Willie felt that the appeal
+to his sense of honour had failed; but, though
+very impertinent and mischievous, he was not
+a thoroughly bad boy, and now swung himself
+down from the tree, bringing the thermometer
+with him.</p>
+
+<p>'If I give it to you, you must promise not
+to tell where you found me,' he said; 'I won't
+have other folks prying after me here.'</p>
+
+<p>'I won't tell Mrs. Western, if that's what
+you mean,' said Willie; 'and I'll ask her to
+forgive you.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i051.png" width="400" height="561" alt="&#39;CAN&#39;T HELP THAT,&mdash;HERE GOES.&#39;" title="&#39;CAN&#39;T HELP THAT,&mdash;HERE GOES.&#39;" />
+<span class="caption">&#39;CAN&#39;T HELP THAT,&mdash;HERE GOES.&#39; <br /><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i><ins title="Transcriber's Note: This line omitted in original">See page 52.</ins></i></span></span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'My! you may do as you like about that.
+I ain't in such a hurry to be forgiven. But
+what I mean is, you ain't to tell your father
+nor nobody where you found me.'</p>
+
+<p>'I must tell papa if he <i>asks</i> me,' said Willie.</p>
+
+<p>'Then you shan't have the 'mometer; I'll
+pitch it into the pond.'</p>
+
+<p>'That would be wicked,' said undaunted
+Willie, 'for it does not belong to you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Can't help that; here goes,' and he held it
+over the edge of the pond. 'It'll be in in another
+minute if you don't say you'll not <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'tel'">tell</ins>
+your father.'</p>
+
+<p>'I shan't tell him if he doesn't say I am to;
+but if he does, I must.'</p>
+
+<p>'Why must you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Because I must obey him, even when I'd
+rather not; it's right.'</p>
+
+<p>'That beats all,' said Bob in unbounded
+surprise; but he didn't throw the thermometer
+into the pond. It was some time, however,
+before Willie could persuade him to give it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span>
+up, though at length he did, and received the
+shilling, observing,</p>
+
+<p>'I could ha' took this from you if I'd liked,
+and kep' the 'mometer too; but I ain't a
+thief, let folks say what they please.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I know you're not,' said Willie. 'Oh,
+Bob, if you would only&mdash;&mdash;'</p>
+
+<p>'What?' said Bob; 'you hadn't no call to
+stop just then. I thought you was a-going to
+make a fine speech.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I mustn't.'</p>
+
+<p>'Mustn't what?'</p>
+
+<p>'Mustn't lecture; mamma won't ever let
+me. There are other people to teach you.'</p>
+
+<p>'They did teach me a lot,&mdash;parson did, and
+schoolmaster did; but I got tired of it, and
+now I'm too big to go to school. But I'm
+thinking of looking out for a bit of work.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh do, do, <i>please;</i> we should be so glad.'</p>
+
+<p>'If you ain't the funniest little gentleman!'
+said Bob with increasing astonishment. 'But
+I kind o' like you too, I ha' been thinkin'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span>
+o' taking a turn for the better, as they say,
+lately; but bless you, not even my mother
+would believe I was in earnest, so who is
+there to care if I do?'</p>
+
+<p>'Seven Campbells,' said Willie; and then,
+fearing this was not quite the truth, he added,
+'No, Georgie is too young to care, but all the
+rest of us would be glad, Bob;' and when he
+had said this he ran home. His arrival with
+the thermometer caused great delight to all
+his brothers, and Dr. Campbell called Lackland
+down to hear the good news, saying
+kindly, 'You have had opportunity for a little
+thought, Johnnie, my man, and I hope will
+be more careful not to act contrary to my
+known wishes another time; so now come and
+help us to rejoice over the recovery of poor
+Mrs. Western's thermometer.' Johnnie came,
+nothing loth, pausing, however, to ask, 'May
+I speak to mamma first? She heard me
+come up-stairs.'</p>
+
+<p>Permission was given, and after a preliminary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span>
+tap the bonnie face peeped into the sickroom.
+'All right, dear little mother: I <i>was</i>
+rather in a scrape just now, but papa has forgiven
+me, and I'm going down-stairs again.
+Good-night, dear mamma.' The white curtains
+of the bed were drawn aside for one
+minute, and the sweet motherly eyes looked
+out at him.</p>
+
+<p>'Good-night, and thank you for coming to
+me, my darling boy; only remember'&mdash;very
+gently&mdash;'a <i>pardoned</i> fault needn't be a
+<i>forgotten</i> one, Johnnie.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, mamma.' There was a momentary
+quiver in the gay, ringing voice, and it was
+quite enough for the mother. 'That will do;
+I can trust you not to forget <i>this</i> time,
+Johnnie,' she said, and with a happy smile
+she lay down to sleep.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i056a.png" width="400" height="91" alt="Decoration" title="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>WHAT SEVEN CAMPBELLS CAN DO.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 75px;">
+<img src="images/i056s.png" width="75" height="73" alt="S" title="S" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br />PITE of obstacles, the labours of the
+'Seven Campbells,' as Willie grandly
+called them, did effect a great improvement
+in the desert, and the seventh
+certainly took his share, so far as such a very
+small man could; for he pulled up a great
+many weeds with his little fat hands, and
+brushed down the gravel on the walks with a
+tooth-brush! The Doctor, seeing his boys were
+in earnest, lent them his help whenever he
+could spare time, sent for the remainder of
+the gravel for them, showed them how to lay
+it, trimmed the borders, sowed some potatoes,
+and presented them with four apple-trees,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span>
+which he planted at four corners of the
+ground, and called 'Gozmaringa, Geroldinga,
+Crevedella, and Spirauca,' after the names
+of some apple-trees that belonged to King
+Charlemagne. But, spite of his assistance,
+there was a great deal requiring the boys'
+exertions; and they worked like Trojans, devoting
+nearly all their play-hours and pocket-money
+to this object, and finding in it both
+interest and amusement. Johnnie had learnt
+one or two lessons from this undertaking:
+first, that in working for a good object, it is
+not only necessary to have a right intention
+at starting, but that constant pains and perseverance
+are requisite,&mdash;as in the matter of
+C&aelig;sar; secondly, that a privilege earned is
+sweeter than one bestowed as a favour,&mdash;as in
+the spending of the half-crown, which his own
+toil had procured; thirdly, that even for a
+good object we must not use bad or doubtful
+means,&mdash;as in the matter of the gravel; and
+fourthly, that hard work&mdash;digging, or what<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span>
+not&mdash;from a right motive, becomes a much
+greater pleasure than any that can be procured
+by idleness. And he had found true,
+too, what his mother had said, that if he
+would pursue <i>one</i> thing steadily, and make
+himself do it in spite of disinclination, the
+determination and energy thus acquired
+would help him in everything else.</div>
+
+<p>Midsummer came, and by that time the
+desert was a desert no longer: it was a neat,
+trim-looking piece of ground with smooth
+walks, some small but promising crops, and
+a flower-border gay with geraniums, nasturtiums,
+sweet-peas, nemophila, and convolvulus.
+The mother was rapidly regaining
+strength, and had been down-stairs several
+times, but only into the drawing-room, which
+did not look towards the desert: from the
+school-room and dining-room, which had a
+full view of it, she had been jealously excluded.
+It is to be feared that this precaution
+had caused her a little anxiety, and that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span>
+she had a secret vision of broken slates, torn
+pinafores, and blotted lesson-books, which
+she imagined were being concealed from her
+in these forbidden chambers till she was supposed
+to be strong enough to bear the sight
+of such calamities. But the day was now
+come when her fears were to be dispersed,
+and a far different and much pleasanter surprise
+was to dawn upon her.</p>
+
+<p>She was to take her first walk, leaning on
+her husband's arm; and he had been privately
+instructed by his sons to bring her in the
+direction of the quondam desert. They had
+erected a triumphal arch over the little entrance-gate,
+formed of bent osiers twined with
+flowers, and surmounted with paper flags, on
+which were inscribed, in large coloured letters,
+such mottoes as the Scotch 'Ye're gey
+welcome,' and the Irish 'Cead mile failte.'
+Archie and Georgie, gaily bedizened, and with
+wands in their hands, were stationed at each
+side of the gate to welcome her, and were to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span>
+marshal her up the centre walk, at the top of
+which her other sons were to receive her, and
+conduct her to a seat which had been prepared
+for her to rest upon. Such was the
+programme; but how could English boys
+adhere to anything so formal? Directly
+Archie announced that 'mamma was coming'
+Georgie pushed the gate open, and toddled
+to meet her, followed by all the rest of the
+boys, leaping, shouting, and laughing, forgetting
+all preconcerted speeches, and much too
+happy to be even coherent.</p>
+
+<p>'Papa' was afraid such noisy glee would be
+too much for the invalid, but 'mamma' would
+have her way for once, and indulge the boys
+to the top of their bent; so they led the way
+into the desert, all laughing and talking at
+the same time, till Willie bethought himself
+that the noise and excitement would really
+be too much for his mother, and first loudly
+exhorted his brothers to be quiet, and then&mdash;which
+was much better&mdash;became quiet himself,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span>
+and thus set an example of considerateness.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Campbell's surprise and delight were
+great enough to satisfy her sons, which is
+saying a good deal. She would not sit down
+till she had made the tour of the garden (it
+would be an insult to say 'desert' any longer);
+and she accepted a sprig of Johnnie's geranium,
+and a handful of Duncan's sweet-peas;
+<i>tasted</i> one of Archie's nasturtium flowers when
+assured by him that it was 'so nice;' was duly
+edified by the sight of the remains of the
+tooth-brush, worn to a stump by Georgie's
+sedulous and novel use of it; allowed Honorius
+to pull up a potato root, that she might see
+how healthy and free from disease it was; submitted
+patiently to have her hair ornamented
+with some of Seymour's convolvuluses; and
+only declined to taste the one hard green
+apple born by Geroldinga (Gozmaringa, Crevedella,
+and Spirauca were as yet fruitless),
+from a fear that the tender, careful guardian<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span>
+at her side would be irrecoverably shocked
+at such imprudence. She sat down at last on
+the chair of state that had been prepared for
+her, and owned herself a little tired; but her
+interest and amusement never flagged, and
+she listened with eager pleasure to the history
+of her sons' exertions.</p>
+
+<p>'They've all worked like horses,&mdash;even
+Georgie, I do believe,' said Dr. Campbell,
+smiling.</p>
+
+<p>'And Johnnie too!' said the mother delightedly.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, Johnnie has done his work manfully,
+and has found out that industry is pleasure,
+after all. Haven't you, my boy?' and the
+father laid his hand on his son's shoulder with
+a proud, pleased look, such as Lackland had
+but seldom called up before.</p>
+
+<p>The bright eyes, which never looked down
+in fear, looked down now. Jean-sans-terre
+was not so unsensitive to <i>praise</i> as he was to
+<i>blame</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Ah, papa,' said Willie, 'you laughed at us
+when we began to dig up the desert, but now
+you see seven Campbells can do more than
+you thought they could.'</p>
+
+<p>'And now, when we want anything done,
+we may look to our seven Campbells for it,
+said Mrs. Campbell gaily. 'Honorius, you
+were the directing genius, were you not?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I believe I planned how it was to be,
+but it was Willie who first thought of it, and
+proposed that we should do it to please you.
+I am so glad you are satisfied with our work,
+mother.'</p>
+
+<p>'Satisfied! I am delighted, my Emperor.
+But now that the desert is <i>put</i> in order, who is
+going to <i>keep</i> it so? Are we to look to our
+seven sons for that?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, oh yes!' was chorused by six of the
+seven voices. Johnnie alone was silent; but
+his dimples were all in play, and he had
+never looked more roguish.</p>
+
+<p>'Sans-terre means to steal a march on us,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span>
+and do more than any of us, I do believe,
+though he won't make promises,' said Honorius.</p>
+
+<p>'Sans-terre shall be sans-terre no longer,'
+said Dr. Campbell; 'he has earned back a
+right to his own plot of flower-garden, and
+may enter into possession again to-night, if he
+pleases.'</p>
+
+<p>But Lackland shrugged his shoulders, and
+declined the burden of proprietorship.</p>
+
+<p>'I don't care to have any garden of my own,
+thank you, papa,' he answered; 'I'm happier
+without it than with it, and there's plenty of
+work for me here. I never want to have anything
+belonging to me except a sword.'</p>
+
+<p>'And some clothes, Johnnie,' said Seymour,
+who was very matter-of-fact.</p>
+
+<p>The boys laughed, and Johnnie replied,
+'Oh, certainly, Seymour. I'm not prepared
+to adopt the full dress of a Mexican general
+even&mdash;a cocked hat and a pair of spurs; I
+must have a full suit of uniform, at any rate.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span>
+But I mean to say I'll never be bothered with
+a house or a wife, or anything like that.'</p>
+
+<p>'Ah, Johnnie,' said his father, 'I may say
+to you in the words of the old song,</p>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"Bide ye yet, and bide ye yet,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Ye dinna ken what'll betide ye yet."</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='unindent'>For aught you know,</div>
+
+<div class='poem'>
+"A canty wee house and a cosie wee fire,<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">And a bonnie wee bodie to praise and admire,"</span><br />
+</div>
+
+<div class='unindent'>may be your destiny; and perhaps some day
+you will appreciate those treasures as much
+as I do now.'</div>
+
+<p>Johnnie looked incredulous. But the attention
+of all was diverted by the sudden
+appearance of a sun-burnt, grinning face over
+the paling which separated the kitchen garden
+(no longer desert) from the road.</p>
+
+<p>'That's Bob Middleton, I declare!' said
+Honorius. 'Do you know, papa, Farmer
+Jennings has taken him to work in his hay-field,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span>
+and says if he does well he may perhaps
+keep him as a farm-labourer?'</p>
+
+<p>'And Mrs. Middleton told Mrs. Western
+that Bob was beginning to hold up his head
+a bit, and that if he had only a decent jacket
+she really thought he would go to church with
+her on Sundays,' said Willie.</p>
+
+<p>'Honorius has an old jacket that is only fit
+for giving away,' said Mrs. Campbell; 'don't
+you think we might make poor Bob a present
+of it, dear Archibald?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh do, papa,' cried the boys unanimously.</p>
+
+<p>Dr. Campbell had no objection; so Honorius
+ran into the house to fetch the jacket,
+observing, 'I shall tell him to take himself off
+when I've given it him; it's not manners to
+stare over at us in this way.' When he returned,
+however, from his colloquy with the
+grinning Bob, he explained, 'He doesn't mean
+to be rude, he says, but he's so pleased that
+we've made the desert so trim, and that
+"madam," as he calls mamma, is able to come<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span>
+out and see it. He's immensely pleased with
+the jacket, but he doesn't want to go away till
+he's spoken to Johnnie and Willie.'</p>
+
+<p>Willie ran off at once. Johnnie turned to
+go with equal haste, then paused and glanced
+at his father: the forgiven fault had <i>not</i> been
+forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, go, my man,' said Dr. Campbell; 'and
+you may bring Bob in if you like, just to take
+a turn round the garden; but don't encourage
+him to stay.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, and mayn't we give him Geroldinga's
+apple?' said Duncan; but the Doctor answered,
+laughing, 'that that would be anything but
+a benevolent present, and that Geroldinga's
+solitary fruit had better be allowed to ripen.'</p>
+
+<p>'I shan't take it,' said Archie, thus innocently
+revealing, what was indeed the case,
+that he felt some temptation to do so.</p>
+
+<p>'Nor baby won't,' said Georgie manfully.</p>
+
+<p>'No, my little boys will not touch what is
+not their own,' said the mother, glancing down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span>
+tenderly at the two small faces; 'and some
+summer, perhaps, we may find Gozmaringa
+and the rest covered with apples, and then
+what apple dumplings we shall have!'</p>
+
+<p>Archie's broad smile told that he relished
+the idea. Georgie, to whom apple dumplings
+were as yet an unknown delicacy, looked
+grave and asked, 'Is appy dumpions nice?'</p>
+
+<p>'Very,' said the laughing mamma. 'But
+see, here is Bob coming this way. Well, Bob,
+what do you think of my sons' work?'</p>
+
+<p>'It's fust-rate,' said Bob, pulling his rough
+forelock. 'I hopes you finds yourself better,
+mum.'</p>
+
+<p>'Much better, thank you, and very glad to
+be out again. I have been watching the hay-making
+in Farmer Jennings' field from my
+window; I was very glad to see <i>you</i> at work
+there, Bob.'</p>
+
+<p>Bob made an indescribable contortion of
+his figure, charitably supposed to be intended
+for a bow, and passed on.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Madam looks palish,' he observed to Johnnie,
+who was escorting him about; 'I doubt
+she's not very hearty yet.'</p>
+
+<p>'No, it'll be some time before she's quite
+strong. Has she ever spoken to you before,
+Bob?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh my! yes. Why, she brought me some
+doctor's stuff and some sweet cold drink
+when I was so bad with fever two winters
+ago, and she took and spoke up to me last
+autumn when I was throwin' stones at parson's
+chickens. Besides, I've seen her in the
+school when I was a little chap.' He was
+evidently proud of his acquaintance with so
+sweet-spoken and kind a lady, and when he
+left the garden with the jacket under his
+arm, remarked, 'I'll make a bigger haycock
+than e'er a one else in the field right under
+madam's window, that'll pleasure her, maybe,
+for it smells fust-rate, it does.'</p>
+
+<p>He fulfilled his intention, and pleased Farmer
+Jennings so much by his cheerful industry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span>
+in the hay-field, that he took him on trial for
+a month as farm-lad, and finding him tolerably
+satisfactory in that capacity, gave him
+permanent employment. His impudence was
+not at once conquered, and brought him into
+some trouble; but when he found that the
+farmer and his men would not put up with it
+as his mother had, he learned to put a check
+on it, and others besides the seven Campbells
+encouraged him in taking a turn for
+the better.</p>
+
+<p>Johnnie still remained 'sans terre,' by his
+own desire, but worked away in his father's
+garden as he never had done in the part that
+was called his own. He began to get on
+better at school too; and Willie joined him
+there after the summer vacation, and helped
+to keep him steady by his example and
+admonitions. For Willie had certainly a little
+taste for lecturing; and Lackland, the harum-scarum
+and good-humoured, was just the boy
+both to provoke it and to bear it: if he was a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span>
+Du Guesclin in bravery, he was not in quarrelsomeness,
+and nothing that Willie could say
+ever made him angry. The mother, too, became
+well and strong again, able once more
+to exercise her sweet influence through all
+the household; and between the father's firmness
+and the mother's gentleness, those seven
+boys were well and wisely trained.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Many years have passed since then, and
+the seven Campbells are no longer boys
+Honorius has been taken into partnership
+with his father, and is known by the whole
+country-side as 'the young doctor;' Johnnie
+is serving the Queen in a line regiment in
+India; and Willie has lately been ordained,
+and is working hard as a curate in a large
+manufacturing town. So three of the seven
+have had their wish. But Seymour has been
+taken by one of his uncles, a rich banker, into
+his counting-house; Duncan is not gone to
+sea,&mdash;he has just passed a competitive examination<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span>
+for the Indian Civil Service; as for
+Archie, he is still only a schoolboy, and he
+and Honorius live at home, while the others
+are scattered far and wide.</p>
+
+<p>But nowhere on earth could you find all
+those seven Campbells now, and there has
+never been any need to decide on a profession
+for Georgie: the youngest, the darling, the
+flower of the flock, has been called to rest the
+first. Wide tracts of sea and land lie between
+the mother and her darling Johnnie, and a
+wider distance still severs her from her little
+George, yet to her the seven are but as one
+band, united for ever by a common faith and
+mutual love. And so much is this the feeling
+of them all, that if you should chance to meet
+one of those Campbells, and to ask of their
+number, I think, like the child in the ballad,
+he would answer, 'We are Seven.'</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i073a.png" width="400" height="89" alt="Decoration" title="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK.</h2>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2>CHAPTER I.</h2>
+
+<h3>THE SENTENCE.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 75px;">
+<img src="images/i073i.png" width="75" height="76" alt="I" title="I" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br />T would be hard to find a pleasanter
+family group than that which had
+gathered round the tea-table at Wilbourne
+Rectory one hot bright evening in the
+end of July: a kindly-looking mother, with a
+dark, sweet, brunette face, that <i>would</i> not be
+careworn spite of forty years of life, seven
+children, and a slender purse; a tall, slight,
+brown-bearded father, a little bald, and with
+deep lines of thought on the broad forehead
+and around the rather sunken blue eyes; a
+fair, round-faced girl of fifteen, sitting next<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>
+him; two smaller lasses, with long black hair
+almost straight, clear brown complexions, and
+a bit of bright scarlet bloom on each cheek,
+that was just like the mother's, only fresher
+and less fixed; a little curly-haired lad of
+eight, that was like nobody in particular; and
+last, but not least, a Sandhurst cadet, a well-grown
+youth of seventeen, with dark hair,
+cut very short in military style, and a little
+dark down on cheek and lip, which <i>he</i> called
+whiskers and moustaches. He sat on one
+side of his mother, and on the other sat a
+person who was <i>not</i> a member of the family&mdash;Mr.
+Cunningham's curate, a great big
+broad-shouldered young man, six feet three
+at least in height, with a pleasant, open
+face, rather sun-burnt, and the most good-tempered
+smile that you can possibly conceive.</div>
+
+<p>Two of the children of the house were
+absent&mdash;the second son, a midshipman in the
+Queen's service, who was now on his way to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span>
+Japan; and the third, who was expected home
+this very evening from school.</p>
+
+<p>A little talk sprang up about him among
+his brothers and sisters, begun by a 'wonder'
+from one of the little girls as to when he
+would arrive; and strange to say, at the
+mention of his name, the lines on the father's
+brow deepened a little, and Mrs. Cunningham's
+face took for a moment quite a sorrowful
+expression.</p>
+
+<p>'I almost hope he will not come till tea is
+over,' she said.</p>
+
+<p>It did not sound like a motherly sentiment,
+but it was spoken out of the depths of a true
+motherly feeling.</p>
+
+<p>Cecil Cunningham was coming home in a
+kind of disgrace. He had been placed at a
+good grammar school in the county town,
+some fourteen miles from Wilbourne, had
+won for himself an 'exhibition,' as it was
+called, by which the greater part of his school
+expenses were defrayed, and would have been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span>
+allowed to keep it till he went to college had
+his progress during the first year been sufficiently
+good. But, alas! it had just been
+discovered that the marks he had gained for
+his various studies throughout this time did
+not, when counted up, amount to the rather
+high total which the founder's will required;
+and so it had been announced to him and his
+parents that he had forfeited the 'exhibition,'
+and could not be received at the school again
+unless his father were prepared to pay the full
+terms, which, though not very high, happened
+to be more than Mr. Cunningham could justly
+afford. The middy had lately been fitted out
+for sea. The son at Sandhurst was a considerable
+expense; and though it was hoped that
+after another six months he would succeed in
+getting a commission without purchase, there
+would be his outfit and yearly allowance to
+provide; and altogether, Mr. Cunningham did
+not see his way to giving Cecil such advantages
+as he could wish, without the help of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>
+that 'exhibition' which the boy had just lost
+by his own fault.</p>
+
+<p>Cecil was very clever, and, though rather
+idle by nature, had promised to work hard at
+school, and had been supposed to be conscientious
+enough to be sure to keep his
+word. He greatly wished to be a clergyman;
+and this desire of his had been an intense
+joy to his father, who, though a good
+deal disappointed at his two elder sons choosing
+army and navy, had consoled himself
+with the thought that <i>one</i> at least of his children
+had a real desire for the priesthood,
+and this the very one whose talents best
+fitted him for a university education. From
+school he was to have gone to Oxford; and
+his whole prospects had seemed fair enough
+till now, so that it was not wonderful that the
+unexpected news of his failure had occasioned
+great disappointment at the Rectory.
+His father was much displeased with him,
+and meant that he should feel how great a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span>
+fault his idleness had been; and his mother,
+who knew this, and believed that her boy
+was <i>already</i> feeling it, was anxious that the
+first meeting should be got over without the
+presence of spectators.</p>
+
+<p>But just as she spoke, Cecil, followed by
+the gardener wheeling his luggage in a barrow,
+was seen coming up the gravel walk
+towards the house.</p>
+
+<p>The little curly-haired boy rushed off at
+once to meet him,&mdash;not to open the hall door,
+for that stood wide open already,&mdash;but a restraining
+look from the mother stopped the
+girls, who were rising also; and when Cecil
+came in, the greetings were very quiet, though
+not in the least cold, except perhaps on Mr.
+Cunningham's part. Cecil had his mother's
+face, at once dark and bright, with brown
+clear eyes that looked full of intelligence,
+and, alas! seemed to say that their owner
+might have kept his place in the school with
+ease had he but so chosen. He did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span>
+seem very conscious or very miserable: he
+had the true boyish instinct of hiding feelings,
+and looked much as usual, though there
+was nothing like bravado or nonchalance in
+his manner. When his father shook hands
+with him gravely, and merely said, 'Well,
+Cecil,' in a short dry way, a sudden flush
+mounted up in his brown cheek; and there
+was a little anxiety in his face when he
+turned to kiss his mother, as if a sudden fear
+had come over him that she might refuse the
+caress. But she did not; and he sat down
+calmly enough to his bread and butter, showing
+a very tolerable schoolboy appetite, and
+munching away rather quickly when he found
+that the others were near the end of their
+meal. His sisters and his little brother volunteered
+some information about his rabbits,
+and so on; but when they began to ask
+questions concerning his schoolfellows, their
+father said quietly, 'Let Cecil have his tea,'
+and began a conversation about politics with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span>
+the curate, in which none of the juniors ventured
+to join except the cadet.</p>
+
+<p>When they rose from the table, the two
+gentlemen went off to the study; and with
+a sigh of relief one of the little girls exclaimed,
+'Oh, now you <i>can</i> come and see the rabbits,
+Cecil; father won't want you!'</p>
+
+<p>Cecil glanced at his mother; but though she
+was longing for a good hug and a little private
+talk, she thought it better to refrain just
+then, and said gently, 'Yes, you can go with
+Jessie, but don't go out of earshot;' after
+which she turned away and went up-stairs.</p>
+
+<p>Jessie, who was just a year younger than
+Cecil, was his special friend and ally, and the
+other long-haired lassie considerately left
+them together, and went off to do some
+gardening; while little Lewis followed at a
+respectful distance, not able to tear himself
+quite away from Cecil, and yet not presuming
+to interrupt the confidential talk between
+him and his sister.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The rabbit hutch was in a little yard not
+far from the house, and within view, as it happened,
+of the study window. Cecil stroked the
+soft creatures' ears, and fondled them a little,
+and fed them with some cabbage leaves with
+which Jessie supplied him; but his manner was
+rather absent, and presently he said abruptly,
+'I say, Jessie, isn't it an awful shame?'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie was not prepared for this view of the
+question.</p>
+
+<p>'I am so sorry,' she said doubtfully. 'I
+never once thought of its happening till Dr.
+Lomax's letter came; for you know, Cecil,
+you told me you meant to work. Oh! don't
+you remember saying it here, in this very
+place, when you were making the new bars
+to Lop-ear's hutch?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, and I did,' said Cecil gruffly.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I know you did; and that made me
+think you would do it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, so I did do it&mdash;that's what I mean'
+said he more gruffly still.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Did work!' exclaimed she gladly, and
+quite ready of belief, with the tender trustfulness
+of a true sister. 'But oh, then, Cecil
+how was it that they didn't give you marks
+enough? I thought you would have lots
+to spare&mdash;I did indeed!'</p>
+
+<p>'Humbug!' said Cecil, but not gruffly now;
+'it's not so easy to get marks as all that. I
+was quite sure of having enough, though&mdash;so
+sure that I hadn't a second thought about it;
+and I can't tell to this moment how it was
+I didn't, except that Lomax is such a
+brute!'</p>
+
+<p>'The Doctor!'</p>
+
+<p>'No&mdash;his son, the junior master; it was he
+who counted up the marks.'</p>
+
+<p>'Do you mean the marks you got at the
+examination?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, the weekly marks I had got in all my
+studies during the half-year; that's the way
+they calculate to see whether one may keep
+the "exhibition."'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Do you think he can have made any
+mistake?'</p>
+
+<p>'He might, perhaps, to spite me; it's not
+likely otherwise, for he's a dab at arithmetic.
+I asked the Doctor to let me see the book,
+but he wouldn't; and of course I couldn't
+tell him what I thought, and it would have
+been no use if I had.'</p>
+
+<p>'And you did really work all the time?'
+said Jessie, looking at him tenderly and
+seriously out of her big black eyes.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, almost all&mdash;not quite the last week or
+two, perhaps: it was awfully hot weather, and
+being so sure, I thought I might take it easy;
+but that couldn't have made the difference.'</p>
+
+<p>'I wish you had been able to say you
+worked quite all the time,' said Jessie gravely,
+with a little sigh, 'for then father couldn't
+have been angry.'</p>
+
+<p>'I'm afraid he's awfully vexed, isn't he?'
+said Cecil, with rather an anxious glance towards
+the study.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'I think so; and Percy says' (Percy was
+the cadet) 'that he doesn't know how to
+manage about your education. Francie and
+I have been so anxious about it: it would
+be too dreadful if you were not to be a
+clergyman, wouldn't it, Cecil?'</p>
+
+<p>Cecil said nothing, but absently doled out
+the last cabbage leaf to the rabbits in such
+small morsels, that they nibbled at his fingers
+as if they thought those part of the provender.
+Jessie was lost in a calculation of
+whether if Frances and she were to have no
+new frocks for a twelvemonth, and to save up
+all their pocket-money, that would make it
+possible for Cecil to go back to the grammar
+school, when Mr. Cunningham leaned out of
+the study window and called him.</p>
+
+<p>Though he had been expecting the summons,
+he started and coloured violently, but
+ran off at once, going in by the back door,
+which was the nearest way.</p>
+
+<p>Jessie went into a little tool-shed, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span>
+was close to the rabbits' dwelling-place.
+She did not like to watch the window, but
+was too anxious to be able to go and help
+Francie with her gardening, or to play with
+Lewis, who was wandering aimlessly about.
+'Father,' who was so tender to his little girls,
+who was the very very best man, as Jessie
+believed, in the whole world, could nevertheless
+be very severe when he saw occasion&mdash;could
+reprove in a way which an offender
+was not likely to forget. He had wonderful
+patience for the blunders of little Lewis, who
+was rather dull, and found lessons a daily
+difficulty; but he had always expected much
+more of Cecil, who was really full of ability,
+and had sometimes dealt seriously with his
+fits of idleness in the days of his home teaching.
+And <i>now</i>&mdash;now when the boy had
+failed just when every principle of duty
+should have made him exert himself to the
+utmost&mdash;what could be looked for? Oh,
+what a bitter half-hour this must be to Cecil!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Yes, for half an hour passed, and still Cecil
+did not come back. Jessie's fright and agitation
+were growing very hard to bear. 'Oh
+I know it is right!' she said, clasping her
+hands together; 'I know we <i>must</i> be scolded
+and punished for our faults; only I wish it
+was me, and not Cecil. And, after all, I
+think there must have been some mistake,
+for he says he <i>did</i> work; and if father could
+only believe it, I am sure he wouldn't be
+angry, even though Cecil <i>has</i> lost his place
+in school! Oh, I wish it could be made
+clear somehow! I know! I will ask God
+to make it clear.' And then the little girl
+prayed to the heavenly Father, whom the
+earthly father had taught her to seek in
+all her troubles.</p>
+
+<p>Eight o'clock struck, and she started to
+her feet.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh! I must go in and do my work&mdash;I
+shall only just be able to finish it before
+bed-time. Father must have gone to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>
+choir practice. I wonder if he has taken
+Cecil with him, and if <i>that</i> is the reason why
+he hasn't come back?'</p>
+
+<p>With a deep-drawn breath of relief at this
+possibility, she ran into the house, and meeting
+her eldest brother in the hall, hastily inquired
+if he knew what had become of Cecil.</p>
+
+<p>'He's in his room, I think,' was the answer.
+'Poor little beggar! I fancied I heard him
+sobbing, and wanted to go in, but he wouldn't
+let me. I've just been telling Mary, that if I
+don't succeed in getting my commission without
+purchase I shall enlist as a private, and
+never come home at all. I couldn't stand
+seeing you all look as glum about me as
+you do about Cecil.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, but, Percy, would that be&mdash;' began
+little Jessie in consternation; and then he
+laughed, and she saw that he was joking.</p>
+
+<p>'Mother's been looking for you,' he said as
+she turned towards the staircase; 'she wants
+you to do some work.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Where's father?'</p>
+
+<p>'Gone to the choir practice a quarter of
+an hour ago. Good-bye; I'm going out for
+a stroll. Try and cheer up that poor little
+chap; perhaps he'll let you in, as you're
+his chum.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie longed to try that moment, but she
+knew she was due at her needle-work, and
+very unwillingly went into the drawing-room,
+where her mother and sisters were sitting
+round a lamp-lit table, stitching away very
+busily at a new set of shirts for Percy.</p>
+
+<p>'I was looking for you, Jessie,' said the
+mother in her pleasant voice; 'come and work
+at double speed, to make up for lost time.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie had never felt less disposed to work;
+but when Mrs. Cunningham made room for
+her, and gave her the seam she was to do,
+with a kindly sympathy in tone and glance
+that seemed to say she knew just what the
+little girl was feeling, though she wasn't
+going to talk about it, all her unwillingness<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>
+melted away. 'Mother is sad too,' she
+thought. 'I won't do anything to vex her;'
+and so she worked away as neatly and diligently
+as she could till nine o'clock, which
+was her bed-time.</p>
+
+<p>'I may go to Cecil before I go to bed,
+mother, mayn't I?' she whispered as she
+was bidding good-night.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Cunningham gave permission, and
+Jessie rushed up-stairs two steps at a time,
+but controlled herself to give a very gentle
+tap at Cecil's door. It must have been too
+gentle, for he took no notice of it; but in
+answer to another, rather louder, came the
+question, 'Is it you, Jessie?' And when
+he found it was, he opened the door, which
+was locked, and let her in.</p>
+
+<p>He seemed to have been unpacking, for
+his little portmanteau was open on the floor,
+and some of his clothes and other possessions
+were strewn upon the bed and the one chair,
+which was the only seat that the little attic<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>
+could boast; but he was flushed, and his
+eyes were red, as if he had been crying,
+and he turned away abruptly from his sister
+when he had let her in, and began to dive
+into the portmanteau again.</p>
+
+<p>'Can't I help you?' said she, not knowing
+well how to begin her task of comfort.
+'I'll fold up the clothes and put them in
+the drawers, while you take out the books.
+Oh! perhaps you meant to leave them in,
+though. You won't want them for the holidays?'</p>
+
+
+<p>'Pretty holidays!' said Cecil passionately,
+more to himself than to her. 'A single
+week!'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't understand,' she rejoined in consternation.
+'You're not going back to school
+in a week, surely?'</p>
+
+<p>'I'm not going back to Eastwood at all,
+but I'm going to a horrid, odious, beastly
+little day school in Fairview;' and Cecil
+flung out some books upon the floor, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span>a
+manner which did not bespeak very exemplary
+submission to his father's decrees.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figright" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i091.png" width="400" height="559" alt="&#39;JESSIE CAME OVER TO HIM AND HUGGED HIM.&#39;" title="&#39;JESSIE CAME OVER TO HIM AND HUGGED HIM.&#39;" />
+<span class="caption">&#39;JESSIE CAME OVER TO HIM AND HUGGED HIM.&#39;<br /><span style="margin-right: -8em;"><i>See page 92.</i></span></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The information itself, and Cecil's terrible
+adjectives, both dismayed Jessie, and for a
+minute or two she did not speak. Then
+she said, 'But surely there must be holidays
+at the day school too?'</p>
+
+<p>'They're just over&mdash;they began in June.
+Of course those sort of places don't break
+up at the same time as the public schools,
+like <i>we</i> do,' said Cecil with wrathful contempt.</p>
+
+<p>'And must you begin when the school
+does?'</p>
+
+<p>'I've got to&mdash;that's all; it's to be my punishment,
+father says,&mdash;just as if losing the
+exhibition were not punishment enough!'
+And he buried his face in the portmanteau
+to hide his tears.</p>
+
+<p>Jessie came over to him and hugged him;
+and he didn't seem to mind, though she could
+only kiss the side of his cheek and his shirt<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span>
+collar, for the greater part of his face was
+hidden among the books.</p>
+
+<p>'Did you tell him you worked nearly all
+the time?' she faltered in an unsteady voice.</p>
+
+<p>'I began to say something, and he asked
+me if I could honestly say I had done my
+very best, and I couldn't quite say that, you
+know, and then he wouldn't hear any more.
+And oh, I'm sure he thinks I did nothing
+but idle my time away!'</p>
+
+<p>'Did you tell him you thought there must
+be some mistake?'</p>
+
+<p>'I said something about Lomax spiting
+me, but he wouldn't listen to that.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh no,' said Jessie, who readily understood
+that her father would never admit <i>that</i> explanation
+of the affair. 'Oh, Cecil, I am so
+sorry, so <i>very</i> sorry!'</p>
+
+<p>'If I had really been idle,' said Cecil, raising
+up his tear-wet face, more crimson than
+ever from its sojourn in the box, 'then I
+shouldn't care&mdash;I mean, it would only be fair<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>
+that I should be served out for it; but when
+I haven't&mdash;when I have tried all this year&mdash;oh!&mdash;--' and
+he was nearly choked by the
+sobs which, in his desire to be manly, he
+was struggling to repress.</p>
+
+<p>Jessie believed him entirely, and was grieved
+to the very heart. 'I am so sorry,' she repeated.
+'But, dear Cecil, <i>God</i> knows; He
+sees you have been trying; <i>He</i> isn't angry
+with you.'</p>
+
+<p>'Then why does He let this happen?' said
+Cecil fiercely.</p>
+
+<p>Jessie was startled and shocked, and had
+no answer ready. 'I don't know,' she said at
+last, through her tears; 'I can't tell why, but
+He is so good&mdash;oh, He is <i>so</i> good!&mdash;perhaps
+it will all come right still. I will ask Him;
+and you will, won't you, Cecil? Isn't there
+something in the Bible about its being acceptable
+with God, if we do well and suffer
+for it?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; but I'm not suffering because I've<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span>
+done well, but because I'm supposed to have
+done ill,' said Cecil gloomily. 'There's no
+good talking, Jessie; you'd better go to bed.'</p>
+
+<p>'Perhaps I had,' said Jessie, a sudden
+thought striking her as she heard her father's
+voice in the passage below; 'but I can't bear
+to leave you, Cecil. I am so sorry, and I do
+love you so!'</p>
+
+<p>He half returned her tender, sorrowful hug;
+and then she ran away, but not straight to
+her own room. She darted down one flight
+of stairs, and caught hold of her father, who
+had come in from the practice, and had been
+washing his hands before going to supper.</p>
+
+<p>'Father,' she said breathlessly, 'please let
+me say it: Cecil <i>has</i> been working&mdash;he has
+indeed. Oh, I am sure you would believe it if
+you had heard what he said to me just now!'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Cunningham did not draw himself away
+from the detaining clasp, but he said gravely,
+'I quite believe that Cecil does not think he
+has been so very idle, but he admits that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span>
+has not done his best, and I hope in a little
+while he will see all his fault, and be sorry
+for it. Don't let him talk to you any more
+to-night.'</p>
+
+<p>'But don't you think there may have been
+some mistake?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, indeed,' he answered in a surprised
+tone, which showed that no such supposition
+had ever entered his head.</p>
+
+<p>Then, as she still lingered, he stooped to
+kiss her, and said kindly, 'Don't try to comfort
+Cecil with such an idea as that, my child,
+but see if you can encourage him to do his
+best for the future.'</p>
+
+<p>'And&mdash;father,' she said timidly, 'is he
+really only to have a week's holiday?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes,' said Mr. Cunningham in his most
+decided tone; then more gently he added,
+'I am afraid that is punishing you as well as
+him, but it can't be helped; and as he is only
+going to a day school, you will not lose him
+entirely.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Remembering the adjectives Cecil had
+heaped upon the day school, Jessie could not
+feel this to be quite consolatory; but she
+only said 'Good-night, father,' and held up
+her face for another kiss, which was given
+very tenderly.</p>
+
+<p>Poor little girl! there was a great deal of
+grief and perplexity in her heart that night;
+but the comfort was, that though she so
+pitied Cecil, she did not distrust the goodness
+of either the heavenly or the earthly
+father. She could not see the why and
+wherefore of it all; but when she had said
+her prayers, she laid herself down to sleep
+trustfully and patiently, while Cecil was tossing
+and tumbling about, feeling as if everybody
+except Jessie were against him.</p>
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i098a.png" width="400" height="89" alt="Decoration" title="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER II.</h2>
+
+<h3>A BACHELOR'S LUNCH.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 75px;">
+<img src="images/i098t.png" width="75" height="74" alt="T" title="T" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br />HE bells were ringing for Sunday
+Morning Prayer at Wilbourne
+Church, and the congregation was
+pouring in at the large west door, and the
+choir boys taking the little path towards
+the vestry, when Mr. Yorke, the tall curate,
+opened the small side gate, which was his
+nearest entrance to the churchyard.</div>
+
+<p>He was passing quickly along, when he
+caught sight of a boy leaning over the paling
+a little beyond the gate, in rather a disconsolate
+attitude; and first he paused for a
+minute, and then struck across the grass and
+laid his hand kindly on the boy's shoulder.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Come in with me, Cecil,' he said in his
+most cheery tone&mdash;knowing that the lad
+usually formed one of the choir when at home,
+and thinking that his ill success at school had
+made him shy of facing the other choristers,
+who probably knew all about it by this time.</p>
+
+<p>'No, I mustn't,' said Cecil, turning round
+abruptly and colouring very much.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Yorke was surprised, and showed it.
+Knowing that Cecil's general conduct at
+school had been very good, he had not
+thought that exclusion from the choir would
+have formed part of his punishment.</p>
+
+<p>'It's not because of <i>that</i>,' said the boy,
+reading his thoughts in his open, kindly face,
+'at least not of that alone; it's because I
+don't say I'm sorry, and behave as I'm
+expected to behave. But oh, if father
+knew&mdash;&mdash;'</p>
+
+<p>He broke off and turned his face away;
+but Mr. Yorke, who liked the boy well, and
+had one of those sympathetic natures that can<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>
+feel for everybody's troubles, was touched by
+the bitter, hopeless tone.</p>
+
+<p>'Suppose you come home with me after
+service, and spend the rest of the day with
+me,' said he, feeling it might really do the
+boy good to have his Sunday free from the
+sort of atmosphere of disgrace which he felt
+or fancied surrounded him at home.</p>
+
+<p>He could see that Cecil caught at the notion,
+by the eager way in which he looked up;
+though the answer was,</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you; but perhaps father wouldn't
+like it.'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't think he will mind; I'll ask him myself.
+Don't suppose I'm inviting you to any
+great treat: cold mutton and bread and marmalade
+are about all that I have to offer. I
+don't like to keep my landlady from church.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, thanks,' said Cecil, laughing, not at
+all as if the prospect alarmed him; and Mr.
+Yorke laughed too, and saying, 'Well, then,
+look out for me after service,' strode away<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>
+across the grass, looking back, however, at
+the vestry door, to see if Cecil were turning
+his steps towards the church.</p>
+
+<p>Cecil had not at all liked the idea of taking
+his place among the congregation: he thought
+that those who noticed him would wonder
+why he was not in the choir, and in his present
+mood the least humiliation was intolerable
+to him. The two days which had intervened
+since his coming home had not been
+well or happily spent: he had gone about in
+a sulky injured way, keeping aloof from his
+father and mother, answering shortly when
+spoken to, and being anything but sociable
+even with his brothers and sisters. Some of
+them had almost ceased to be sorry for him,
+because he made himself, as they said, 'so
+disagreeable;' but his faithful friend Jessie
+had borne with him uncomplainingly, and
+continued to feel for him with all her heart.
+He was a little cheered now by the thought
+that Mr. Yorke felt for him too, and did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>
+seem to condemn him altogether; and so&mdash;rather
+slowly&mdash;he walked towards the church
+and went in, and took a place near the door,
+where he thought scarcely anybody would
+see him.</p>
+
+<p>His thoughts wandered far and wide during
+the prayers, though now and then he recalled
+them by an effort, and tried to attend for at
+least a few minutes; but he could not help
+listening to the sermon, which was preached
+by his father&mdash;his father, whom at the bottom
+of his heart he did warmly love and respect,
+spite of all the rebellious feelings of the last
+day or two. The text was, 'While I live will
+I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my
+God while I have any being;' and there followed
+a beautiful, fervent exhortation to the
+spirit of constant praise, and then a consideration
+of the hindrances which check this flow
+of thankfulness in Christian souls. Cecil
+listened most attentively, and with a kind of
+awe, when among these was named the pride<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>
+of heart which would not acknowledge as deserved
+such punishment as God might send,
+either directly from Himself or through
+others&mdash;the temper which called it 'very
+hard' that this or that suffering should be
+laid upon us. He did not suppose that his
+father was thinking of him&mdash;nor was he; but
+in the vivid description of feelings which followed
+he recognised his own, and a strange
+thrill of heart seized him when Mr. Cunningham
+went on: 'There is no peace like
+the peace of those who have conquered all
+such rebellious impulses, such self-justifying
+thoughts, who have given themselves up lovingly
+to God to be chastened as much and as
+long as He wills. There is no praise like the
+praise of a soul that can say with holy Job,
+"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him;"
+or with Habakkuk, "Although the fig-tree
+shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in
+the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail,
+and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span>
+shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall
+be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice
+in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my
+salvation."'</p>
+
+<p>'If I had sung in the choir to-day, it
+wouldn't have been real praise; I shouldn't
+have thought of it or meant it,' Cecil owned
+to himself; and it did not seem to him so
+hard as before that he had been excluded,
+though he was far from entering fully into the
+spirit of submission which Mr. Cunningham
+had set before his people as the thing to be
+longed and striven for. Entering fully! Ah,
+with most of us it takes a lifetime to do that;
+but none of us are too young to <i>begin</i> to learn it.</p>
+
+<p>Cecil went back to his old position by the
+churchyard palings after service to wait for
+Mr. Yorke, but could not quite escape some
+greetings from his village friends, who were
+'glad to see him back, and hoped he had his
+health.' He looked up anxiously when he
+saw his father and the curate come forth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span>
+from the vestry together; but they soon
+parted, and Mr. Yorke came across the grass
+to him, saying, 'All right, Cecil; you can
+come home with me.'</p>
+
+<p>'Home' was some bachelor lodgings in a
+very rustic cottage with a porch all overgrown
+with Tangier peas, and a queerly-shaped
+dining-room, the ceiling of which was so low
+that Mr. Yorke's head seemed but a little way
+off it as he walked about. On the other side
+of the passage was a drawing-room, wonderfully
+smart and uncomfortable, with groups
+of wax fruit under glass shades on rickety
+tables, crochet couvrettes over the back of
+almost every chair as well as on the sofa, and
+a wonderful festoon of green and yellow
+tissue paper round the glass above the mantelpiece.
+Mr. Yorke took Cecil in there while
+the cloth was being laid, but told him he
+never sat there, as there was not a single
+chair which would bear his weight, nor a table
+which did not creak when it was leant upon.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'I should turn all this trumpery out, and
+make Mrs. Keeling give me something sensible,'
+said Cecil, with a boy's rough-and-ready
+way of disposing of difficulties.</p>
+
+<p>'No, you wouldn't, if you saw what a delight
+she takes in it all, and what a solace it
+is to her to come and dust and admire. Between
+the dining-room and a little den I have
+up-stairs, I do very well. I only hope you'll
+have as snug a little hole and as worthy a
+little landlady when <i>you</i> are a curate in
+lodgings.'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't know whether I shall ever be a
+clergyman now,' said Cecil gloomily.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Yorke, who was standing at the window
+looking out, while his guest had ventured
+on one of the dangerous chairs, turned
+round in surprise. 'You don't mean to say
+you are giving up that? I thought you had
+wished it ever since you were four years old.'</p>
+
+<p>'So I have; and if I had stayed at Eastwood,
+I might some day have got one of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>
+Hulston scholarships, and that would have
+helped me at college; but now there's no
+chance for me. I'm going to old Bardsley's
+day school in Fairview, and there's nothing
+to be got <i>there</i>.'</p>
+
+<p>'Still I wouldn't give up if I were you,
+my boy; I would keep the hope before me.
+There's nothing like a high aim to help one
+through the drudgery of school-work, and
+keep one out of stupid, little, mean temptations.'</p>
+
+<p>'I know, and it was for that I worked,' said
+Cecil, 'at least for that chiefly; but it was all
+no use, and it doesn't seem worth while to
+try any more.'</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Yorke, who had supposed that Cecil
+<i>hadn't</i> worked, did not quite know what answer
+to make to this.</p>
+
+<p>'I think it seems more worth while than
+ever,' he said after a minute. 'If one has lost
+ground, one must make it up again somehow.
+You know you might be ordained even without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span>
+going to Oxford, though I don't mean to
+say that a college education is not a good
+thing, if one can have it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Father went to Oxford, and so did you,
+didn't you?' said Cecil.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, there was no difficulty about that,
+as it happened; but my way was not all
+smooth, any more than yours. I had not
+been meant for a clergyman, and there were
+objections to be got over, and a good deal
+that was discouraging; but it all came right
+at last.'</p>
+
+<p>He broke off his sentence rather abruptly,
+but in his heart it was ended thus: 'Thanks
+be to God for it.'</p>
+
+<p>If Cecil had ever seen the luxurious home
+from which the curate came, or had known
+what good worldly prospects he had given
+up to enter holy orders, he would have made
+quite a hero of him in his own mind; but, even
+as it was, he looked up admiringly at the tall
+manly figure and bright resolute face. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span>
+liked to feel that Mr. Yorke was his friend,
+and for the moment longed to tell him all his
+trouble, and see if he could give him more
+help in bearing it than little Jessie could.
+But he was shy of beginning; and before he
+had opened his lips, a plump little old woman
+in a black silk dress and spotless apron appeared
+at the door, and announced, 'Your
+lunch is ready, sir.'</p>
+
+<p><i>Lunch!</i>&mdash;so they were to dine late; and
+though the cold mutton was not likely to
+prove a much greater dainty at six than at
+one, Cecil felt a little pride and pleasure in
+keeping such grown-up hours.</p>
+
+<p>In honour of the young guest, Mrs. Keeling
+had set out every small luxury that either
+her lodger or she possessed; and there were
+poached eggs, and gooseberries, and sardines,
+and honey, and pickles, and gingerbread, and
+potted meat, arranged with great display
+upon the table, while the bread and butter
+and cheese, as being altogether ordinary,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span>
+were exiled to a little sideboard behind Mr.
+Yorke's chair.</p>
+
+<p>'Is there anything more you require, sir?'
+said the old dame before withdrawing, in a
+complacent tone that seemed to say, What
+<i>could</i> they require when such a variety was
+before them?</p>
+
+<p>'Thank you, let me see: would you like
+some mutton, Cecil?'</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Keeling almost frowned at this proposal.
+How could the good young gentleman
+be so inconsiderate, she thought, as to propose
+to his visitor for <i>lunch</i> what was by and
+by to come up for <i>dinner?</i> She was quite
+relieved, however, by Cecil's eager negative,
+and went off to her kitchen well satisfied;
+while Mr. Yorke, after saying grace, proceeded
+to do the honours of the repast.</p>
+
+<p>'May I give you some pickles, Cecil?' he
+said mischievously. 'I don't see anything to
+eat with them, so I suppose they are meant
+to form a course by themselves.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'They wouldn't be bad with bread and
+cheese,' rejoined Cecil, laughing; 'some of
+our seniors eat them with all sorts of things.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, you can try the combination if you
+like, but I don't see any cheese; and oh,
+hulloa! there's no bread either. Will you
+ring the bell while I help the eggs?'</p>
+
+<p>'I see them&mdash;they're behind you&mdash;I'll get
+them,' and Cecil jumped up and set down the
+bread, but, among the array of dishes which
+covered the small table, could find no room
+for the butter or cheese.</p>
+
+<p>'We can turn out the pickles, and the
+gooseberries too, for the present,' said Mr.
+Yorke with a look of amusement. 'Thank
+you, Cecil; I seem to have brought you here
+to wait upon me.'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, it's such fun!' said Cecil delightedly.
+A thoroughly well-arranged meal would not
+have given him half the pleasure that this
+queer little bachelor lunch did.</p>
+
+<p>Before it was over, his spirits were such as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span>
+entirely to satisfy his host; and Mrs. Keeling,
+when she came to clear away, was gratified
+to find that her home-made gingerbread had
+by no means been despised, though she had
+been a little offended in the interval by water
+being rung for. What could Mr. Yorke be
+thinking of, to let the little gentleman drink
+water, when there was cowslip wine and raspberry
+vinegar of her own making in the house,
+supposing that ordinary wine or beer were
+thought too strong for him?</p>
+
+<p>But Cecil had affirmed that he always
+drank water at home, and wished for nothing
+else, and Mr. Yorke knew better than to try
+to lead him to other tastes. He liked Cecil's
+bringing-up altogether&mdash;the hardiness and
+the good sense of it, and the kindness that
+was never spoiling; and could sympathize
+the more with the boy, under the cloud
+which had come between him and his father,
+because he knew how happy the relations
+between them had been till now. He was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>
+ready to talk about school and cricket, and
+his own younger brothers, and anything that
+seemed to interest him; and was rather
+startled when, as they sat together after
+lunch in a queer little arbour at the end of
+the garden, Cecil suddenly said, 'Do you
+think a person can help being miserable when
+they are punished for a fault they haven't
+done?'</p>
+
+<p>'I think it is a great trial,' he answered
+after a moment's reflection. 'But surely they
+would have more reason to be miserable if
+they <i>had</i> committed the fault.'</p>
+
+<p>Cecil pondered over this a minute; then
+he said, 'But how is it <i>just</i> that they should
+be punished for what they haven't done?'</p>
+
+<p>'Why, I suppose the person punishing
+thinks they have done it.'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, the person,' said Cecil,&mdash;and there
+he hesitated,&mdash;'I mean,' he said at last, not
+irreverently, but in a low, earnest tone, 'why
+are things like <i>this let</i> happen?'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Yorke could only guess what 'this'
+was, and did not seek to have it explained,
+not wishing to make himself a judge of anything
+that lay between Cecil and his father.</p>
+
+<p>'You mean, why is disgrace allowed to
+come upon a person which they cannot feel
+they have deserved? I don't think we can
+always tell why&mdash;I think we must be content
+to trust and submit; but it may often be to
+teach them some lesson which they could not
+have learned without it. For instance, suppose
+a very proud person were punished for
+telling an untruth, which he had not really
+told: the humiliation might be a check to
+his pride, and in that way might be for his
+real good.'</p>
+
+<p>'And he deserved it, you mean, for being
+proud, though he didn't for untruth?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; and when he came to see this, he
+would no longer say it was very hard.'</p>
+
+<p>This reminded Cecil of his father's sermon,
+which indeed Mr. Yorke had in his mind when<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>
+he spoke. He was silent a good while, then
+he began on what seemed at first another
+subject. 'If something that wasn't your own
+fault had come to hinder you when you were
+being educated for a clergyman, shouldn't
+you have thought you weren't meant to be
+one?'</p>
+
+<p>'I think it would have depended on what
+the hindrance was, and a good many other
+circumstances. It isn't only book-learning
+that makes people fit to be clergymen; perhaps
+I might have been hindered in that, only
+to make me more fit in some other way.'</p>
+
+<p>'What kind of way?'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I might have needed to learn submission
+or humility, or a hundred things.'</p>
+
+<p>Cecil clasped both hands round his knees,
+and went swaying himself backwards and forwards
+in a queer kind of way that was more
+reflective than polite.</p>
+
+<p>'I suppose it wouldn't do for a clergyman
+to be cock-a-hoop,' he said presently.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Well, not exactly, if he meant to be in
+any sense an example to his flock,' returned
+Mr. Yorke with a smile.</p>
+
+<p>'I know I was very cock-a-hoop just before
+this disappointment came,' thought Cecil,
+'and that last week I was careless and all.
+I wonder whether that is why all this has
+happened!'</p>
+
+<p>He did not say any of this aloud, but it was
+not pride that kept him from the avowal, only
+a very natural and reasonable shyness of
+talking about himself. He stopped rocking,
+and sat with his gaze fixed on the trees in
+the distance, without really seeing them a bit.
+A new feeling of half-dismayed contrition
+was springing up in his heart, but the bitterness
+of resentment and the sense of injury
+were passing away.</p>
+
+<p>He started when the church bells began to
+ring. There was evening prayer, with catechizing,
+at three o'clock at Wilbourne Church, and
+evening prayer again, with a sermon, at seven.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>
+'Are you going, sir?' he said as Mr. Yorke
+rose up.</p>
+
+<p>'Not to church now, but I must be off to
+Bar-end, where I have my class of hobbledehoys
+from the farms.'</p>
+
+<p>'Do you think father will expect me at the
+catechizing?'</p>
+
+<p>'I should think he would be glad to see
+you there.'</p>
+
+<p>'I mustn't stand with the choir, I suppose,'
+said Cecil, hesitating.</p>
+
+<p>'No; but I think, if I were you, I should be
+all the more anxious to go. You're not sulking,
+I can see, Cecil; so why should you let
+any one think you are?'</p>
+
+<p>'I have been, though,' said Cecil rather
+awkwardly, breaking through his shyness now
+that truth seemed to require it.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Sunday is a good day for turning
+over a new leaf,' said Mr. Yorke, with a smile
+in his eyes that seemed to make no doubt at
+all of Cecil's willingness to do it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'It seemed so hard at first,' he answered,
+feeling as if he must excuse himself a
+little.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, it <i>is</i> a struggle sometimes to accept
+one's position; but when once one has, all the
+bitterness goes, and one finds oneself not half
+so miserable as one expected.'</p>
+
+<p>How true this was, Cecil soon began to
+find out from his own experience. It was a
+struggle to take his place beside the schoolboys,
+instead of with the choir, at the catechizing;<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">it cost him something to open his</span><br />
+lips when first his father seemed to address a
+question to him, but after the first effort it
+was not half so hard as he had thought it
+would be. He answered thoughtfully and
+well, and, without putting himself unduly
+forward, showed that he was paying attention,
+and was really anxious to understand
+and to learn.</p>
+
+<p>Jessie ran up to him in the churchyard
+after service.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Oh, Cecil, I am so glad you came! I
+thought you would have gone to Bar-end
+with Mr. Yorke. Are you coming home
+now?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I am going back to his place; he
+said I might amuse myself with his books
+till he came in. I haven't had dinner yet,'
+and Cecil felt a momentary importance in
+saying it.</p>
+
+<p>'How hungry you must be!' rejoined Jessie
+innocently. 'Are you going, Cecil? I shall
+wait for father.'</p>
+
+<p>'Here he is!' said Frances, who was waiting
+also.</p>
+
+<p>Cecil felt an impulse to rush away instantly,
+but was glad he had not, when his father said
+in a kind voice, 'Are you coming with us,
+Cecil?' Though he answered, of course, in
+the negative, his heart felt lighter for that
+kind tone and those few casual words. It was
+his own sulkiness which had made great part
+of his misery before, and he could see that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>
+plainly now that he was beginning to get the
+better of it.</p>
+
+<p>The rest of the day passed very pleasantly,
+and Cecil enjoyed his talk with his good-natured
+friend very much, though nothing
+more was said on the one subject which absorbed
+him the most. It was quite bed-time
+when he went home, so he had no opportunity
+of putting in practice that night the good
+resolutions which were springing up within
+him; but the next day all the brothers and
+sisters remarked how much more amiable he
+was, and little Jessie's intense belief in his
+goodness revived in full force. He was not so
+merry as usual: it was impossible he should
+be after his deep disappointment, and with
+the sense of his father's displeasure resting on
+him, and the prospect of the day school before
+him. Both father and mother were touched
+sometimes when they caught the sad expression
+of his face; but he was no longer sullen;
+and if a pettish word escaped him, he seemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span>
+to catch himself up quickly before it could
+be followed by another.</p>
+
+<p>'I can't see the rights of it yet,' he said
+to Jessie privately, 'nor why I should be so
+served out for not working, when I <i>did</i> work;
+but I think there were things&mdash;feeling set up,
+you know, and crowing over other fellows,
+and all that&mdash;which may have brought me in
+for this in a kind of way.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie could hardly bring herself to believe
+that he could have deserved it in <i>any</i> way,
+but his submission was much less grievous
+and perplexing to her than his rebellion had
+been; and she received these few words&mdash;spoken
+rather gruffly, with his back turned to
+her&mdash;as a great proof of confidence, which
+indeed they were.</p>
+
+<p>'If being very good makes people ready
+to be clergymen, I'm sure Cecil's getting
+ready as fast as he can,' she remarked to
+Frances.</p>
+
+<p>And though Frances was not so firmly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span>
+convinced as her sister that Cecil's troubles
+had not been brought on him by his own
+fault, she answered readily, 'Yes, he has
+been so nice and pleasant since Sunday,
+and hasn't grumbled once about having to
+go to Mr. Bardsley's.'</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i123a.png" width="400" height="89" alt="Decoration" title="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER III.</h2>
+
+<h3>GOOD NEWS.</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 75px;">
+<img src="images/i123m.png" width="75" height="76" alt="M" title="M" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br />R. BARDSLEY'S was rather a large
+day school, in a town about two
+miles distant from Wilbourne. His
+terms were low, and he was not particular
+who the boys might be that came to him, so
+that they behaved themselves when they did
+come; but he taught really well, and was very
+conscientious, and therefore even very careful
+parents allowed their sons to go to him, convinced
+that there they would be at least well
+grounded in classics and mathematics, and
+would learn nothing amiss from the general
+tone of the school, though individual pupils
+in it might not be all that could be wished.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span></div>
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i125.png" width="400" height="547" alt="&#39;GOOD-BYE, CECIL.&#39;" title="&#39;GOOD-BYE, CECIL.&#39;" />
+<span class="caption">&#39;GOOD-BYE, CECIL.&#39;<br /><span style="margin-left: 6em;"><i>See page 124.</i></span></span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Cecil was to start from home each day
+about half-past eight, and not to return till
+after the school broke up at five o'clock,
+except on the two half-holidays&mdash;Wednesday
+and Saturday. Eight miles' walking would
+have been too much for him; and it had
+been arranged that on the four other days
+he should dine with Mr. and Mrs. Bardsley,
+and his hours of work would be from nine
+to twelve and from two to five, with tasks
+to prepare at home in the evening.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed rather hard to begin this routine
+just in the first days of August, when the
+weather was so lovely, and the woods so
+enticing, and holiday cricket-matches going
+on in Wilbourne Park. Cecil's face was a
+little dismal at breakfast the first morning,
+and it was real self-government which kept
+him from grumbling when Jessie was helping
+him to put his schoolbooks together. Just as
+they were firmly strapped, his mother came
+to bid him 'good-bye for a few hours,' with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span>
+a tender kiss and a few cheerful words, and
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span>after that his heart felt lighter, and he set out
+bravely; but he was just beginning to think
+what a long dull walk it was, and what a
+dusty road, and how delightful it would be if
+he might shy his books over the hedge and
+strike off across the meadows to join Percy,
+who had gone out fishing, when he heard
+steps behind him, and turning, saw the tall
+curate running along with rapid strides. His
+first impression was that something had happened
+at the Rectory since he started, and
+that Mr. Yorke was come to take him back;
+but he was soon undeceived.</p>
+
+<p>'I've got business in Fairview,' the young
+clergyman explained, 'and I meant to go in
+early; and when I saw you pass by, I thought
+I might as well get ready and try to overtake
+you. I like company myself; don't you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, very much,' said Cecil, swinging his
+books over his shoulder cheerfully again, instead
+of dangling them drearily from the end<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span>
+of the strap, as he had been doing before.
+'Lewis wanted to come with me, but mother
+wouldn't have liked his walking back alone;
+and besides, one doesn't always want a little
+chap like that after one.'</p>
+
+<p>'I thought Percy might want to get his
+watch-chain mended,' said Mr. Yorke, with
+rather a droll expression in his eyes. 'Doesn't
+it require mending periodically? That was
+what he always used to tell me last vacation,
+when I met him going into Fairview.'</p>
+
+<p>'He hadn't had his watch long then, and
+was always taking it out to look at it,' said
+Cecil, laughing. 'I think that was how the
+chain got broken. He's used to it now. I
+wonder if Uncle Percy will give <i>me</i> a watch
+when I'm sixteen. Of course Percy wanted
+one particularly, because of his going to Sandhurst.
+He's gone out fishing this morning:
+mustn't it be jolly in the water-meadows?'</p>
+
+<p>'Very; but how well this part of the road
+is watered!&mdash;it's quite pleasant walking here.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span>
+I suppose the Fairview water-carts come out
+as far as this.'</p>
+
+<p>'I wish they'd come all the way,' said Cecil;
+'I was just thinking how dusty it was before
+I met you.'</p>
+
+<p>'And I was wondering whether you chose
+the road instead of the path on purpose, because
+you <i>liked</i> the dust: there's no accounting
+for tastes.'</p>
+
+<p>'I'll try the path next time,' said Cecil with
+a smile. 'Do you know old Bardsley, Mr.
+Yorke?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I met him at the Institute one day,
+and we had a lively discussion about Greek
+roots. He's a clever man, I think, and has a
+real taste for teaching. When he gets hold of
+a fellow that cares to learn, I'm told there's
+no limit to the pains he'll take with him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Jim Payne didn't like him at all,' said
+Cecil, alluding to the son of a small farmer in
+the neighbourhood; 'he said he was an awful
+brute.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Jim Payne likes nothing but idleness, and
+his father is mistaken enough to let him have
+his way.'</p>
+
+<p>Cecil wisely suppressed some further quotations
+which he had meant to make from Jim
+Payne's account of Mr. Bardsley; and they
+walked on sociably together, talking of other
+things. It really seemed quite a short walk,
+after all, though Cecil had fancied it very long
+when he first set out.</p>
+
+<p>He was in tolerably good spirits when he
+trod that road again in the evening, though
+this time he was alone the whole way. He
+did not dislike either the school or the schoolmaster
+as much as he had expected; and he
+felt that if he worked hard, and conformed to
+rules, there was no danger of his ever finding
+Mr. Bardsley the terrible monster that Jim
+Payne had described him to be.</p>
+
+<p>It would, and did, seem a drudgery to prepare
+school tasks that evening, while Percy
+was enjoying 'elegant leisure;' but there was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span>
+the Saturday half-holiday to look forward to,
+and Cecil's health was good, and not likely to
+suffer from his speedy return to work. Seeing
+him so patient and industrious, his father
+wondered how it was that he still expressed
+no sorrow for his past idleness, but did not
+press him for any such acknowledgment. He
+believed that it would come in time, and was
+quite content to take his present good conduct
+as a sign of penitence. 'He would not
+bear his punishment so well if he were not
+really sorry for his fault,' he said to himself.</p>
+
+<p>'You are not angry with Cecil now, father,
+are you?' said Jessie softly the next morning,
+as they stood watching him trudge down the
+gravel path towards the gate on his way to
+school.</p>
+
+<p>'No; very much pleased in some ways,' he
+answered. 'How late the post is this morning!
+I'm afraid old Hawkins is stopping for
+a long chat with Mrs. Giles. Just run down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span>
+the lane and see; and if there is any letter
+for me, bring it at once to my study. I have
+to go out in five minutes.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie was running off directly, with her
+long hair streaming in the wind, when her
+mother called to her to put something on;
+and she came back, snatched her garden-hat
+and holland cape from their peg, and flew
+away again. Yes, the old postman was
+standing gossiping with Mrs. Giles at her
+garden gate, just as Mr. Cunningham had
+foreseen. When Jessie breathlessly inquired
+if there were any letters for the Rectory, the
+old man answered composedly, 'Yes, Missy,
+three letters for your house&mdash;two for your
+reverend father, and one for Miss Mary.
+Shall I take 'em round, or shall I give 'em to
+you?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, I'll take them, please,' said Jessie;
+and back she flew with them, and straight
+into the study she went, holding out the two
+that belonged to Mr. Cunningham.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Thanks. This is the one I wanted, from
+your Uncle Percy,' he said as he took them
+from her; 'and this is from Dr. Lomax.
+What makes him write again, I wonder?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, father, do open it, please!' said Jessie
+excitedly, a sudden hope springing up in her
+breast.</p>
+
+<p>'My child, what can there be in it to signify?
+It is an account for some schoolbooks,
+perhaps,' said Mr. Cunningham, rather
+as if he thought her a very silly little girl.
+But when he looked up and saw her eager,
+quivering face, he added, with a smile, 'Well,
+to set your mind at rest, I will just take a
+glance.'</p>
+
+<p>He opened the letter as he spoke, but it
+was much more than a glance which he gave
+it. A minute passed, two minutes, three, and
+still he read on and did not speak. Jessie
+never took her eyes off his face; hope and
+fear struggled together in her heart, and hope
+was uppermost. But for the gravity of her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span>
+father's silence, she would have felt sure that
+all was coming right.</p>
+
+<p>At last he spoke. 'There <i>was</i> a mistake,
+Jessie: the marks were counted up wrong, it
+seems, and your brother has not been to
+blame, after all.'</p>
+
+<p>'And not lost the "exhibition?"'</p>
+
+<p>'No; his marks more than entitle him to
+keep it.'</p>
+
+<p>'And you will let him go back next month,
+father?'</p>
+
+<p>'Certainly. Why, my dear&mdash;&mdash;' For
+Jessie was off like an arrow from a bow, and
+did not even hear his exclamation.</p>
+
+<p>He supposed she had gone to tell the
+others, and paused to read over the letter
+once more, with deep thankfulness, and much
+sympathy for Cecil. It was from young Mr.
+Lomax, not from the Doctor: the similarity
+in the handwriting had misled Mr. Cunningham.
+He said the mistake had been discovered
+by his father, but that, as it had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>
+made by him, he could not rest without
+personally acknowledging it, and expressing
+his regret. He had been himself surprised,
+in the first instance, at the result of his addition;
+but as he had only to do with Cecil in
+mathematics, in which he was not <i>remarkably</i>
+proficient, it did not seem so astonishing to
+him as it did to his father, who had watched
+the boy's progress in classics. Dr. Lomax
+had not gone over the books himself at the
+time, but having occasion to refer to them for
+something the morning of the day on which
+Mr. Lomax wrote, he had counted up Cecil's
+marks throughout the year, just for his own
+satisfaction, and in doing so had discovered
+the mistake that had been made. 'We have
+since been over it all together,' continued the
+son; 'and being now fully convinced of my
+mistake, I hasten to apprise you of it, and to
+express my deep regret.' If Cecil had seen
+this sentence, and some which followed, he
+would certainly have abandoned his idea that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span>
+'young Lomax might have done it to spite
+him.'</p>
+
+<p>'Mother!' called Mr. Cunningham, suddenly
+remembering the appointment which
+this letter had made him forget for a few
+minutes; and as his wife came running down
+in answer to his call, he went on: 'Has Jessie
+told you, love? I mustn't stay&mdash;but take the
+letter; I shall try to get down in time to meet
+that poor boy as he comes out from morning
+school.'</p>
+
+<p>'I haven't seen Jessie,' Mrs. Cunningham
+answered; but she seemed to guess instinctively
+what the letter contained, and one
+glance at it confirmed her impression.</p>
+
+<p>'My darling boy! oh, thank God!' she exclaimed.
+'Lewis, you will bring him straight
+home with you, won't you?'</p>
+
+<p>'If I don't, I shall have you following me
+and hugging him before the whole school,'
+said her husband, laughing, but almost with
+tears in his eyes; and he hurried away, while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>
+she went joyfully back to the drawing-room
+to tell Mary and Frances the good news.</p>
+
+<p>They literally 'jumped for joy;' and there
+was a kind of triple hug between the mother
+and her daughters, from which Frances was
+the first to break away, crying, 'Oh, where's
+Jessie? do let me tell her! how glad she will
+be!'</p>
+
+<p>'She knows, I think,' said Mrs. Cunningham;
+'it was she who brought father the
+letter. But find her by all means, and Lewis
+too, that we may all be happy together.'</p>
+
+<p>Lewis was easily found, but nothing could
+be seen of Jessie; and presently her little
+brother was sent to the meadows where Percy
+was fishing, to see if she had run there with
+the tidings; but there she was not, and there
+was some consternation at the Rectory when
+the fact was announced.</p>
+
+<p>'I really think she must have gone to Fairview,'
+said Mary anxiously.</p>
+
+<p>'Perhaps she thought she could overtake<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>
+Cecil,' suggested Frances. And though they
+did not know it, this guess hit the exact
+truth.</p>
+
+<p>When Jessie left the study, she firmly believed
+that if she were only quick enough she
+could catch Cecil, who was very likely to
+linger on his way; and she had a vision of
+finding him leaning over a certain gate which
+opened into a harvest-field, and which was a
+favourite halting-place with all the young
+people.</p>
+
+<p>No, he was not at the gate; but Jessie, full
+of her one idea of overtaking him, flew on
+and on till she had reached the outskirts of
+the town, and still she saw nothing of him&mdash;the
+truth being, that not having allowed himself
+more than enough time for his walk that
+morning, he had hurried on instead of stopping
+anywhere, and was in school by this
+time. She was dismayed when the country
+road began to turn into a street, and realized
+for the first time how far she had come. She<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span>
+had not had a thought of doing wrong when
+she began to run after Cecil, but now she
+was struck with a sudden sense of misdemeanour,
+and a fear that 'mother' would be
+angry.</p>
+
+<p>'I wonder if I ought to go back,' she said
+to herself, 'or whether I may just go on to
+Mr. Bardsley's! It isn't far now, and then
+Cecil could come back with me, I daresay.
+Perhaps I could still catch him just as he's
+going in.'</p>
+
+<p>Inspirited by this thought, she began to
+run again, and in a little while she was
+standing opposite the square brick house
+which she knew to be Mr. Bardsley's. There
+was not a sign of a boy on the steps, nor was
+there any sound of voices from the playground;
+evidently Cecil and his companions
+were already at study. She stood there,
+panting and weary, not very well knowing
+what to do next.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/i139a.png" width="400" height="91" alt="Decoration" title="Decoration" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<h2>CHAPTER IV.</h2>
+
+<h3>'IT'S ALL RIGHT!'</h3>
+
+
+<div class="figleft" style="width: 75px;">
+<img src="images/i139j.png" width="75" height="75" alt="J" title="J" />
+</div><div class='unindent'><br />ESSIE fancied that if she rang the
+bell and asked for Cecil, she should
+be either sent away or shown into
+the great schoolroom; and the idea of facing
+Mr. Bardsley and all the boys seemed to her
+very terrible&mdash;almost too terrible to be entertained
+for a moment. But then, to leave Cecil
+in ignorance of the good tidings that she had
+run all this way to bring to him!&mdash;to let him
+go on through the day still feeling himself in
+disgrace, and not knowing that all was explained!
+No, she could not bear that either.
+She put up a trembling hand, and not daring
+to meddle with the big knocker, which looked
+prepared to make any amount of noise, took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span>
+hold of the bell at the side of it, and gave
+a feeble tinkle, which would scarcely have
+been audible to the housemaid had she not
+happened to be close at hand cleaning the
+hall lamp. She opened the door so suddenly,
+that Jessie, who was prepared to wait some
+time, was quite startled, and so confused that
+she could not say anything.</div>
+
+<p>'Did you ring?' asked the maid sharply,
+looking down in amazement at the dusty little
+figure and flushed frightened face.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes; oh, please,' said Jessie, recovering
+herself, 'is Master Cunningham here? and
+would you tell him that I want to speak to
+him a minute?'</p>
+
+<p>'The young gentlemen are in school&mdash;they
+can't be disturbed now,' replied the servant,
+preparing to shut the door.</p>
+
+<p>'But oh, please, if you would tell him I've
+come with news from home, and I want to
+see him so much,' said Jessie desperately;
+'I'm his sister.'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The maid looked hard at her, and Jessie
+felt sure she spied out the gloveless hands
+under the holland cape; but with as much
+dignity as she could muster, the child added,
+'I'm Miss Jessie Cunningham;' and something
+in her tone and manner must have borne out
+the assertion, for with a quick 'Step in here,
+please, and I'll speak to Mrs. Bardsley,' the
+maid opened the door wider instead of shutting
+it, and allowed her to enter the hall.</p>
+
+<p>She then gave her a chair, and went into
+a room close by, from which she soon reappeared,
+followed by a quiet-looking lady,
+not very old, but with a cap and spectacles,
+and something about her which made Jessie
+feel quite ashamed of her own heated, untidy
+condition.</p>
+
+<p>'You have come with a message for Master
+Cunningham, I understand; I trust no accident
+has occurred at his home,' said Mrs.
+Bardsley in a voice as quiet as her face.</p>
+
+<p>'Oh no! it's all good news, and I thought<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span>
+I should have overtaken him, but I didn't;
+and oh! if you would please let me see him,
+and then perhaps he would come back with
+me.'</p>
+
+<p>'I don't think he can return till after school,
+unless you have brought an order from his
+father to that effect,' said the schoolmaster's
+wife; 'but come and sit down, and then perhaps
+you will be able to explain yourself more
+fully.'</p>
+
+<p>She took Jessie into a prim-looking sitting-room;
+and in rather a confused way the little
+girl did contrive to explain what had brought
+her, and how important her news would be to
+Cecil. 'And if Mr. Bardsley would let him
+come back with me I don't think father would
+mind, and mother would like it so much better
+than my going back alone. I oughtn't to
+have come, I'm afraid,' she wound up, feeling
+every minute more and more dismayed
+at herself.</p>
+
+<p>'I fear you must be causing anxiety at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span>
+home,' said Mrs. Bardsley, still rather stiffly.
+'I will send and ask Mr. Bardsley to allow
+your brother to speak to you for a minute;'
+and she went out of the room, leaving Jessie
+alone.</p>
+
+<p>Some minutes passed, and Jessie grew more
+and more nervous; but at length appeared
+Cecil, looking very schoolboyish, with a great
+dab of ink on his collar.</p>
+
+<p>She jumped off her chair and ran to him,
+and got out one great 'Oh, Cecil!' and then,
+instead of saying anything more, she began
+to sob.</p>
+
+<p>'What is it? what's up?' said he in utter
+amazement. 'Don't cry, don't cry; is anything
+wrong at home?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh no! it's all right! and you've got
+enough marks, and you're to go back after
+the holidays. And oh, Cecil! I'm so glad!
+and I'm so hot, and I've run all the way!'</p>
+
+<p>'And you're obliged to cry about it,' said
+Cecil, laughing, and kissing her. 'I say, sit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span>
+down here in this arm-chair; there, I'll fan
+you with my pocket-handkerchief. How's it
+all come out? has the Doctor written&mdash;or
+what?'</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I think it was he; and father's so
+glad, and he said himself you should go back.
+He counted up the marks wrong&mdash;not father,
+but somebody, you know&mdash;and you've got
+plenty, and you're not a bit to blame; father
+says you're not.'</p>
+
+<p>A sort of dancing light came into the boy's
+black eyes, but he didn't say a word. Jessie
+was quite astonished, and a good deal disappointed,
+at his taking the matter so quietly.</p>
+
+<p>'Aren't you glad?' she said; 'I thought
+you would have been ready to jump out of
+your skin for joy. <i>I</i> was; but I came straight
+off, thinking I should overtake you. How
+fast you must have walked to get here first!
+Oh, Cecil, do you think I could have a little
+water?'</p>
+
+<p>'You're too hot to drink cold water,' said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span>
+Cecil in a wise, elder-brotherly way. 'I've
+got an apple in my pocket; you shall have a
+bit of that.'</p>
+
+<p>It was rather a greenish specimen, and one
+bite of it more than satisfied Jessie, without
+refreshing her in the least; but she sat holding
+it in her hand, and looking at Cecil with
+loving eyes, too happy to mind much about
+her thirst and fatigue.</p>
+
+<p>'Do you think Mr. Bardsley will let you
+come back with me?' she said presently.</p>
+
+<p>'Not till twelve o'clock, I'm sure; perhaps
+he would then. Father didn't say I was to
+come, did he?'</p>
+
+<p>'No, I was so silly I didn't wait to ask him;
+he didn't know I was coming. Cecil, do you
+think they will be very angry with me? I
+have never been so far alone before.'</p>
+
+<p>'I'm afraid mother won't like it,' said Cecil;
+but he thought to himself that he should always
+love her for it; and if he had been a
+girl instead of a boy, he would have told her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span>
+so. 'I must go back to study now; but
+I think you had better wait here, if Mrs.
+Bardsley will let you,' he continued, after a
+minute's reflection.</p>
+
+<p>'But what will they think at home? They
+must have missed me. Cecil, I'd better go;'
+and she stood up, feeling how dreary the
+lonely walk back would be, with those tired
+feet of hers that had run along so merrily
+when the thought of telling the joyful news
+had been the only one present to her mind.</p>
+
+<p>'There's father, I do declare, in old Mr.
+Rawson's gig!' exclaimed Cecil, who was
+looking out of the window; and sure enough,
+at this moment, a funny old-fashioned carriage
+drew up at the door, and Mr. Cunningham
+got down from it and shook hands with
+the owner.</p>
+
+<p><i>He</i> was not afraid of the big knocker, but
+the maid was much longer in answering his
+rat-tat-tat than Jessie's feeble ring; and only a
+sense that they were not in their own house,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span>
+and must not take liberties, restrained the
+children from opening the door themselves.
+They could not resist running out into the
+hall to meet him, thus forestalling any inquiry
+for them by their immediate appearance.</p>
+
+<p>'Well, Cecil!'&mdash;oh, such a different 'well'
+from the one that had greeted him on his return
+for the holidays!&mdash;then to Jessie: 'And
+so you are <i>here</i>, little madam! Mother is
+making herself quite unhappy about you.'</p>
+
+<p>Before Jessie could answer, he turned to
+the maid, asking her to request Mr. Bardsley
+to see him for a minute; and she ushered
+him into the sitting-room where the children
+had been, and went off with the message.</p>
+
+<p>Then his little daughter got hold of his
+hand and whispered, 'I didn't mean to vex
+mother; I thought I could have overtaken
+Cecil. I am very sorry.'</p>
+
+<p>'Well, I don't think I need tell you not to
+do such a thing again,' said Mr. Cunningham
+with a smile, 'for the temptation is not likely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span>
+to recur. These things don't happen every
+day; do they, Cecil? My boy, I am sorry
+for this week of disgrace, and more glad
+than I can tell you to find it was not deserved.'</p>
+
+<p>Cecil looked down, coloured, put his hands
+in his pockets and took them out again,
+twisted his eyes in a vain attempt to see the
+whole extent of the ink spot on his collar, and
+finally, standing quite upright, and looking
+straight before him, said in a very modest and
+yet manly way, 'I am glad you know that I
+was not really idle, father; but I didn't work
+so hard as I ought the last week, and I was
+stuck-up and made too sure of success. I
+would rather you knew that.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie, looking to see how her father took
+this, was struck by the shining of his eyes as
+they rested on his son; but before he had
+time to make any reply, Mr. Bardsley came in;
+only, Cecil was sure, by the way his father's
+hand remained upon his shoulder while he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span>
+was speaking to the master, that he understood
+and appreciated the frank confession,
+and that they should be closer friends henceforth
+than ever before.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Bardsley gave leave for Cecil to return
+home at once; and Mr. Cunningham said he
+would call again the next day, out of school
+hours, to explain more fully how Cecil's
+prospects were altered, and 'make some
+arrangement.' Jessie was rather alarmed at
+the sound of this, but Cecil guessed that his
+father meant to withdraw him from the day
+school, and wished to offer some compensation
+for taking him away in this sudden
+fashion, just at the beginning of the half-year.</p>
+
+<p>Spite of Jessie's tired feet, the walk back
+was very pleasant; and neither she nor Cecil
+were insensible to the honour of having their
+father all to themselves, and at this unusual
+time of day too. He explained that he had
+met their mother in the village, so anxious
+about Jessie, that instead of waiting till towards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span>
+twelve o'clock to go into Fairview, he
+had got Mr. Yorke to finish his parish business
+for him, and had started off at once, accepting
+a lift from Mr. Rawson by the way.
+And when he added quietly, 'You will take
+care that she is never made uneasy again by
+any thoughtlessness on your part, Jessie!'
+the little girl answered, 'Yes, father,' in a
+very subdued and humble tone, and felt quite
+as sorry as if he had lectured her for an
+hour.</p>
+
+<p>'Do you think Mr. Yorke will be at home
+again now? Might I run in for a minute,
+father?' said Cecil as they passed the curate's
+lodging.</p>
+
+<p>'I am not sure; you can see if you like.'
+And Cecil <i>did</i> see; and finding his friend
+busily engaged sermon-writing in the queer
+little dining-room, tarried only for a few
+words.</p>
+
+<p>'I suppose father has told you,' he said as
+he burst in.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Yes, I am <i>so</i> glad;' and Cecil's inky little
+paw was enfolded in the curate's heartiest
+grasp.</p>
+
+<p>'I shan't forget this week in a hurry,' the
+boy continued; 'but I'm not so very sorry
+now that it all happened. Thank you for
+that nice Sunday.'</p>
+
+<p>He did not say, but he implied how much
+it had helped him through; and Mr. Yorke
+answered cheerily, 'I could have sympathized
+more if I had known all that I know now;
+but I don't think you wanted pity. I believe
+your father's sermon showed you the way to
+bear your trouble.'</p>
+
+<p>Cecil's cheeks were burning, and he only
+said shyly, 'You showed me too;' and then
+hastily adding, 'I want to catch up with
+father before he gets home,' ran off again,
+after one more hearty shake of the hand had
+been exchanged between them.</p>
+
+<p>If the memory of pain could be effaced by
+after-happiness, the remainder of this day<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>
+would have amply sufficed to blot out the past
+week. Never did Cecil feel more glad than
+when his mother kissed him, called him her
+own darling boy, and at his request forgave
+Jessie's escapade, and gave her and Frances
+a week's holiday, that he might have as much
+of their company as he chose. And on the
+following Sunday, when he took his place
+in the choir again, and Mr. Yorke came to
+dinner at the Rectory, and all was thankful
+rejoicing, that sorrowful Sunday on which he
+had felt as if the whole world were against
+him seemed already far away.</p>
+
+<p>The trial was gone by, and some of the
+effects it had left behind it were very pleasant.
+But for it, Cecil felt he never could
+have known Mr. Yorke so well, nor his own
+little sister Jessie. They were his especial
+friends from henceforth, in a way which they
+had never been before, even though Jessie had
+always been regarded by Percy and others
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>as 'Cecil's particular chum.' Percy himself
+had seemed hitherto at an immeasurable
+distance from Cecil, and had generally appeared
+to expect to be treated with the same
+sort of respect as would have been shown to
+a school 'senior;' but now, wonderful to
+relate, a change came over him, and he condescended
+to unbend not only a little, but a
+very great deal. It actually seemed as if he
+had begun to respect Cecil! No one but a
+schoolboy, with an admired and venerated
+elder brother rather given to snubbing, can
+quite realize how astonishing this change appeared
+to the person most concerned. For
+Percy to invite Cecil to come out fishing with
+him, in the genial tone of an equal who really
+cared for his companionship, instead of ordering
+him in a lordly way to take his tackle
+down to the river for him, was something so
+unexpected and flattering, that it went nearer
+to turning Cecil's head than anything that
+had happened yet. Perhaps it really might
+have done so, but for the wholesome lessons<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span>
+the boy had learned during his time of
+humiliation.</p>
+
+<p>These fishings with Percy became a sort
+of institution during that week, which Jessie
+had rather counted on for having Cecil all
+to herself. 'Francie doesn't care, because she
+wants to do her gardening; but what made
+me like so to have holidays, was only that I
+might go about with Cecil, and now he goes
+off with Percy and doesn't want me!' thought
+the poor little maiden, in rather an injured
+way, as she sat forlornly in the wide window-seat
+on Wednesday morning, watching the
+retreating figures of her brothers. Spite of
+all her unselfishness, that sense of injury
+<i>would</i> come, and was very disagreeable.</p>
+
+<p>'Who will take the boys' dinner down to
+the meadows for them by and by?' said her
+father, coming suddenly into the room. 'I
+have promised them a long, uninterrupted
+time for their sport to-day, because to-morrow
+we are all going for a picnic to the Beacon,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span>
+and there will be no fishing then. You and
+Francie are the two idlest folk in the house
+just now, aren't you, Jessie? so suppose you
+turn errand-women?'</p>
+
+<p>'Oh, father, are they going to fish all
+day?' exclaimed Jessie, jumping up when
+she was spoken to, but showing no great
+alacrity in offering her services.</p>
+
+<p>'Till tea-time, I believe, if they don't get
+tired of it. Do you know I am so glad of
+these fishings, Jessie?'</p>
+
+<p>'Are you, father?' she said, rather drearily,
+conscious that there was no gladness in her
+own face or voice.</p>
+
+<p>'Yes, because I know what a brother's
+friendship is worth. I believe Percy's good-natured
+patronage seems to Cecil the greatest
+reward he has had yet for his bravery in bearing
+his misfortunes.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie did not like the idea much; it
+seemed to her that if it were true, her father
+and she had <i>both</i> reason to feel slighted.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>'Use your imagination, Jessie,' said Mr.
+Cunningham, smiling; 'you have plenty, I
+know, and the great use of it is to help us
+to see things from other people's point of
+view. Shall I tell you something else? I
+am so glad of this companionship because I
+believe Cecil, though the younger, will do
+Percy good.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie quite understood this; her face
+brightened, as it always did at anything like
+praise of Cecil, and she felt it very delightful
+to be taken into her father's confidence in
+such a 'grown-up' kind of way.</p>
+
+<p>'I can carry the dinner, if you like, father,'
+she said briskly.</p>
+
+<p>'Suppose Francie and you both go, and
+take your own dinners as well? That will
+be a kind of picnic on a small scale, almost
+as pleasant, perhaps, as the grand one of to-morrow.
+You can come away afterwards,
+and leave the boys to their sport.'</p>
+
+<p>Jessie looked rather cloudy again for a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span>
+minute; it was so like being offered a little
+slice when she had wanted the whole loaf!</p>
+
+<p>Her father was standing quite near her
+now, and he smoothed down her hair softly
+with his hand, as he said, 'Jessie, have you
+ever thought what a sweet and happy thing
+love is when it has overcome jealousy? It is
+not worth <i>very</i> much till then.'</p>
+
+<p>For one moment there was a sharp struggle
+within her, and then she pressed her cheek
+against his arm, with a loving, grateful gesture.
+He had no fear that his little maiden
+would give way to jealousy any longer. Now
+that he had given the sore feeling a name, he
+knew that she would be as anxious to drive it
+away as he was.</p>
+
+<p>That dinner in the meadows was very pleasant&mdash;'Quite
+enchanting,' Frances declared.
+'Awfully jolly,' said Cecil, who was not
+so choice in his vocabulary. Percy looked
+on it as rather a childish entertainment, and
+said more than once that he wished 'they'<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span>
+hadn't forgotten that he always took pepper
+with everything; but he never blamed either
+of his sisters, only this mysterious 'they,'
+and made an excellent dinner, spite of the
+absence of the pepper-box. He was very
+kind to Jessie too,&mdash;so kind that she quite
+forgave Cecil from henceforth for thinking
+Percy's notice a very grand sort of thing;
+it seemed as if he almost included <i>her</i> in the
+new respect he had begun to have for his
+younger brother. And then, Cecil! Cecil
+was so entirely delightful on this occasion,
+that she wondered how, even for a moment,
+she could have thought him anything but
+the most perfect of all possible brothers.
+From the noble way in which he dispensed
+the tart, only leaving himself a very small
+piece, though she <i>knew</i> he liked it better than
+anything, down to the good-nature with
+which he gave his last bit of cheese to the
+lame old setter, that had limped down to see
+after them, everything in his behaviour was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span>
+just according to her own heart, and totally
+unlike the selfish greediness of what she
+called 'common schoolboys.' And then,
+when, instead of going back to his fishing
+directly after dinner, he asked her to walk
+with him as far as the bridge and watch the
+trout leap, she was the very happiest and
+proudest of little sisters. If it had not been
+for what her father had said, she would have
+lingered near him the whole afternoon; but
+as it was, she came away quite contentedly
+after she had watched his angling for a
+minute or two, and really felt how nice it
+was that Percy and he should have become
+such allies,&mdash;how much pleasanter for him
+than having only her for a companion.
+Percy's vacation would be over before his,
+and then her time would come perhaps; anyhow,
+she was much too sure of Cecil's love
+to have any excuse for jealousy in seeing
+him taken up with others. He had opened
+his heart to her when he was in trouble, she<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span>
+should never forget that. Oh! how dear this
+had made him to her, both 'for then and for
+always!'</p>
+
+<p>No after-trial worth recording shadowed
+Cecil's boyhood; and now he is a man&mdash;just
+such a man as Jessie longed to see him.
+He very seldom thinks of the incidents here
+related, but yet the lesson he learnt in that
+memorable week is still bearing fruit in his
+life; and when any trial comes to him, he
+does not say it is 'very hard,' but takes it as
+a new proof of the fatherly love that watches
+over him, and, in dark seasons as well as
+bright ones, is ready to sing with the psalmist,
+'Every day will I give thanks unto Thee,
+and praise Thy name for ever and ever.'</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 321px;">
+<img src="images/iback.jpg" width="321" height="500" alt="Back" title="Back" />
+</div>
+<hr style='width: 65%;' />
+<div class='tnote'><h3>Transcriber's Notes:</h3>
+<p>The original text had no table of contents. One was added as an aid to the reader.</p>
+<p>Obvious punctuation errors repaired.</p>
+
+<p>The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will <ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads 'apprear'">appear</ins>.</p></div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Holiday Tales, by Florence Wilford
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+</body>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Holiday Tales, by Florence Wilford
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Holiday Tales
+
+Author: Florence Wilford
+
+Release Date: May 30, 2008 [EBook #25647]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HOLIDAY TALES ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Chris Curnow, Lindy Walsh, Emmy and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: PLANNING OUT THE GROUND.
+
+_See page 14._]
+
+
+
+
+HOLIDAY TALES.
+
+BY FLORENCE WILFORD,
+
+AUTHOR OF 'NIGEL BARTRAM'S IDEAL,' 'AN AUTHOR'S CHILDREN,' ETC.
+
+
+WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
+
+
+[Illustration: Emblem]
+
+
+          GRIFFITH, FARRAN, OKEDEN & WELSH,
+
+          SUCCESSORS TO NEWBERY AND HARRIS,
+
+          WEST CORNER OF ST. PAUL'S CHURCHYARD, LONDON.
+          E. P. DUTTON & CO., NEW YORK.
+
+_The Rights of Translation and of Reproduction are reserved._
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+  SEVEN CAMPBELLS
+    I. MOTHER AND SONS                5
+   II. JOHNNIE'S PROTEGE             29
+  III. WHAT SEVEN CAMPBELLS CAN DO   56
+
+
+  CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK
+    I. CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK        73
+   II. A BACHELOR'S LUNCH            98
+  III. GOOD NEWS                    123
+   IV. IT'S ALL RIGHT!              139
+
+
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+SEVEN CAMPBELLS.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+MOTHER AND SONS.
+
+
+'MAMMA, there's such a fine poem here about "seven lovely Campbells"
+whose father's name was Archibald; it must mean us,--don't you think
+so?' And a very pretty boy about ten years of age, who had been poring
+for some time over Wordsworth's Poems, lifted his roguish face to his
+mother's with a look of pretended conviction.
+
+'Not exactly, Willie, seeing that the poem begins, "Seven _daughters_
+had Lord Archibald!"'
+
+'Ah, mamma, you are not to be caught. I do believe you have read
+everything that ever was written! But now, mamma, which would you rather
+have--seven daughters or seven sons?'
+
+'I would rather have just what I've got, Willie.'
+
+'Seven sons, then. Oh! mamma, I'm glad you said that; and you know we
+shall be of much more use to you than a lot of girls. Why, if the French
+were to come, you needn't be a bit afraid, with all of us to defend
+you.'
+
+'Baby at the head, armed _cap-a-pie_, I suppose,' smiled the mother,
+dancing in her arms her youngest son, a little fellow of about two years
+old; but she soon set him down in her lap again, for she had been ill,
+and was still so weak that the least effort tired her.
+
+'Mamma, I think you'd better let me ring for nurse to take Georgie, and
+then you can lie upon your sofa again and have a nap; and I'll go and
+ask my brothers to play in the rough ground, where you won't hear their
+noise,' said thoughtful Willie.
+
+The mother assented to all these proposals; but when, after ringing the
+bell, the boy turned to go, she beckoned him back to her side. 'Tell my
+darling Johnnie that I hope he'll come and sit with me this afternoon;
+only he must be wise and quiet, and not get into one of his harum-scarum
+moods, or papa won't let me have him.'
+
+Willie nodded sagaciously. 'I'll keep guard over him, mamma, so that he
+shall behave like a mouse all dinner-time, and then papa won't be afraid
+to trust him. Now let me give Georgie one kiss.' His mother watched him
+fondly as he caressed the little brother, whose baby mind took small
+cognizance of such affectionate demonstrations, and then, drawing his
+curly head down to her, she gave him a true mother's kiss, and
+whispered, 'Mamma's own good boy.' Willie tripped lightly down the
+stairs and into the garden, where three little boys, of the respective
+ages of eight, six, and five, were playing at the well-known game which
+Charles Dickens terms 'an invasion of the imaginary domains of Mr.
+Thomas Tytler.'
+
+'Here, Duncan, Seymour, Archie, I want you to come into the "desert"
+with me and have a game there. Mamma's going to take a nap before
+dinner, and she won't be able to sleep while you make this row under her
+window. Come along, there's good fellows.' The two little ones left off
+picking up gold and silver directly, and Duncan descended from the rank
+of a landed proprietor with great good-humour;--not that Mr. Thomas
+Tytler's domains were the only ground belonging to him: he had a neat
+little flower-plot in one corner of the garden, as had all the elder
+brothers except Johnnie, who had been deprived of his by his father for
+having neglected to cultivate it, and who from that day forward had been
+known in the family by the soubriquet of 'Jean-sans-terre,' otherwise
+'Lackland.' Willie led the way out of the garden into a rough piece of
+ground covered with weeds and stones, and called by the children the
+'desert,' because nothing grew there but a few stunted shrubs. He left
+the younger ones to play about there, while he passed on and walked
+along the high road to meet his two elder brothers, Honorius and John,
+who attended a day school in the neighbourhood, and always came home at
+twelve and returned in the afternoon. Willie was of an age to go to
+school too; but his father, who was not a rich man, could not afford to
+send him just then, and therefore instructed him himself, together with
+Duncan and Seymour, though rather in a desultory fashion, as he was a
+doctor, and could not command much uninterrupted time.
+
+The Doctor's seven sons were well known in the neighbourhood, and
+acknowledged by every one to be 'nice, gentlemanly boys;' so Willie had
+to receive and return some greetings both from high and low as he passed
+along. But before he had gone far he descried an elder boy with some
+lesson-books in his hand coming towards him, whereupon he shouted 'Is
+that you, old fellow? What have you done with Johnnie?' and bounded to
+his side.
+
+Honorius was, like his name, grave and dignified,--at least as much so
+as a boy of fourteen can be without affectation. He answered quietly
+that Johnnie had taken the path through the fields in order to hunt for
+sticklebats in Farmer Merryman's pond, and that he did not know when
+they might expect to see him again. But at that very moment a bright,
+mischievous face peered over the hedge at one side of the road, and
+then, with a warning to them to stand clear, and 'a one, two, three, and
+away,' Johnnie--for he it was--took a running leap, cleared the hedge,
+and stood beside them. Willie explained his reason for coming to meet
+them, and the three boys took their way to the desert, lamenting that
+the ground was not smooth enough there to admit of their playing
+cricket, as they did on the lawn.
+
+'Do you know I've been thinking,' said Willie suddenly, 'that it would
+be very jolly if we could dig up the desert, and make it a nice place
+for mamma to walk in when she gets better? We might have paths this way
+and that, and then flower-beds or turf between; though, to be sure, papa
+_did_ say that when he could afford to have it cultivated, he would
+plant some of it with potatoes.'
+
+'Oh, plebeian notion!' said Johnnie, tossing his handsome head, 'he will
+propose keeping pigs next! What do you say to it, my Emperor? is not
+your royal mind duly horrified?' The Emperor, as his brother called him,
+in allusion to his imperial namesake, by no means showed the disgust
+expected of him: he turned up a bit of the soil with his pocket-knife,
+and said reflectively,
+
+'I should think it would grow potatoes very well, but it'll want a deal
+in the way of preparation. I don't believe we could dig it up properly,
+for there are none of us strong enough for the work but myself and you,
+Johnnie; and you're such an idle fellow, you wouldn't work for more than
+ten minutes together.'
+
+'Oh yes, he will, if it's for mamma,' cried Willie; 'and papa would be
+so pleased. Do let's begin, Honorius; I can dig quite well, and the
+little ones might pull up some of the weeds.'
+
+'We must mark the paths first if we're to do it at all,' said Honorius
+in his deliberate way. 'Who's got a ball of string?'
+
+'I have,' began Johnnie, putting his hand in his pocket; but he drew it
+forth again empty, and jestingly continued, 'No, "it's gone from my gaze
+like a beautiful dream." I have lost it, I suppose. We must advertise
+for it; or, considering all things, perhaps it would be cheaper to buy
+another.'
+
+'You'll lose your head some day,' observed Honorius calmly. 'Run into
+the house, Willie, and ask cook for some string; and you might fetch the
+spades, Lackland,--they're in the arbour.'
+
+The two boys darted off on their separate errands, and the Emperor
+walked up and down, devising how the desert might be best improved.
+
+'Rather stupid of us not to have thought of doing something to it
+before,--it's more than four months since papa bought it; but, to be
+sure, the weather has not been fit for out-of-door work, and papa always
+talked as if it would take two or three men to put it in order. I don't
+think he'll mind our having a try at it, for at any rate we can't do
+much harm. I'm very glad he bought it: it would have been horrid to have
+had it let on a building lease, and some great house run up that would
+shut out the view from our windows, that mamma likes so much. It's nice
+that her own room does not overlook this, or she'd see what we are
+about, and I should like it to be a surprise to her. It's quite Willie's
+idea; he's a capital chap for thinking of things to please her. I wish
+that funny fellow Lackland had half as much sense.'
+
+Willie came back very soon with the string, and assisted his brother in
+fastening a stake in the ground where the path was to begin, and then,
+tying the string to it, drew it along in a straight line to the place
+where the path was to end, at which they stuck in another stake, and
+again fastened the string.
+
+Johnnie did not reappear for some time, and then wore an air of rather
+droll vexation. 'Pity me,' he exclaimed as he gave the spades to
+Honorius, 'I have fallen foul of my paternal relative. I found a lot of
+birds in the arbour, and served them with a notice to quit by clapping
+my hands and hooting to them, when who should appear but papa, asking
+what the noise was about, and how I could be so inconsiderate as to
+disturb mamma?'
+
+'No wonder,' said Honorius.
+
+'Oh, and I promised to keep you quiet!' exclaimed Willie in great
+distress.
+
+Jean-sans-terre laughed his merriest of laughs.
+
+'Keep me quiet! you silly fellow. Did you really think it possible?'
+
+'Yes, for mamma's sake,' said Willie stoutly. 'You can be quiet if you
+choose; and I told you what she said about her wanting you to sit with
+her this afternoon.'
+
+'And you think paterfamilias will forbid it on account of my ill-timed
+sparrow-hooting?'
+
+'I think,' said Honorius, 'you had better speak of my father by his
+right name, and endeavour to behave rather less like an idiot. Here,
+take a spade, man, and come to work.'
+
+Johnnie shrugged his shoulders, made an indescribable grimace, and began
+digging vigorously, humming the Jacobite ditty,
+
+          'Wha is it noo we ha'e gotten for a king,
+           But a wee wee German lairdie?
+           And when we went to fetch him hame,
+           He was dibbling in his kail-yairdie.'
+
+Honorius sketched in his pocket-book a sort of plan of what the desert
+was to be like when its cultivation was completed. There was to be a
+path crossing it each way exactly through the centre, and along each
+side of these paths there was to be a broad flower-border, which would
+partially conceal from view the potatoes and other useful vegetables
+which were to occupy the chief part of the ground.
+
+'It's not too late in the spring to plant potatoes, I suppose, Honorius,
+is it?' said thoughtful Willie; 'and papa will give us those, I'm sure.
+But where shall we get the flowers? I don't think papa will buy them for
+us.'
+
+'We can get some seeds of different annuals, such as nemophila and
+candytuft, ourselves. That won't cost very much, and I've got three
+shillings that I can spend on it; but then we shall want roots of other
+things and rose-bushes, and they cost more. Have you got any money,
+Johnnie?'
+
+'No, not I. I am "sans argent" as well as "sans terre." I know one way
+of getting some, though. Papa said if I would translate that favourite
+piece of his in Caesar all through, _well_, he would give me
+half-a-crown. But then, consider the labour! I have a strong suspicion
+that it might prove fatal to my constitution.'
+
+'Oh, humbug! you could do it easily if you chose,' said the elder
+brother. 'Besides, I'll help you, if papa doesn't mind.'
+
+'You'll do it, I know,' pleaded Willie softly; 'and I've got a shilling
+that'll go towards buying some roots.'
+
+'And Seymour and I have got sixpence between us,' cried Duncan. 'I say,
+Honorius, haven't we pulled up a jolly lot of weeds already?'
+
+'Oh, famous,' cried the Emperor approvingly. 'Work away; we shall have
+to go in to dinner soon.'
+
+He himself toiled with all his might, for the soil in some places was
+very stiff, and resisted the incision of the spade. Whenever he came to
+a part where it was looser, he turned that over to the younger ones; for
+Honorius, though occasionally sharp in speech, was almost invariably
+kind and considerate in his actions. 'Deeds, not words,' was his
+favourite motto; but it would sometimes have been well if he had
+remembered that we must give account for words as well as deeds, and
+that the law of love should govern both.
+
+The boys worked on for some time almost in silence. Johnnie was
+expending his energies in hard digging, and dropped for the while his
+usual character of 'merry-andrew.' He was considering with himself, too,
+whether he should undertake the task his father had proposed to him.
+
+'To be sure, I have a strong motive now for earning the half-crown,
+which I hadn't before,' thought he; 'but papa's so awfully particular,
+and I'm--yes, I must allow--I'm such an awful blockhead, that it's as
+likely as not I shall not win the money after all. However, I can but
+try; yes, and I will try too.'
+
+Lackland's face was very bright when he took his place at dinner that
+day, but his behaviour was more quiet and guarded than usual: he
+conducted himself more like Willie's ideal mouse, than like the noisy,
+rattling fellow he usually appeared. The brothers sat, three on each
+side of the table; no one claimed the place at the top, where the mother
+was accustomed to sit when well. Dr. Campbell looked tired, and was very
+silent, but took care that his sons' vigorous appetites should be duly
+satisfied, and was always ready with a kindly 'Willie, my boy, don't you
+want some more?' 'Seymour, pass your plate to me,' whenever the silence
+of one knife and fork told that its owner had finished the portion
+allotted to him. Johnnie glanced at him sometimes, but did not address
+him till after grace had been said and they had risen from table, when,
+approaching him, he asked gently if he might be allowed to sit a little
+while with his mother that afternoon.
+
+'Can I trust you to be quiet, Johnnie?' said the Doctor doubtfully.
+
+Lackland blushed, and fidgeted with his feet. 'I will try to be quiet
+indeed, papa. I am sorry I made such a row in the arbour this morning.'
+
+'Very well, you may go to mamma, then, as soon as I come down; but I
+shall beg her to send you away if you get riotous.'
+
+'Yes, papa; and, one thing more, may I do that bit of Caesar that you
+offered the half-crown for? I didn't care about doing it the other day,
+but I should like to, now.'
+
+'You may do it, certainly. I am glad you wish to--without help,
+mind--and I will look over it as soon as I have time. Well, Honorius,'
+as his elder son drew near, 'have you something to ask too?'
+
+Honorius's errand was to obtain his father's sanction for the changes
+they were making in the desert. Dr. Campbell smiled as he heard their
+plans. 'It would take two men's hard labour to put that place in order,'
+he said; 'I don't think you'll be able to do it.'
+
+'Papa, you don't know what seven Campbells can do!' said Willie in a
+tone of triumphant heroism.
+
+'Seven! What! have you pressed Georgie into the service? Well, good luck
+to you all, it'll be a nice amusement for you; you can't do much harm,
+at any rate.'
+
+He left them and hastened up to his wife's room, but Willie ran after
+him to beg that the plan might be kept a secret from her. Dr. Campbell
+readily promised secrecy, but the boys were disappointed that he had not
+seemed more delighted with their scheme.
+
+'If papa thinks it's nonsense, there's no use going on with it,' said
+Honorius moodily.
+
+'Yes, there is,' said Willie; 'it'll show him what we can do. He thinks
+it nonsense, because he doesn't know how hard we mean to work, and how
+steadily we'll keep on at it. It'll be such fun when he sees we can do a
+great deal more than he thinks!'
+
+Honorius allowed himself to be convinced by this reasoning, and went
+with Willie and Seymour to the desert to work away till it got near
+three o'clock, at which time he had to return to school. Johnnie worked
+steadily at Caesar till he heard his father go out, and then went
+up-stairs softly and tapped at his mother's door. Her 'come in' was glad
+and eager, and a soft pink colour flushed into her cheeks when she saw
+it was really Johnnie. This good mother, so just and tender to all her
+sons, kept a special corner of her heart for the merry scapegrace who
+excelled the family cat in a talent for unintentional mischief, and
+almost equalled that luckless animal in a facility for getting into
+universal disgrace. In another minute Johnnie was squatted on a
+footstool by the side of her sofa, holding her thin white hands in his
+own, and sometimes kissing them with a pretty devotion, which,
+mother-like, she thought very charming, though she pretended to call it
+'silly.'
+
+'And how is my Johnnie getting on at school?' she asked presently.
+'Whereabouts in the class are you now? At the top, I hope!'
+
+Johnnie screwed his mouth up, shook his head, groaned, and made all
+manner of funny faces. 'I'm at the bottom, mother,' he said at last, in
+a voice that might have been intended to be penitent, but did not sound
+so.
+
+'Oh, Johnnie! and I was hoping you would never do so badly again. What
+_will_ papa say if this half-year's report is as bad as the last?'
+
+'I don't know,' said Johnnie in a way that might almost have been taken
+to mean, 'I don't care;' then, more softly, 'I am sorry you are vexed,
+mother.'
+
+'Yes, I am indeed, Johnnie. It is not as if you were really dull and
+slow: then your low place in the school would not be your fault, and we
+shouldn't mind so much; but you can learn very well if you like.'
+
+'But I was born with a disposition _not_ to like it. I can't help being
+idle, really, mother; "it's the natur of the baste!"'
+
+'Then you must conquer your nature,' she said in the spirited tone of
+one who had never sat down helplessly under her faults and talked about
+'natural infirmity.' 'What should any of us be worth, Johnnie, if we
+yielded to all our foolish inclinations?'
+
+He had not an answer ready, so played with her rings, and glanced at her
+deprecatingly and coaxingly from under his long, dark eyelashes.
+
+'I didn't mean to scold,' she said relentingly, 'especially this day of
+all days, when I may have you for one of the little talks we haven't had
+for so long. But, Johnnie, you don't know how hard it makes it for me to
+submit to be ill and helpless, when I think that because I am not able
+to watch over you, you are running wild, neglecting your lessons, and
+vexing poor papa, who has so much to trouble him.'
+
+Jean-sans-terre's brown eyes looked odd in their expression of mingled
+fun and sadness; he was trying to feel sorry and ashamed, as he knew he
+ought, but penitence was so very difficult to him. 'Dear little mother,
+don't fret; I'll do better for the future,' he said caressingly.
+
+No experience of the fragile nature of his promises had availed to make
+his mother distrust him. 'My darling, I'm sure you will,' she answered
+with ready confidence.
+
+He was so anxious to assure her of his good intentions, that he had
+nearly revealed the secret of his intended labour at Caesar, and his
+desire to obtain the half-crown to aid his plans for the desert, but he
+remembered in time that it was his brothers' secret as well as his own;
+and Lackland, if he lacked wisdom and steadiness and industry, was at
+least not deficient in a sense of honour, so he was silent. But he could
+almost have thought that she guessed at his scheme when she went on, 'If
+you would only pursue one thing steadily, and _make_ yourself do it in
+spite of disinclination, you don't know what good it would do you, and
+how it would help you in everything else. Be a hero, Johnnie, and
+conquer your idleness!'
+
+'I mean to be a real hero some day, mamma,' he answered, smiling. 'You
+know Uncle Gustavus has promised to use his interest to get me a
+commission, and then you shall see how well I'll serve the Queen. Don't
+you remember telling me how Bertrand du Guesclin was a great bother to
+everybody when he was a boy, but yet he grew up so jolly brave that
+people were glad to run to him for help when he was a man?'
+
+'And his mother hadn't patience with him, and yet afterwards lived to be
+proud of him: is that the inference you mean me to draw, Johnnie?'
+
+'No, no, no! she was a cross old thing. Don't you remember how she was
+going to have Bertrand beaten, when that kind old nun stopped her?
+You're not a bit like her, dear little mamma,--not a scrap, not an atom!
+But oh, mamma, when will you be able to read us all those famous stories
+about heroes? They're the only things I ever remember, and I'm pining
+for one of them.'
+
+'You shall have one as soon as papa thinks I'm strong enough to read
+aloud. But, my hero, I want you to consider that before you can get a
+commission you must pass an examination, and knowing about Du Guesclin
+won't make up for deficiency in arithmetic and French grammar.'
+
+'Oh, I'll see about all that; I'll work night and day sooner than not
+pass, for I _must_ be an officer. You know, mamma, we've settled it all.
+Honorius is to be a doctor, like papa, and I'm to be a soldier, and
+Willie is to be a clergyman, and Duncan a sailor, and Seymour a
+merchant, and Archie a lawyer, and Georgie--somehow we never can settle
+what Georgie is to be--but something, of course, you know; and then you
+will have us all, mamma, your seven sons, "seven Campbells," as Willie
+has taken a fit for saying, and we shall make you so proud of us!'
+
+'I hope so; but, my Johnnie, we must not forget that if my seven are
+spared to me, and I to them, it will be by GOD'S great mercy.'
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+JOHNNIE'S PROTEGE.
+
+JOHNNIE completed his task in two or three days, labouring at it at
+first very earnestly, then growing tired, getting careless, and finally
+finishing it up in a hurry, with so little effort at accuracy of
+rendering or clearness of style, that any one less sanguine than he
+would have considered the attainment of the half-crown hopeless.
+Honorius glanced over the translation, and shook his head ominously,
+wishing that he might be allowed to make some improvements in it; but
+his father's injunction to Johnnie to accept no help put this out of the
+question, so it was delivered into Dr. Campbell's hands just as it was.
+The first part was very satisfactory. 'Very good, very good indeed,
+Johnnie!' he exclaimed as his eye ran rapidly down the neatly written
+lines; but his face lengthened as he went on. 'Why, how you have begun
+to scribble here, Johnnie!' he said as he reached the middle. 'And what
+_do_ you mean by this? You have not even given the sense of this passage
+correctly. Here, take the book and translate it to me word by word.'
+
+Johnnie stumbled wofully in his rendering, not from confusion, but from
+sheer ignorance; and both the written and verbal translation went on
+getting worse and worse, till at last the Doctor, who was rather a hasty
+man, lost all patience, and tossed the whole production into the fire,
+exclaiming, 'Pshaw! far from deserving any reward, that translation is
+the most wretched exhibition of carelessness and idleness that I ever
+saw. I don't know what's to become of you, Johnnie, if you can't, or
+rather _won't_, do better than that!'
+
+The little boys glanced at poor Lackland in terror and dismay, and
+Willie's eyes filled with tears; but Johnnie only coloured, and,
+shutting up the volume of Caesar, put it in its place again, and resumed
+the occupation of making a willow-wand into a bow, on which he had been
+engaged when his father summoned him. If Honorius had met with such a
+rebuff, he would have remained bitterly hurt and ashamed for the rest of
+the day, and Willie in the same case would have been utterly humbled and
+discouraged. Not so 'Jean-sans-terre.' What his cogitations were, his
+brothers could not decide; but the result was, that when he had bidden
+his father good-night, he paused a minute, and then added, 'May I have
+another try at Caesar, papa?' The tone was bright and cheery, and Dr.
+Campbell looked up in pleased surprise--
+
+'Do you really mean it, Johnnie?' he said hopefully.
+
+'Yes, I do indeed, papa; but perhaps you wouldn't like the trouble of
+looking over another translation. I know that one was awful.'
+
+'If you can take the trouble of writing it, I shall not begrudge the
+trouble of looking over it; but mind, it must be well done. I'd rather
+you took a month about it than brought me such a one as that of
+to-night.'
+
+'Oh, thank you, papa, but that wouldn't suit me at all; I want the
+half-crown as quick as I can get it. I'll work night and day rather than
+not have the translation done soon.'
+
+'Then I am to understand it is merely for the sake of the half-crown you
+are willing to do this bit of Caesar over again?' said Dr. Campbell
+disappointedly: 'I had hoped that it was from a better motive--a real
+desire to improve and conquer your carelessness, or a wish to please
+and satisfy your mother and me.' He looked full at his son as he spoke,
+and seemed to expect an answer. It came, bold and true: 'I was only
+thinking of the half-crown, papa.' Yet if Dr. Campbell could have known
+to what purpose the half-crown was to be devoted, he would have seen
+that love to the mother was the primary motive, after all, and would not
+have turned away so coldly as he did from this apparently mercenary
+speech. Honorius thought so, and would have explained; but Johnnie
+pulled his sleeve and whispered something, and meanwhile the Doctor left
+the room.
+
+'Oh, how could you answer like that, Johnnie?' remonstrated Willie when
+the two boys were alone in the attic which they shared together. 'If you
+had told papa what you wanted the half-crown for, he would have been
+pleased, whereas now I don't know what he thinks of you.'
+
+'I only gave a plain answer to a plain question,' said Johnnie. 'If he
+had asked me what I wanted the money for, I might have told him.'
+
+'But it appeared----'
+
+'I don't care what it appeared,' interrupted Lackland, laughing; 'I only
+wish papa hadn't burnt the whole of my translation: the beginning of it
+was all right, and I might have copied it straight off, instead of
+having to make it all out again.'
+
+'Oh yes! that was dreadful,' replied Willie. 'And then what he said too!
+I was so sorry, Johnnie; I knew you must be so ashamed.'
+
+Jean-sans-terre's eyes seemed to be searching after penitence again, as
+they had when his mother spoke to him.
+
+'_Ought_ I to have been ashamed?' he asked with simplicity.
+
+The question appeared to Willie so extraordinary, that he really didn't
+know what to say in answer. He pondered over it seriously while he was
+undressing, and added to his evening prayers this clause: 'Make Johnnie
+more sorry when he has vexed papa.'
+
+Dr. Campbell was certainly vexed and disappointed with his son, and
+showed it a little in his manner, which was, however, quite useless as
+far as Johnnie was concerned, for he never even remarked it. There are
+children so sensitive, that the faintest shade of sadness or disapproval
+in the manner of their elders towards them will suffice to make them
+unhappy for days; there are others who, unless they are actually scolded
+or punished, never perceive that anything is amiss: and Johnnie was one
+of these last. He was just as pleasant and affectionate to his father as
+usual, just as fearless in his remarks and questions, and showed up his
+translation, when he had finished it, quite as unconcernedly as if no
+previous one had ever existed. He got the half-crown this time, and a
+fair meed of praise, which he received with undisguised satisfaction,
+and the mental reflection that 'papa was very kind.'
+
+Dr. Campbell did not inquire how he meant to spend the money, not
+wishing to show a want of confidence in his son; and Johnnie tarried for
+no explanation, but raced off to the nurseryman's, only pausing to tell
+Honorius that he was no longer 'sans argent,' and to ask what plants he
+should buy.
+
+The boys, by constant labour, had managed already to dig up the proposed
+flower-border and to level the part intended for the paths; but Honorius
+was sadly at a loss as to where they should get gravel for the latter.
+He could not help looking rather wistfully at a great heap of
+it--beautiful golden gravel too--which lay in one corner of the garden
+of an old lady to whom his father one day sent him with a message; and
+Mrs. Western--as this old lady was called--noticed her young friend's
+expression, and asked what he was thinking of. He told her of his plans
+for the desert, and inquired where such gravel was to be bought, and if
+it were very dear. She replied that it was rather so, but this had been
+given her by her son-in-law, who had a gravel-pit on his estate, and
+added very kindly, 'You are quite welcome to have what you see there,
+for I have used as much as I shall want for the present; only you must
+send some one for it, for I can't ask my maid to carry gravel.' Honorius
+thanked her warmly, and joyfully accepted her offer, promising to send
+some one for the gravel as soon as he possibly could.
+
+The difficulty was to know whom to send, for the Campbells' in-door
+servants were all maids; and when the boys begged the old man who took
+care of their father's horse and drove his gig to go to Mrs. Western's
+for them, he replied surlily that he had hard work enough as it was
+('night and day both, sometimes, when master is sent for from a
+distance'), and declined to assist them.
+
+'I know,' said Johnnie. 'The next half-holiday Bob Middleton would do it
+for sixpence or a shilling; he could take the wheelbarrow and get a load
+at a time. I declare I wouldn't mind fetching it myself, if I thought
+papa wouldn't object.'
+
+'Oh, nonsense,' said Honorius. 'Work as hard as you like here, but don't
+take to wheeling gravel through the village, pray. Bob Middleton might
+do, only he's such an impudent fellow. I hate having anything to say to
+him.'
+
+'Oh, I'll transmit your royal commands to him, if that's all,' said
+Johnnie; 'only say yes, and I'll look him up this afternoon: perhaps he
+might go to Mrs. Western's for us at once.'
+
+Honorius gave a reluctant consent, and accordingly Johnnie appeared in
+the desert soon after three o'clock, accompanied by a youth of fifteen,
+very raggedly attired, and with a face which was an extraordinary
+compound of ugliness and roguery. Bob undertook for a shilling to fetch
+all the gravel from Mrs. Western's, and set off at once for the first
+load, with which he returned ere long. He came and went several times;
+but at last such a long interval elapsed between his going and
+returning, that the boys began to be alarmed.
+
+'He's gone off with the wheelbarrow, I do believe,' said Honorius.
+
+'"Body o' me!" as old King Jamie used to say, you don't suppose such a
+thing,' cried Johnnie. 'Spite of his objections to soap and water and
+the English grammar, I have a higher opinion of Bob than that.'
+
+But as still time passed on and Bob did not return, Duncan and Seymour
+were sent in search of him. They looked for him by the way, but saw
+nothing of him, and at length arrived at Mrs. Western's house and rang
+the bell.
+
+'Has a boy been here for some gravel Mrs. Western promised us, or is he
+here now?' inquired Duncan of the maid who came to the gate.
+
+'He has been here, Master Campbell,' she replied, 'but he's gone off as
+fast as his legs can carry him, and he's taken mistress's new
+thermometer with him that hung on the south wall, and he's trampled over
+all the beds, and Mrs. Western she saw him from the window; and your pa'
+was passing, so she called him in; but the boy made off, and it'll be a
+wonder if the police are not sent for. They're a bad set, those
+Middletons.'
+
+Duncan's eyes grew round with excitement, and Seymour, who was rather
+timid, began to cry. He wanted to run home again, but Duncan considered
+such a proceeding cowardly; and while they were debating the point, Dr.
+Campbell saw them, and called to them to come in.
+
+'Who sent Bob here for the gravel?' he inquired.
+
+'Johnnie sent him; Honorius said he might,' replied Duncan.
+
+'Of course they never thought how the boy would behave,' said kind old
+Mrs. Western. 'I daresay they didn't know he wasn't a fit person to be
+trusted.'
+
+'They might have known,' said Dr. Campbell; 'Johnnie at least has heard
+me say that Bob was ripe for any mischief, and he knows I refused to let
+him take him out fishing with him. If Honorius had told me of your kind
+present, I would have sent some proper person for the gravel.'
+
+'Honorius did say Mrs. Western had promised us some gravel after dinner,
+papa, but you were just going out, and I suppose you didn't hear him,'
+said Duncan. 'He didn't like sending Bob much, but we didn't know who
+else to get.'
+
+'You should have asked,' began his father; but seeing that Seymour was
+frightened, he checked himself, saying, 'It's no blame to you little
+ones; I don't suppose you had anything to do with it. Run away home if
+you like.'
+
+'Oh, but let Sarah cut you a piece of cake first,' said Mrs. Western.
+'My dear (to Seymour), don't fret; you shall have the gravel all the
+same.'
+
+Mrs. Western's maid brought them out two large slices of pound-cake,
+which, after they had thanked their kind old friend, they took away with
+them, Seymour beginning directly to munch at his slice, while Duncan put
+his into his pocket.
+
+'Papa didn't say we _must_ go home,' he observed,--'he only said we
+_might_ if we liked; so you can go, and I'll try and find Bob, and tell
+him I'll give him this piece of cake if he'll give back the thermometer.
+I'm so afraid, if he doesn't, Johnnie'll get into trouble; and besides,
+it's so wicked to steal.'
+
+'Yes,' said Seymour with his mouth full of cake; 'and I'll tell you
+what, Duncan,' reluctantly but firmly, 'you may take the rest of my
+piece too.'
+
+Duncan, however, declined this, and trudged away, resolutely resisting,
+as he went along, the temptation to eat even a _crumb_ of his own
+delicious-looking slice. He soon arrived at Mrs. Middleton's cottage,
+but of course Bob was not there; and his mother, who was a widow, and
+supported herself by washing, came to the door with her arms covered
+with soap-suds, and after hastily answering that 'Bob was nowhere's
+about, plunged them in the wash-tub again, and took no more heed of
+Duncan. He hesitated whether to tell her about the thermometer or not,
+but had been so impressed with the naughtiness of 'telling tales,' that
+he could not make up his mind it could be right, even in this case, and
+so turned away and ran back to the desert, where he found his father
+speaking to Honorius and Johnnie.
+
+'Didn't you remember, boys, what I said about Bob when you wanted to
+take him out fishing with you?' he was asking.
+
+'It was to me you said it; Honorius was not in the room,' Johnnie said
+quickly.
+
+'Very well, then, you at any rate knew my opinion of Bob Middleton, and
+must have known that you were doing wrong in employing him without my
+leave.'
+
+'I didn't think,' said Lackland carelessly.
+
+'Then I must teach you to think. Put down your spade and go into the
+house, and up to your room.'
+
+There was no mistaking Dr. Campbell's manner now; even Johnnie was
+obliged to perceive the displeasure he had provoked: he stuck his spade
+into the ground, and turned towards the house.
+
+Duncan dashed after him. 'Here, Johnnie, take this piece of cake. Mrs.
+Western gave it to me; it's so good--do have it, see!'
+
+Lackland was by no means too miserable to appreciate this attempt at
+consolation. 'It looks jolly,' he said, 'but I won't take it all; you
+must have half yourself, Duncan,' and he broke it in two.
+
+Duncan would rather his brother should have had the whole, but he was
+glad to see him munching the half even so contentedly. 'Do you think I
+may go up into your room with you?' he inquired.
+
+'No, no; papa didn't mean that, I'm sure. Don't stop me, old fellow;
+good-bye,' and Johnnie ran off and up to his room as fast as he could
+go. He had not been there more than five minutes, when there was a sound
+of little toddling steps along the passage, and two fat hands came
+drumming on the door. 'What do you want, baby?' said Johnnie, rising and
+opening it.
+
+'I want to tiss 'oo,' answered the child, lifting up his chubby face.
+
+Johnnie bent down and kissed him, asking, 'How did you know I was here,
+Georgie?'
+
+'Ma heard 'oo tome up 'tairs; ma say what matter wis 'oo?'
+
+'Tell her papa sent me up,' faltered Johnnie; 'or stay, say----'
+
+'I say 'oo naughty,' said Georgie, whose infantine mind had already
+jumped to the right conclusion. He scampered off with this message, but
+speedily returned: 'Ma say she vezy sorry; ma say I may tiss 'oo again.'
+
+'I wish I might go to her,' thought Johnnie, and in his softened mood
+the little brother's kisses were so sweet to him, that he could scarcely
+make up his mind to let Georgie go. But he did, and stepped back
+resolutely into his room, while the little one, announcing, 'I going to
+tea now,' trotted off again down the passage. Meantime Honorius was
+showing his father the scarlet geraniums that Johnnie had bought with
+his half-crown, and expatiating on the quantity of digging he had got
+through, although, being occupied with Caesar, he had not had so much
+time to spend in the desert as the others.
+
+'Poor fellow! Well, he has behaved much better than I thought,' said Dr.
+Campbell relentingly. 'I'm afraid I was rather hard on him just now;
+that's the worst of being too hasty.'
+
+Of all things, Honorius could not bear that his father should reproach
+himself. 'I'm sure Johnnie admits that he was in fault about Bob, papa,'
+he said.
+
+'And do you know I've got a bright idea about Bob and the thermometer,
+papa,' said Willie. 'May I go as far as Farmer Merryman's field and
+back? I won't be long.'
+
+'Certainly you may, if it's necessary for the development of your bright
+idea, Willie; but make haste home to tea. And you, boys, come in with
+me; if you're not hungry, I am.'
+
+In the strength of his bright idea Willie ran along like a greyhound;
+moreover, it was pleasant to feel how completely his father trusted
+him. He went across the fields till he came to Farmer Merryman's pond,
+which was overhung by a willow-tree, whose branches were thick enough to
+afford a tempting seat: it was a lonely place, and a favourite resort of
+Bob's, as Willie well knew; and here he hoped to find him. Was he there?
+Yes--no--yes! and Willie almost shouted with delight, but restrained
+himself, and advanced cautiously to the foot of the tree. 'Bob,' he said
+softly, 'Bob, I want to speak to you, please.'
+
+Bob gave a violent start, and looked down rather savagely at the
+adventurous child who had discovered his hiding-place. 'What d'ye come
+prying here for?' he asked rudely.
+
+'I came to ask you to give back Mrs. Western's thermometer,' said
+Willie; 'and my brother Johnnie says he's _quite_ sure you didn't mean
+to steal it.'
+
+'No more I did; what's the worth of it to me? I'd only taken it down
+just to look at it, like, when out came those maids a-storming and
+a-scolding, and vowed they'd fetch the justice; so I made off, and took
+the 'mometer with me, for I hadn't had half a look at it.'
+
+'Oh, but you've done with it now, so do take it back,' pleaded Willie
+urgently.
+
+'Don't you wish you may get it? You'd like to see me make such a fool of
+myself, wouldn't you?'
+
+'Well, then, let me take it, and I'll tell Mrs. Western how it was, and
+ask her not to be angry with you. If you give it me, I'll give you the
+shilling that you were to have had when you fetched all the gravel: of
+course you can't fetch any more of it for us now, but we would rather
+you had the shilling. I'm so glad you didn't mean to steal.'
+
+Bob calmly surveyed the flushed, eager face that was turned up to his.
+'It's you that's to be the parson, ain't it?' he said mockingly.
+
+Willie made no reply, but folded his arms and leant back against the
+tree, looking such a perfect little gentleman, that some dim perception
+of his own impertinence flashed upon Bob's eccentric mind.
+
+'It worn't all on my account you comed along here, was it?' he inquired.
+
+'No; partly on Mrs. Western's, and partly on my brother Johnnie's. Papa
+is displeased with him for having sent you for the gravel; and, Bob, you
+know Johnnie _trusted_ you.'
+
+Bob grinned, and Willie felt that the appeal to his sense of honour had
+failed; but, though very impertinent and mischievous, he was not a
+thoroughly bad boy, and now swung himself down from the tree, bringing
+the thermometer with him.
+
+'If I give it to you, you must promise not to tell where you found me,'
+he said; 'I won't have other folks prying after me here.'
+
+'I won't tell Mrs. Western, if that's what you mean,' said Willie; 'and
+I'll ask her to forgive you.'
+
+[Illustration: 'CAN'T HELP THAT,--HERE GOES.'
+
+_See page 52._]
+
+'My! you may do as you like about that. I ain't in such a hurry to be
+forgiven. But what I mean is, you ain't to tell your father nor nobody
+where you found me.'
+
+'I must tell papa if he _asks_ me,' said Willie.
+
+'Then you shan't have the 'mometer; I'll pitch it into the pond.'
+
+'That would be wicked,' said undaunted Willie, 'for it does not belong
+to you.'
+
+'Can't help that; here goes,' and he held it over the edge of the pond.
+'It'll be in in another minute if you don't say you'll not tell your
+father.'
+
+'I shan't tell him if he doesn't say I am to; but if he does, I must.'
+
+'Why must you?'
+
+'Because I must obey him, even when I'd rather not; it's right.'
+
+'That beats all,' said Bob in unbounded surprise; but he didn't throw
+the thermometer into the pond. It was some time, however, before Willie
+could persuade him to give it up, though at length he did, and received
+the shilling, observing,
+
+'I could ha' took this from you if I'd liked, and kep' the 'mometer too;
+but I ain't a thief, let folks say what they please.'
+
+'No, I know you're not,' said Willie. 'Oh, Bob, if you would only----'
+
+'What?' said Bob; 'you hadn't no call to stop just then. I thought you
+was a-going to make a fine speech.'
+
+'No, I mustn't.'
+
+'Mustn't what?'
+
+'Mustn't lecture; mamma won't ever let me. There are other people to
+teach you.'
+
+'They did teach me a lot,--parson did, and schoolmaster did; but I got
+tired of it, and now I'm too big to go to school. But I'm thinking of
+looking out for a bit of work.'
+
+'Oh do, do, _please_; we should be so glad.'
+
+'If you ain't the funniest little gentleman!' said Bob with increasing
+astonishment. 'But I kind o' like you too, I ha' been thinkin' o'
+taking a turn for the better, as they say, lately; but bless you, not
+even my mother would believe I was in earnest, so who is there to care
+if I do?'
+
+'Seven Campbells,' said Willie; and then, fearing this was not quite the
+truth, he added, 'No, Georgie is too young to care, but all the rest of
+us would be glad, Bob;' and when he had said this he ran home. His
+arrival with the thermometer caused great delight to all his brothers,
+and Dr. Campbell called Lackland down to hear the good news, saying
+kindly, 'You have had opportunity for a little thought, Johnnie, my man,
+and I hope will be more careful not to act contrary to my known wishes
+another time; so now come and help us to rejoice over the recovery of
+poor Mrs. Western's thermometer.' Johnnie came, nothing loth, pausing,
+however, to ask, 'May I speak to mamma first? She heard me come
+up-stairs.'
+
+Permission was given, and after a preliminary tap the bonnie face
+peeped into the sickroom. 'All right, dear little mother: I _was_ rather
+in a scrape just now, but papa has forgiven me, and I'm going
+down-stairs again. Good-night, dear mamma.' The white curtains of the
+bed were drawn aside for one minute, and the sweet motherly eyes looked
+out at him.
+
+'Good-night, and thank you for coming to me, my darling boy; only
+remember'--very gently--'a _pardoned_ fault needn't be a _forgotten_
+one, Johnnie.'
+
+'No, mamma.' There was a momentary quiver in the gay, ringing voice, and
+it was quite enough for the mother. 'That will do; I can trust you not
+to forget _this_ time, Johnnie,' she said, and with a happy smile she
+lay down to sleep.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+WHAT SEVEN CAMPBELLS CAN DO.
+
+
+SPITE of obstacles, the labours of the 'Seven Campbells,' as Willie
+grandly called them, did effect a great improvement in the desert, and
+the seventh certainly took his share, so far as such a very small man
+could; for he pulled up a great many weeds with his little fat hands,
+and brushed down the gravel on the walks with a tooth-brush! The Doctor,
+seeing his boys were in earnest, lent them his help whenever he could
+spare time, sent for the remainder of the gravel for them, showed them
+how to lay it, trimmed the borders, sowed some potatoes, and presented
+them with four apple-trees, which he planted at four corners of the
+ground, and called 'Gozmaringa, Geroldinga, Crevedella, and Spirauca,'
+after the names of some apple-trees that belonged to King Charlemagne.
+But, spite of his assistance, there was a great deal requiring the boys'
+exertions; and they worked like Trojans, devoting nearly all their
+play-hours and pocket-money to this object, and finding in it both
+interest and amusement. Johnnie had learnt one or two lessons from this
+undertaking: first, that in working for a good object, it is not only
+necessary to have a right intention at starting, but that constant pains
+and perseverance are requisite,--as in the matter of Caesar; secondly,
+that a privilege earned is sweeter than one bestowed as a favour,--as in
+the spending of the half-crown, which his own toil had procured;
+thirdly, that even for a good object we must not use bad or doubtful
+means,--as in the matter of the gravel; and fourthly, that hard
+work--digging, or what not--from a right motive, becomes a much greater
+pleasure than any that can be procured by idleness. And he had found
+true, too, what his mother had said, that if he would pursue _one_ thing
+steadily, and make himself do it in spite of disinclination, the
+determination and energy thus acquired would help him in everything
+else.
+
+Midsummer came, and by that time the desert was a desert no longer: it
+was a neat, trim-looking piece of ground with smooth walks, some small
+but promising crops, and a flower-border gay with geraniums,
+nasturtiums, sweet-peas, nemophila, and convolvulus. The mother was
+rapidly regaining strength, and had been down-stairs several times, but
+only into the drawing-room, which did not look towards the desert: from
+the school-room and dining-room, which had a full view of it, she had
+been jealously excluded. It is to be feared that this precaution had
+caused her a little anxiety, and that she had a secret vision of broken
+slates, torn pinafores, and blotted lesson-books, which she imagined
+were being concealed from her in these forbidden chambers till she was
+supposed to be strong enough to bear the sight of such calamities. But
+the day was now come when her fears were to be dispersed, and a far
+different and much pleasanter surprise was to dawn upon her.
+
+She was to take her first walk, leaning on her husband's arm; and he had
+been privately instructed by his sons to bring her in the direction of
+the quondam desert. They had erected a triumphal arch over the little
+entrance-gate, formed of bent osiers twined with flowers, and surmounted
+with paper flags, on which were inscribed, in large coloured letters,
+such mottoes as the Scotch 'Ye're gey welcome,' and the Irish 'Cead mile
+failte.' Archie and Georgie, gaily bedizened, and with wands in their
+hands, were stationed at each side of the gate to welcome her, and were
+to marshal her up the centre walk, at the top of which her other sons
+were to receive her, and conduct her to a seat which had been prepared
+for her to rest upon. Such was the programme; but how could English boys
+adhere to anything so formal? Directly Archie announced that 'mamma was
+coming' Georgie pushed the gate open, and toddled to meet her, followed
+by all the rest of the boys, leaping, shouting, and laughing, forgetting
+all preconcerted speeches, and much too happy to be even coherent.
+
+'Papa' was afraid such noisy glee would be too much for the invalid, but
+'mamma' would have her way for once, and indulge the boys to the top of
+their bent; so they led the way into the desert, all laughing and
+talking at the same time, till Willie bethought himself that the noise
+and excitement would really be too much for his mother, and first loudly
+exhorted his brothers to be quiet, and then--which was much
+better--became quiet himself, and thus set an example of
+considerateness.
+
+Mrs. Campbell's surprise and delight were great enough to satisfy her
+sons, which is saying a good deal. She would not sit down till she had
+made the tour of the garden (it would be an insult to say 'desert' any
+longer); and she accepted a sprig of Johnnie's geranium, and a handful
+of Duncan's sweet-peas; _tasted_ one of Archie's nasturtium flowers when
+assured by him that it was 'so nice;' was duly edified by the sight of
+the remains of the tooth-brush, worn to a stump by Georgie's sedulous
+and novel use of it; allowed Honorius to pull up a potato root, that she
+might see how healthy and free from disease it was; submitted patiently
+to have her hair ornamented with some of Seymour's convolvuluses; and
+only declined to taste the one hard green apple born by Geroldinga
+(Gozmaringa, Crevedella, and Spirauca were as yet fruitless), from a
+fear that the tender, careful guardian at her side would be
+irrecoverably shocked at such imprudence. She sat down at last on the
+chair of state that had been prepared for her, and owned herself a
+little tired; but her interest and amusement never flagged, and she
+listened with eager pleasure to the history of her sons' exertions.
+
+'They've all worked like horses,--even Georgie, I do believe,' said Dr.
+Campbell, smiling.
+
+'And Johnnie too!' said the mother delightedly.
+
+'Yes, Johnnie has done his work manfully, and has found out that
+industry is pleasure, after all. Haven't you, my boy?' and the father
+laid his hand on his son's shoulder with a proud, pleased look, such as
+Lackland had but seldom called up before.
+
+The bright eyes, which never looked down in fear, looked down now.
+Jean-sans-terre was not so unsensitive to _praise_ as he was to
+_blame_.
+
+'Ah, papa,' said Willie, 'you laughed at us when we began to dig up the
+desert, but now you see seven Campbells can do more than you thought
+they could.'
+
+'And now, when we want anything done, we may look to our seven Campbells
+for it, said Mrs. Campbell gaily. 'Honorius, you were the directing
+genius, were you not?'
+
+'Yes, I believe I planned how it was to be, but it was Willie who first
+thought of it, and proposed that we should do it to please you. I am so
+glad you are satisfied with our work, mother.'
+
+'Satisfied! I am delighted, my Emperor. But now that the desert is _put_
+in order, who is going to _keep_ it so? Are we to look to our seven sons
+for that?'
+
+'Yes, oh yes!' was chorused by six of the seven voices. Johnnie alone
+was silent; but his dimples were all in play, and he had never looked
+more roguish.
+
+'Sans-terre means to steal a march on us, and do more than any of us, I
+do believe, though he won't make promises,' said Honorius.
+
+'Sans-terre shall be sans-terre no longer,' said Dr. Campbell; 'he has
+earned back a right to his own plot of flower-garden, and may enter into
+possession again to-night, if he pleases.'
+
+But Lackland shrugged his shoulders, and declined the burden of
+proprietorship.
+
+'I don't care to have any garden of my own, thank you, papa,' he
+answered; 'I'm happier without it than with it, and there's plenty of
+work for me here. I never want to have anything belonging to me except a
+sword.'
+
+'And some clothes, Johnnie,' said Seymour, who was very matter-of-fact.
+
+The boys laughed, and Johnnie replied, 'Oh, certainly, Seymour. I'm not
+prepared to adopt the full dress of a Mexican general even--a cocked hat
+and a pair of spurs; I must have a full suit of uniform, at any rate.
+But I mean to say I'll never be bothered with a house or a wife, or
+anything like that.'
+
+'Ah, Johnnie,' said his father, 'I may say to you in the words of the
+old song,
+
+          "Bide ye yet, and bide ye yet,
+           Ye dinna ken what'll betide ye yet."
+
+For aught you know,
+
+          "A canty wee house and a cosie wee fire,
+           And a bonnie wee bodie to praise and admire,"
+
+may be your destiny; and perhaps some day you will appreciate those
+treasures as much as I do now.'
+
+Johnnie looked incredulous. But the attention of all was diverted by the
+sudden appearance of a sun-burnt, grinning face over the paling which
+separated the kitchen garden (no longer desert) from the road.
+
+'That's Bob Middleton, I declare!' said Honorius. 'Do you know, papa,
+Farmer Jennings has taken him to work in his hay-field, and says if he
+does well he may perhaps keep him as a farm-labourer?'
+
+'And Mrs. Middleton told Mrs. Western that Bob was beginning to hold up
+his head a bit, and that if he had only a decent jacket she really
+thought he would go to church with her on Sundays,' said Willie.
+
+'Honorius has an old jacket that is only fit for giving away,' said Mrs.
+Campbell; 'don't you think we might make poor Bob a present of it, dear
+Archibald?'
+
+'Oh do, papa,' cried the boys unanimously.
+
+Dr. Campbell had no objection; so Honorius ran into the house to fetch
+the jacket, observing, 'I shall tell him to take himself off when I've
+given it him; it's not manners to stare over at us in this way.' When he
+returned, however, from his colloquy with the grinning Bob, he
+explained, 'He doesn't mean to be rude, he says, but he's so pleased
+that we've made the desert so trim, and that "madam," as he calls mamma,
+is able to come out and see it. He's immensely pleased with the jacket,
+but he doesn't want to go away till he's spoken to Johnnie and Willie.'
+
+Willie ran off at once. Johnnie turned to go with equal haste, then
+paused and glanced at his father: the forgiven fault had _not_ been
+forgotten.
+
+'Yes, go, my man,' said Dr. Campbell; 'and you may bring Bob in if you
+like, just to take a turn round the garden; but don't encourage him to
+stay.'
+
+'Oh, and mayn't we give him Geroldinga's apple?' said Duncan; but the
+Doctor answered, laughing, 'that that would be anything but a benevolent
+present, and that Geroldinga's solitary fruit had better be allowed to
+ripen.'
+
+'I shan't take it,' said Archie, thus innocently revealing, what was
+indeed the case, that he felt some temptation to do so.
+
+'Nor baby won't,' said Georgie manfully.
+
+'No, my little boys will not touch what is not their own,' said the
+mother, glancing down tenderly at the two small faces; 'and some
+summer, perhaps, we may find Gozmaringa and the rest covered with
+apples, and then what apple dumplings we shall have!'
+
+Archie's broad smile told that he relished the idea. Georgie, to whom
+apple dumplings were as yet an unknown delicacy, looked grave and asked,
+'Is appy dumpions nice?'
+
+'Very,' said the laughing mamma. 'But see, here is Bob coming this way.
+Well, Bob, what do you think of my sons' work?'
+
+'It's fust-rate,' said Bob, pulling his rough forelock. 'I hopes you
+finds yourself better, mum.'
+
+'Much better, thank you, and very glad to be out again. I have been
+watching the hay-making in Farmer Jennings' field from my window; I was
+very glad to see _you_ at work there, Bob.'
+
+Bob made an indescribable contortion of his figure, charitably supposed
+to be intended for a bow, and passed on.
+
+'Madam looks palish,' he observed to Johnnie, who was escorting him
+about; 'I doubt she's not very hearty yet.'
+
+'No, it'll be some time before she's quite strong. Has she ever spoken
+to you before, Bob?'
+
+'Oh my! yes. Why, she brought me some doctor's stuff and some sweet cold
+drink when I was so bad with fever two winters ago, and she took and
+spoke up to me last autumn when I was throwin' stones at parson's
+chickens. Besides, I've seen her in the school when I was a little
+chap.' He was evidently proud of his acquaintance with so sweet-spoken
+and kind a lady, and when he left the garden with the jacket under his
+arm, remarked, 'I'll make a bigger haycock than e'er a one else in the
+field right under madam's window, that'll pleasure her, maybe, for it
+smells fust-rate, it does.'
+
+He fulfilled his intention, and pleased Farmer Jennings so much by his
+cheerful industry in the hay-field, that he took him on trial for a
+month as farm-lad, and finding him tolerably satisfactory in that
+capacity, gave him permanent employment. His impudence was not at once
+conquered, and brought him into some trouble; but when he found that the
+farmer and his men would not put up with it as his mother had, he
+learned to put a check on it, and others besides the seven Campbells
+encouraged him in taking a turn for the better.
+
+Johnnie still remained 'sans terre,' by his own desire, but worked away
+in his father's garden as he never had done in the part that was called
+his own. He began to get on better at school too; and Willie joined him
+there after the summer vacation, and helped to keep him steady by his
+example and admonitions. For Willie had certainly a little taste for
+lecturing; and Lackland, the harum-scarum and good-humoured, was just
+the boy both to provoke it and to bear it: if he was a Du Guesclin in
+bravery, he was not in quarrelsomeness, and nothing that Willie could
+say ever made him angry. The mother, too, became well and strong again,
+able once more to exercise her sweet influence through all the
+household; and between the father's firmness and the mother's
+gentleness, those seven boys were well and wisely trained.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Many years have passed since then, and the seven Campbells are no longer
+boys Honorius has been taken into partnership with his father, and is
+known by the whole country-side as 'the young doctor;' Johnnie is
+serving the Queen in a line regiment in India; and Willie has lately
+been ordained, and is working hard as a curate in a large manufacturing
+town. So three of the seven have had their wish. But Seymour has been
+taken by one of his uncles, a rich banker, into his counting-house;
+Duncan is not gone to sea,--he has just passed a competitive
+examination for the Indian Civil Service; as for Archie, he is still
+only a schoolboy, and he and Honorius live at home, while the others are
+scattered far and wide.
+
+But nowhere on earth could you find all those seven Campbells now, and
+there has never been any need to decide on a profession for Georgie: the
+youngest, the darling, the flower of the flock, has been called to rest
+the first. Wide tracts of sea and land lie between the mother and her
+darling Johnnie, and a wider distance still severs her from her little
+George, yet to her the seven are but as one band, united for ever by a
+common faith and mutual love. And so much is this the feeling of them
+all, that if you should chance to meet one of those Campbells, and to
+ask of their number, I think, like the child in the ballad, he would
+answer, 'We are Seven.'
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CECIL'S MEMORABLE WEEK.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+THE SENTENCE.
+
+
+IT would be hard to find a pleasanter family group than that which had
+gathered round the tea-table at Wilbourne Rectory one hot bright evening
+in the end of July: a kindly-looking mother, with a dark, sweet,
+brunette face, that _would_ not be careworn spite of forty years of
+life, seven children, and a slender purse; a tall, slight, brown-bearded
+father, a little bald, and with deep lines of thought on the broad
+forehead and around the rather sunken blue eyes; a fair, round-faced
+girl of fifteen, sitting next him; two smaller lasses, with long black
+hair almost straight, clear brown complexions, and a bit of bright
+scarlet bloom on each cheek, that was just like the mother's, only
+fresher and less fixed; a little curly-haired lad of eight, that was
+like nobody in particular; and last, but not least, a Sandhurst cadet, a
+well-grown youth of seventeen, with dark hair, cut very short in
+military style, and a little dark down on cheek and lip, which _he_
+called whiskers and moustaches. He sat on one side of his mother, and on
+the other sat a person who was _not_ a member of the family--Mr.
+Cunningham's curate, a great big broad-shouldered young man, six feet
+three at least in height, with a pleasant, open face, rather sun-burnt,
+and the most good-tempered smile that you can possibly conceive.
+
+Two of the children of the house were absent--the second son, a
+midshipman in the Queen's service, who was now on his way to Japan; and
+the third, who was expected home this very evening from school.
+
+A little talk sprang up about him among his brothers and sisters, begun
+by a 'wonder' from one of the little girls as to when he would arrive;
+and strange to say, at the mention of his name, the lines on the
+father's brow deepened a little, and Mrs. Cunningham's face took for a
+moment quite a sorrowful expression.
+
+'I almost hope he will not come till tea is over,' she said.
+
+It did not sound like a motherly sentiment, but it was spoken out of the
+depths of a true motherly feeling.
+
+Cecil Cunningham was coming home in a kind of disgrace. He had been
+placed at a good grammar school in the county town, some fourteen miles
+from Wilbourne, had won for himself an 'exhibition,' as it was called,
+by which the greater part of his school expenses were defrayed, and
+would have been allowed to keep it till he went to college had his
+progress during the first year been sufficiently good. But, alas! it had
+just been discovered that the marks he had gained for his various
+studies throughout this time did not, when counted up, amount to the
+rather high total which the founder's will required; and so it had been
+announced to him and his parents that he had forfeited the 'exhibition,'
+and could not be received at the school again unless his father were
+prepared to pay the full terms, which, though not very high, happened to
+be more than Mr. Cunningham could justly afford. The middy had lately
+been fitted out for sea. The son at Sandhurst was a considerable
+expense; and though it was hoped that after another six months he would
+succeed in getting a commission without purchase, there would be his
+outfit and yearly allowance to provide; and altogether, Mr. Cunningham
+did not see his way to giving Cecil such advantages as he could wish,
+without the help of that 'exhibition' which the boy had just lost by
+his own fault.
+
+Cecil was very clever, and, though rather idle by nature, had promised
+to work hard at school, and had been supposed to be conscientious enough
+to be sure to keep his word. He greatly wished to be a clergyman; and
+this desire of his had been an intense joy to his father, who, though a
+good deal disappointed at his two elder sons choosing army and navy, had
+consoled himself with the thought that _one_ at least of his children
+had a real desire for the priesthood, and this the very one whose
+talents best fitted him for a university education. From school he was
+to have gone to Oxford; and his whole prospects had seemed fair enough
+till now, so that it was not wonderful that the unexpected news of his
+failure had occasioned great disappointment at the Rectory. His father
+was much displeased with him, and meant that he should feel how great a
+fault his idleness had been; and his mother, who knew this, and believed
+that her boy was _already_ feeling it, was anxious that the first
+meeting should be got over without the presence of spectators.
+
+But just as she spoke, Cecil, followed by the gardener wheeling his
+luggage in a barrow, was seen coming up the gravel walk towards the
+house.
+
+The little curly-haired boy rushed off at once to meet him,--not to open
+the hall door, for that stood wide open already,--but a restraining look
+from the mother stopped the girls, who were rising also; and when Cecil
+came in, the greetings were very quiet, though not in the least cold,
+except perhaps on Mr. Cunningham's part. Cecil had his mother's face, at
+once dark and bright, with brown clear eyes that looked full of
+intelligence, and, alas! seemed to say that their owner might have kept
+his place in the school with ease had he but so chosen. He did not seem
+very conscious or very miserable: he had the true boyish instinct of
+hiding feelings, and looked much as usual, though there was nothing like
+bravado or nonchalance in his manner. When his father shook hands with
+him gravely, and merely said, 'Well, Cecil,' in a short dry way, a
+sudden flush mounted up in his brown cheek; and there was a little
+anxiety in his face when he turned to kiss his mother, as if a sudden
+fear had come over him that she might refuse the caress. But she did
+not; and he sat down calmly enough to his bread and butter, showing a
+very tolerable schoolboy appetite, and munching away rather quickly when
+he found that the others were near the end of their meal. His sisters
+and his little brother volunteered some information about his rabbits,
+and so on; but when they began to ask questions concerning his
+schoolfellows, their father said quietly, 'Let Cecil have his tea,' and
+began a conversation about politics with the curate, in which none of
+the juniors ventured to join except the cadet.
+
+When they rose from the table, the two gentlemen went off to the study;
+and with a sigh of relief one of the little girls exclaimed, 'Oh, now
+you _can_ come and see the rabbits, Cecil; father won't want you!'
+
+Cecil glanced at his mother; but though she was longing for a good hug
+and a little private talk, she thought it better to refrain just then,
+and said gently, 'Yes, you can go with Jessie, but don't go out of
+earshot;' after which she turned away and went up-stairs.
+
+Jessie, who was just a year younger than Cecil, was his special friend
+and ally, and the other long-haired lassie considerately left them
+together, and went off to do some gardening; while little Lewis followed
+at a respectful distance, not able to tear himself quite away from
+Cecil, and yet not presuming to interrupt the confidential talk between
+him and his sister.
+
+The rabbit hutch was in a little yard not far from the house, and within
+view, as it happened, of the study window. Cecil stroked the soft
+creatures' ears, and fondled them a little, and fed them with some
+cabbage leaves with which Jessie supplied him; but his manner was rather
+absent, and presently he said abruptly, 'I say, Jessie, isn't it an
+awful shame?'
+
+Jessie was not prepared for this view of the question.
+
+'I am so sorry,' she said doubtfully. 'I never once thought of its
+happening till Dr. Lomax's letter came; for you know, Cecil, you told me
+you meant to work. Oh! don't you remember saying it here, in this very
+place, when you were making the new bars to Lop-ear's hutch?'
+
+'Well, and I did,' said Cecil gruffly.
+
+'Yes, I know you did; and that made me think you would do it.'
+
+'Well, so I did do it--that's what I mean' said he more gruffly still.
+
+'Did work!' exclaimed she gladly, and quite ready of belief, with the
+tender trustfulness of a true sister. 'But oh, then, Cecil how was it
+that they didn't give you marks enough? I thought you would have lots to
+spare--I did indeed!'
+
+'Humbug!' said Cecil, but not gruffly now; 'it's not so easy to get
+marks as all that. I was quite sure of having enough, though--so sure
+that I hadn't a second thought about it; and I can't tell to this moment
+how it was I didn't, except that Lomax is such a brute!'
+
+'The Doctor!'
+
+'No--his son, the junior master; it was he who counted up the marks.'
+
+'Do you mean the marks you got at the examination?'
+
+'No, the weekly marks I had got in all my studies during the half-year;
+that's the way they calculate to see whether one may keep the
+"exhibition."'
+
+'Do you think he can have made any mistake?'
+
+'He might, perhaps, to spite me; it's not likely otherwise, for he's a
+dab at arithmetic. I asked the Doctor to let me see the book, but he
+wouldn't; and of course I couldn't tell him what I thought, and it would
+have been no use if I had.'
+
+'And you did really work all the time?' said Jessie, looking at him
+tenderly and seriously out of her big black eyes.
+
+'Well, almost all--not quite the last week or two, perhaps: it was
+awfully hot weather, and being so sure, I thought I might take it easy;
+but that couldn't have made the difference.'
+
+'I wish you had been able to say you worked quite all the time,' said
+Jessie gravely, with a little sigh, 'for then father couldn't have been
+angry.'
+
+'I'm afraid he's awfully vexed, isn't he?' said Cecil, with rather an
+anxious glance towards the study.
+
+'I think so; and Percy says' (Percy was the cadet) 'that he doesn't know
+how to manage about your education. Francie and I have been so anxious
+about it: it would be too dreadful if you were not to be a clergyman,
+wouldn't it, Cecil?'
+
+Cecil said nothing, but absently doled out the last cabbage leaf to the
+rabbits in such small morsels, that they nibbled at his fingers as if
+they thought those part of the provender. Jessie was lost in a
+calculation of whether if Frances and she were to have no new frocks for
+a twelvemonth, and to save up all their pocket-money, that would make it
+possible for Cecil to go back to the grammar school, when Mr. Cunningham
+leaned out of the study window and called him.
+
+Though he had been expecting the summons, he started and coloured
+violently, but ran off at once, going in by the back door, which was the
+nearest way.
+
+Jessie went into a little tool-shed, which was close to the rabbits'
+dwelling-place. She did not like to watch the window, but was too
+anxious to be able to go and help Francie with her gardening, or to play
+with Lewis, who was wandering aimlessly about. 'Father,' who was so
+tender to his little girls, who was the very very best man, as Jessie
+believed, in the whole world, could nevertheless be very severe when he
+saw occasion--could reprove in a way which an offender was not likely to
+forget. He had wonderful patience for the blunders of little Lewis, who
+was rather dull, and found lessons a daily difficulty; but he had always
+expected much more of Cecil, who was really full of ability, and had
+sometimes dealt seriously with his fits of idleness in the days of his
+home teaching. And _now_--now when the boy had failed just when every
+principle of duty should have made him exert himself to the utmost--what
+could be looked for? Oh, what a bitter half-hour this must be to Cecil!
+
+Yes, for half an hour passed, and still Cecil did not come back.
+Jessie's fright and agitation were growing very hard to bear. 'Oh I know
+it is right!' she said, clasping her hands together; 'I know we _must_
+be scolded and punished for our faults; only I wish it was me, and not
+Cecil. And, after all, I think there must have been some mistake, for he
+says he _did_ work; and if father could only believe it, I am sure he
+wouldn't be angry, even though Cecil _has_ lost his place in school! Oh,
+I wish it could be made clear somehow! I know! I will ask God to make it
+clear.' And then the little girl prayed to the heavenly Father, whom the
+earthly father had taught her to seek in all her troubles.
+
+Eight o'clock struck, and she started to her feet.
+
+'Oh! I must go in and do my work--I shall only just be able to finish it
+before bed-time. Father must have gone to the choir practice. I wonder
+if he has taken Cecil with him, and if _that_ is the reason why he
+hasn't come back?'
+
+With a deep-drawn breath of relief at this possibility, she ran into the
+house, and meeting her eldest brother in the hall, hastily inquired if
+he knew what had become of Cecil.
+
+'He's in his room, I think,' was the answer. 'Poor little beggar! I
+fancied I heard him sobbing, and wanted to go in, but he wouldn't let
+me. I've just been telling Mary, that if I don't succeed in getting my
+commission without purchase I shall enlist as a private, and never come
+home at all. I couldn't stand seeing you all look as glum about me as
+you do about Cecil.'
+
+'Oh, but, Percy, would that be--' began little Jessie in consternation;
+and then he laughed, and she saw that he was joking.
+
+'Mother's been looking for you,' he said as she turned towards the
+staircase; 'she wants you to do some work.'
+
+'Where's father?'
+
+'Gone to the choir practice a quarter of an hour ago. Good-bye; I'm
+going out for a stroll. Try and cheer up that poor little chap; perhaps
+he'll let you in, as you're his chum.'
+
+Jessie longed to try that moment, but she knew she was due at her
+needle-work, and very unwillingly went into the drawing-room, where her
+mother and sisters were sitting round a lamp-lit table, stitching away
+very busily at a new set of shirts for Percy.
+
+'I was looking for you, Jessie,' said the mother in her pleasant voice;
+'come and work at double speed, to make up for lost time.'
+
+Jessie had never felt less disposed to work; but when Mrs. Cunningham
+made room for her, and gave her the seam she was to do, with a kindly
+sympathy in tone and glance that seemed to say she knew just what the
+little girl was feeling, though she wasn't going to talk about it, all
+her unwillingness melted away. 'Mother is sad too,' she thought. 'I
+won't do anything to vex her;' and so she worked away as neatly and
+diligently as she could till nine o'clock, which was her bed-time.
+
+'I may go to Cecil before I go to bed, mother, mayn't I?' she whispered
+as she was bidding good-night.
+
+Mrs. Cunningham gave permission, and Jessie rushed up-stairs two steps
+at a time, but controlled herself to give a very gentle tap at Cecil's
+door. It must have been too gentle, for he took no notice of it; but in
+answer to another, rather louder, came the question, 'Is it you,
+Jessie?' And when he found it was, he opened the door, which was locked,
+and let her in.
+
+He seemed to have been unpacking, for his little portmanteau was open on
+the floor, and some of his clothes and other possessions were strewn
+upon the bed and the one chair, which was the only seat that the little
+attic could boast; but he was flushed, and his eyes were red, as if he
+had been crying, and he turned away abruptly from his sister when he had
+let her in, and began to dive into the portmanteau again.
+
+'Can't I help you?' said she, not knowing well how to begin her task of
+comfort. 'I'll fold up the clothes and put them in the drawers, while
+you take out the books. Oh! perhaps you meant to leave them in, though.
+You won't want them for the holidays?'
+
+
+'Pretty holidays!' said Cecil passionately, more to himself than to her.
+'A single week!'
+
+'I don't understand,' she rejoined in consternation. 'You're not going
+back to school in a week, surely?'
+
+'I'm not going back to Eastwood at all, but I'm going to a horrid,
+odious, beastly little day school in Fairview;' and Cecil flung out some
+books upon the floor, in a manner which did not bespeak very exemplary
+submission to his father's decrees.
+
+[Illustration: 'JESSIE CAME OVER TO HIM AND HUGGED HIM.'
+
+_See page 92._]
+
+The information itself, and Cecil's terrible adjectives, both dismayed
+Jessie, and for a minute or two she did not speak. Then she said, 'But
+surely there must be holidays at the day school too?'
+
+'They're just over--they began in June. Of course those sort of places
+don't break up at the same time as the public schools, like _we_ do,'
+said Cecil with wrathful contempt.
+
+'And must you begin when the school does?'
+
+'I've got to--that's all; it's to be my punishment, father says,--just
+as if losing the exhibition were not punishment enough!' And he buried
+his face in the portmanteau to hide his tears.
+
+Jessie came over to him and hugged him; and he didn't seem to mind,
+though she could only kiss the side of his cheek and his shirt collar,
+for the greater part of his face was hidden among the books.
+
+'Did you tell him you worked nearly all the time?' she faltered in an
+unsteady voice.
+
+'I began to say something, and he asked me if I could honestly say I had
+done my very best, and I couldn't quite say that, you know, and then he
+wouldn't hear any more. And oh, I'm sure he thinks I did nothing but
+idle my time away!'
+
+'Did you tell him you thought there must be some mistake?'
+
+'I said something about Lomax spiting me, but he wouldn't listen to
+that.'
+
+'Oh no,' said Jessie, who readily understood that her father would never
+admit _that_ explanation of the affair. 'Oh, Cecil, I am so sorry, so
+_very_ sorry!'
+
+'If I had really been idle,' said Cecil, raising up his tear-wet face,
+more crimson than ever from its sojourn in the box, 'then I shouldn't
+care--I mean, it would only be fair that I should be served out for it;
+but when I haven't--when I have tried all this year--oh!----' and he was
+nearly choked by the sobs which, in his desire to be manly, he was
+struggling to repress.
+
+Jessie believed him entirely, and was grieved to the very heart. 'I am
+so sorry,' she repeated. 'But, dear Cecil, _God_ knows; He sees you have
+been trying; _He_ isn't angry with you.'
+
+'Then why does He let this happen?' said Cecil fiercely.
+
+Jessie was startled and shocked, and had no answer ready. 'I don't
+know,' she said at last, through her tears; 'I can't tell why, but He is
+so good--oh, He is _so_ good!--perhaps it will all come right still. I
+will ask Him; and you will, won't you, Cecil? Isn't there something in
+the Bible about its being acceptable with God, if we do well and suffer
+for it?'
+
+'Yes; but I'm not suffering because I've done well, but because I'm
+supposed to have done ill,' said Cecil gloomily. 'There's no good
+talking, Jessie; you'd better go to bed.'
+
+'Perhaps I had,' said Jessie, a sudden thought striking her as she heard
+her father's voice in the passage below; 'but I can't bear to leave you,
+Cecil. I am so sorry, and I do love you so!'
+
+He half returned her tender, sorrowful hug; and then she ran away, but
+not straight to her own room. She darted down one flight of stairs, and
+caught hold of her father, who had come in from the practice, and had
+been washing his hands before going to supper.
+
+'Father,' she said breathlessly, 'please let me say it: Cecil _has_ been
+working--he has indeed. Oh, I am sure you would believe it if you had
+heard what he said to me just now!'
+
+Mr. Cunningham did not draw himself away from the detaining clasp, but
+he said gravely, 'I quite believe that Cecil does not think he has been
+so very idle, but he admits that he has not done his best, and I hope
+in a little while he will see all his fault, and be sorry for it. Don't
+let him talk to you any more to-night.'
+
+'But don't you think there may have been some mistake?'
+
+'No, indeed,' he answered in a surprised tone, which showed that no such
+supposition had ever entered his head.
+
+Then, as she still lingered, he stooped to kiss her, and said kindly,
+'Don't try to comfort Cecil with such an idea as that, my child, but see
+if you can encourage him to do his best for the future.'
+
+'And--father,' she said timidly, 'is he really only to have a week's
+holiday?'
+
+'Yes,' said Mr. Cunningham in his most decided tone; then more gently he
+added, 'I am afraid that is punishing you as well as him, but it can't
+be helped; and as he is only going to a day school, you will not lose
+him entirely.'
+
+Remembering the adjectives Cecil had heaped upon the day school, Jessie
+could not feel this to be quite consolatory; but she only said
+'Good-night, father,' and held up her face for another kiss, which was
+given very tenderly.
+
+Poor little girl! there was a great deal of grief and perplexity in her
+heart that night; but the comfort was, that though she so pitied Cecil,
+she did not distrust the goodness of either the heavenly or the earthly
+father. She could not see the why and wherefore of it all; but when she
+had said her prayers, she laid herself down to sleep trustfully and
+patiently, while Cecil was tossing and tumbling about, feeling as if
+everybody except Jessie were against him.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A BACHELOR'S LUNCH.
+
+
+THE bells were ringing for Sunday Morning Prayer at Wilbourne Church,
+and the congregation was pouring in at the large west door, and the
+choir boys taking the little path towards the vestry, when Mr. Yorke,
+the tall curate, opened the small side gate, which was his nearest
+entrance to the churchyard.
+
+He was passing quickly along, when he caught sight of a boy leaning over
+the paling a little beyond the gate, in rather a disconsolate attitude;
+and first he paused for a minute, and then struck across the grass and
+laid his hand kindly on the boy's shoulder.
+
+'Come in with me, Cecil,' he said in his most cheery tone--knowing that
+the lad usually formed one of the choir when at home, and thinking that
+his ill success at school had made him shy of facing the other
+choristers, who probably knew all about it by this time.
+
+'No, I mustn't,' said Cecil, turning round abruptly and colouring very
+much.
+
+Mr. Yorke was surprised, and showed it. Knowing that Cecil's general
+conduct at school had been very good, he had not thought that exclusion
+from the choir would have formed part of his punishment.
+
+'It's not because of _that_,' said the boy, reading his thoughts in his
+open, kindly face, 'at least not of that alone; it's because I don't say
+I'm sorry, and behave as I'm expected to behave. But oh, if father
+knew----'
+
+He broke off and turned his face away; but Mr. Yorke, who liked the boy
+well, and had one of those sympathetic natures that can feel for
+everybody's troubles, was touched by the bitter, hopeless tone.
+
+'Suppose you come home with me after service, and spend the rest of the
+day with me,' said he, feeling it might really do the boy good to have
+his Sunday free from the sort of atmosphere of disgrace which he felt or
+fancied surrounded him at home.
+
+He could see that Cecil caught at the notion, by the eager way in which
+he looked up; though the answer was,
+
+'Thank you; but perhaps father wouldn't like it.'
+
+'I don't think he will mind; I'll ask him myself. Don't suppose I'm
+inviting you to any great treat: cold mutton and bread and marmalade are
+about all that I have to offer. I don't like to keep my landlady from
+church.'
+
+'Oh, thanks,' said Cecil, laughing, not at all as if the prospect
+alarmed him; and Mr. Yorke laughed too, and saying, 'Well, then, look
+out for me after service,' strode away across the grass, looking back,
+however, at the vestry door, to see if Cecil were turning his steps
+towards the church.
+
+Cecil had not at all liked the idea of taking his place among the
+congregation: he thought that those who noticed him would wonder why he
+was not in the choir, and in his present mood the least humiliation was
+intolerable to him. The two days which had intervened since his coming
+home had not been well or happily spent: he had gone about in a sulky
+injured way, keeping aloof from his father and mother, answering shortly
+when spoken to, and being anything but sociable even with his brothers
+and sisters. Some of them had almost ceased to be sorry for him, because
+he made himself, as they said, 'so disagreeable;' but his faithful
+friend Jessie had borne with him uncomplainingly, and continued to feel
+for him with all her heart. He was a little cheered now by the thought
+that Mr. Yorke felt for him too, and did not seem to condemn him
+altogether; and so--rather slowly--he walked towards the church and went
+in, and took a place near the door, where he thought scarcely anybody
+would see him.
+
+His thoughts wandered far and wide during the prayers, though now and
+then he recalled them by an effort, and tried to attend for at least a
+few minutes; but he could not help listening to the sermon, which was
+preached by his father--his father, whom at the bottom of his heart he
+did warmly love and respect, spite of all the rebellious feelings of the
+last day or two. The text was, 'While I live will I praise the Lord: I
+will sing praises unto my God while I have any being;' and there
+followed a beautiful, fervent exhortation to the spirit of constant
+praise, and then a consideration of the hindrances which check this flow
+of thankfulness in Christian souls. Cecil listened most attentively, and
+with a kind of awe, when among these was named the pride of heart which
+would not acknowledge as deserved such punishment as God might send,
+either directly from Himself or through others--the temper which called
+it 'very hard' that this or that suffering should be laid upon us. He
+did not suppose that his father was thinking of him--nor was he; but in
+the vivid description of feelings which followed he recognised his own,
+and a strange thrill of heart seized him when Mr. Cunningham went on:
+'There is no peace like the peace of those who have conquered all such
+rebellious impulses, such self-justifying thoughts, who have given
+themselves up lovingly to God to be chastened as much and as long as He
+wills. There is no praise like the praise of a soul that can say with
+holy Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him;" or with
+Habakkuk, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit
+be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields
+shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and
+there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I
+will joy in the God of my salvation."'
+
+'If I had sung in the choir to-day, it wouldn't have been real praise; I
+shouldn't have thought of it or meant it,' Cecil owned to himself; and
+it did not seem to him so hard as before that he had been excluded,
+though he was far from entering fully into the spirit of submission
+which Mr. Cunningham had set before his people as the thing to be longed
+and striven for. Entering fully! Ah, with most of us it takes a lifetime
+to do that; but none of us are too young to _begin_ to learn it.
+
+Cecil went back to his old position by the churchyard palings after
+service to wait for Mr. Yorke, but could not quite escape some greetings
+from his village friends, who were 'glad to see him back, and hoped he
+had his health.' He looked up anxiously when he saw his father and the
+curate come forth from the vestry together; but they soon parted, and
+Mr. Yorke came across the grass to him, saying, 'All right, Cecil; you
+can come home with me.'
+
+'Home' was some bachelor lodgings in a very rustic cottage with a porch
+all overgrown with Tangier peas, and a queerly-shaped dining-room, the
+ceiling of which was so low that Mr. Yorke's head seemed but a little
+way off it as he walked about. On the other side of the passage was a
+drawing-room, wonderfully smart and uncomfortable, with groups of wax
+fruit under glass shades on rickety tables, crochet couvrettes over the
+back of almost every chair as well as on the sofa, and a wonderful
+festoon of green and yellow tissue paper round the glass above the
+mantelpiece. Mr. Yorke took Cecil in there while the cloth was being
+laid, but told him he never sat there, as there was not a single chair
+which would bear his weight, nor a table which did not creak when it was
+leant upon.
+
+'I should turn all this trumpery out, and make Mrs. Keeling give me
+something sensible,' said Cecil, with a boy's rough-and-ready way of
+disposing of difficulties.
+
+'No, you wouldn't, if you saw what a delight she takes in it all, and
+what a solace it is to her to come and dust and admire. Between the
+dining-room and a little den I have up-stairs, I do very well. I only
+hope you'll have as snug a little hole and as worthy a little landlady
+when _you_ are a curate in lodgings.'
+
+'I don't know whether I shall ever be a clergyman now,' said Cecil
+gloomily.
+
+Mr. Yorke, who was standing at the window looking out, while his guest
+had ventured on one of the dangerous chairs, turned round in surprise.
+'You don't mean to say you are giving up that? I thought you had wished
+it ever since you were four years old.'
+
+'So I have; and if I had stayed at Eastwood, I might some day have got
+one of the Hulston scholarships, and that would have helped me at
+college; but now there's no chance for me. I'm going to old Bardsley's
+day school in Fairview, and there's nothing to be got _there_.'
+
+'Still I wouldn't give up if I were you, my boy; I would keep the hope
+before me. There's nothing like a high aim to help one through the
+drudgery of school-work, and keep one out of stupid, little, mean
+temptations.'
+
+'I know, and it was for that I worked,' said Cecil, 'at least for that
+chiefly; but it was all no use, and it doesn't seem worth while to try
+any more.'
+
+Mr. Yorke, who had supposed that Cecil _hadn't_ worked, did not quite
+know what answer to make to this.
+
+'I think it seems more worth while than ever,' he said after a minute.
+'If one has lost ground, one must make it up again somehow. You know you
+might be ordained even without going to Oxford, though I don't mean to
+say that a college education is not a good thing, if one can have it.'
+
+'Father went to Oxford, and so did you, didn't you?' said Cecil.
+
+'Yes, there was no difficulty about that, as it happened; but my way was
+not all smooth, any more than yours. I had not been meant for a
+clergyman, and there were objections to be got over, and a good deal
+that was discouraging; but it all came right at last.'
+
+He broke off his sentence rather abruptly, but in his heart it was ended
+thus: 'Thanks be to God for it.'
+
+If Cecil had ever seen the luxurious home from which the curate came, or
+had known what good worldly prospects he had given up to enter holy
+orders, he would have made quite a hero of him in his own mind; but,
+even as it was, he looked up admiringly at the tall manly figure and
+bright resolute face. He liked to feel that Mr. Yorke was his friend,
+and for the moment longed to tell him all his trouble, and see if he
+could give him more help in bearing it than little Jessie could. But he
+was shy of beginning; and before he had opened his lips, a plump little
+old woman in a black silk dress and spotless apron appeared at the door,
+and announced, 'Your lunch is ready, sir.'
+
+_Lunch!_--so they were to dine late; and though the cold mutton was not
+likely to prove a much greater dainty at six than at one, Cecil felt a
+little pride and pleasure in keeping such grown-up hours.
+
+In honour of the young guest, Mrs. Keeling had set out every small
+luxury that either her lodger or she possessed; and there were poached
+eggs, and gooseberries, and sardines, and honey, and pickles, and
+gingerbread, and potted meat, arranged with great display upon the
+table, while the bread and butter and cheese, as being altogether
+ordinary, were exiled to a little sideboard behind Mr. Yorke's chair.
+
+'Is there anything more you require, sir?' said the old dame before
+withdrawing, in a complacent tone that seemed to say, What _could_ they
+require when such a variety was before them?
+
+'Thank you, let me see: would you like some mutton, Cecil?'
+
+Mrs. Keeling almost frowned at this proposal. How could the good young
+gentleman be so inconsiderate, she thought, as to propose to his visitor
+for _lunch_ what was by and by to come up for _dinner_? She was quite
+relieved, however, by Cecil's eager negative, and went off to her
+kitchen well satisfied; while Mr. Yorke, after saying grace, proceeded
+to do the honours of the repast.
+
+'May I give you some pickles, Cecil?' he said mischievously. 'I don't
+see anything to eat with them, so I suppose they are meant to form a
+course by themselves.'
+
+'They wouldn't be bad with bread and cheese,' rejoined Cecil, laughing;
+'some of our seniors eat them with all sorts of things.'
+
+'Well, you can try the combination if you like, but I don't see any
+cheese; and oh, hulloa! there's no bread either. Will you ring the bell
+while I help the eggs?'
+
+'I see them--they're behind you--I'll get them,' and Cecil jumped up and
+set down the bread, but, among the array of dishes which covered the
+small table, could find no room for the butter or cheese.
+
+'We can turn out the pickles, and the gooseberries too, for the
+present,' said Mr. Yorke with a look of amusement. 'Thank you, Cecil; I
+seem to have brought you here to wait upon me.'
+
+'Oh, it's such fun!' said Cecil delightedly. A thoroughly well-arranged
+meal would not have given him half the pleasure that this queer little
+bachelor lunch did.
+
+Before it was over, his spirits were such as entirely to satisfy his
+host; and Mrs. Keeling, when she came to clear away, was gratified to
+find that her home-made gingerbread had by no means been despised,
+though she had been a little offended in the interval by water being
+rung for. What could Mr. Yorke be thinking of, to let the little
+gentleman drink water, when there was cowslip wine and raspberry vinegar
+of her own making in the house, supposing that ordinary wine or beer
+were thought too strong for him?
+
+But Cecil had affirmed that he always drank water at home, and wished
+for nothing else, and Mr. Yorke knew better than to try to lead him to
+other tastes. He liked Cecil's bringing-up altogether--the hardiness and
+the good sense of it, and the kindness that was never spoiling; and
+could sympathize the more with the boy, under the cloud which had come
+between him and his father, because he knew how happy the relations
+between them had been till now. He was ready to talk about school and
+cricket, and his own younger brothers, and anything that seemed to
+interest him; and was rather startled when, as they sat together after
+lunch in a queer little arbour at the end of the garden, Cecil suddenly
+said, 'Do you think a person can help being miserable when they are
+punished for a fault they haven't done?'
+
+'I think it is a great trial,' he answered after a moment's reflection.
+'But surely they would have more reason to be miserable if they _had_
+committed the fault.'
+
+Cecil pondered over this a minute; then he said, 'But how is it _just_
+that they should be punished for what they haven't done?'
+
+'Why, I suppose the person punishing thinks they have done it.'
+
+'Yes, the person,' said Cecil,--and there he hesitated,--'I mean,' he
+said at last, not irreverently, but in a low, earnest tone, 'why are
+things like _this let_ happen?'
+
+Mr. Yorke could only guess what 'this' was, and did not seek to have it
+explained, not wishing to make himself a judge of anything that lay
+between Cecil and his father.
+
+'You mean, why is disgrace allowed to come upon a person which they
+cannot feel they have deserved? I don't think we can always tell why--I
+think we must be content to trust and submit; but it may often be to
+teach them some lesson which they could not have learned without it. For
+instance, suppose a very proud person were punished for telling an
+untruth, which he had not really told: the humiliation might be a check
+to his pride, and in that way might be for his real good.'
+
+'And he deserved it, you mean, for being proud, though he didn't for
+untruth?'
+
+'Yes; and when he came to see this, he would no longer say it was very
+hard.'
+
+This reminded Cecil of his father's sermon, which indeed Mr. Yorke had
+in his mind when he spoke. He was silent a good while, then he began on
+what seemed at first another subject. 'If something that wasn't your own
+fault had come to hinder you when you were being educated for a
+clergyman, shouldn't you have thought you weren't meant to be one?'
+
+'I think it would have depended on what the hindrance was, and a good
+many other circumstances. It isn't only book-learning that makes people
+fit to be clergymen; perhaps I might have been hindered in that, only to
+make me more fit in some other way.'
+
+'What kind of way?'
+
+'Well, I might have needed to learn submission or humility, or a hundred
+things.'
+
+Cecil clasped both hands round his knees, and went swaying himself
+backwards and forwards in a queer kind of way that was more reflective
+than polite.
+
+'I suppose it wouldn't do for a clergyman to be cock-a-hoop,' he said
+presently.
+
+'Well, not exactly, if he meant to be in any sense an example to his
+flock,' returned Mr. Yorke with a smile.
+
+'I know I was very cock-a-hoop just before this disappointment came,'
+thought Cecil, 'and that last week I was careless and all. I wonder
+whether that is why all this has happened!'
+
+He did not say any of this aloud, but it was not pride that kept him
+from the avowal, only a very natural and reasonable shyness of talking
+about himself. He stopped rocking, and sat with his gaze fixed on the
+trees in the distance, without really seeing them a bit. A new feeling
+of half-dismayed contrition was springing up in his heart, but the
+bitterness of resentment and the sense of injury were passing away.
+
+He started when the church bells began to ring. There was evening
+prayer, with catechizing, at three o'clock at Wilbourne Church, and
+evening prayer again, with a sermon, at seven. 'Are you going, sir?' he
+said as Mr. Yorke rose up.
+
+'Not to church now, but I must be off to Bar-end, where I have my class
+of hobbledehoys from the farms.'
+
+'Do you think father will expect me at the catechizing?'
+
+'I should think he would be glad to see you there.'
+
+'I mustn't stand with the choir, I suppose,' said Cecil, hesitating.
+
+'No; but I think, if I were you, I should be all the more anxious to go.
+You're not sulking, I can see, Cecil; so why should you let any one
+think you are?'
+
+'I have been, though,' said Cecil rather awkwardly, breaking through his
+shyness now that truth seemed to require it.
+
+'Well, Sunday is a good day for turning over a new leaf,' said Mr.
+Yorke, with a smile in his eyes that seemed to make no doubt at all of
+Cecil's willingness to do it.
+
+'It seemed so hard at first,' he answered, feeling as if he must excuse
+himself a little.
+
+'Yes, it _is_ a struggle sometimes to accept one's position; but when
+once one has, all the bitterness goes, and one finds oneself not half so
+miserable as one expected.'
+
+How true this was, Cecil soon began to find out from his own experience.
+It was a struggle to take his place beside the schoolboys, instead of
+with the choir, at the catechizing; it cost him something to open his
+lips when first his father seemed to address a question to him, but
+after the first effort it was not half so hard as he had thought it
+would be. He answered thoughtfully and well, and, without putting
+himself unduly forward, showed that he was paying attention, and was
+really anxious to understand and to learn.
+
+Jessie ran up to him in the churchyard after service.
+
+'Oh, Cecil, I am so glad you came! I thought you would have gone to
+Bar-end with Mr. Yorke. Are you coming home now?'
+
+'No, I am going back to his place; he said I might amuse myself with his
+books till he came in. I haven't had dinner yet,' and Cecil felt a
+momentary importance in saying it.
+
+'How hungry you must be!' rejoined Jessie innocently. 'Are you going,
+Cecil? I shall wait for father.'
+
+'Here he is!' said Frances, who was waiting also.
+
+Cecil felt an impulse to rush away instantly, but was glad he had not,
+when his father said in a kind voice, 'Are you coming with us, Cecil?'
+Though he answered, of course, in the negative, his heart felt lighter
+for that kind tone and those few casual words. It was his own sulkiness
+which had made great part of his misery before, and he could see that
+plainly now that he was beginning to get the better of it.
+
+The rest of the day passed very pleasantly, and Cecil enjoyed his talk
+with his good-natured friend very much, though nothing more was said on
+the one subject which absorbed him the most. It was quite bed-time when
+he went home, so he had no opportunity of putting in practice that night
+the good resolutions which were springing up within him; but the next
+day all the brothers and sisters remarked how much more amiable he was,
+and little Jessie's intense belief in his goodness revived in full
+force. He was not so merry as usual: it was impossible he should be
+after his deep disappointment, and with the sense of his father's
+displeasure resting on him, and the prospect of the day school before
+him. Both father and mother were touched sometimes when they caught the
+sad expression of his face; but he was no longer sullen; and if a
+pettish word escaped him, he seemed to catch himself up quickly before
+it could be followed by another.
+
+'I can't see the rights of it yet,' he said to Jessie privately, 'nor
+why I should be so served out for not working, when I _did_ work; but I
+think there were things--feeling set up, you know, and crowing over
+other fellows, and all that--which may have brought me in for this in a
+kind of way.'
+
+Jessie could hardly bring herself to believe that he could have deserved
+it in _any_ way, but his submission was much less grievous and
+perplexing to her than his rebellion had been; and she received these
+few words--spoken rather gruffly, with his back turned to her--as a
+great proof of confidence, which indeed they were.
+
+'If being very good makes people ready to be clergymen, I'm sure Cecil's
+getting ready as fast as he can,' she remarked to Frances.
+
+And though Frances was not so firmly convinced as her sister that
+Cecil's troubles had not been brought on him by his own fault, she
+answered readily, 'Yes, he has been so nice and pleasant since Sunday,
+and hasn't grumbled once about having to go to Mr. Bardsley's.'
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+GOOD NEWS.
+
+
+MR. BARDSLEY'S was rather a large day school, in a town about two miles
+distant from Wilbourne. His terms were low, and he was not particular
+who the boys might be that came to him, so that they behaved themselves
+when they did come; but he taught really well, and was very
+conscientious, and therefore even very careful parents allowed their
+sons to go to him, convinced that there they would be at least well
+grounded in classics and mathematics, and would learn nothing amiss from
+the general tone of the school, though individual pupils in it might not
+be all that could be wished.
+
+[Illustration: 'GOOD-BYE, CECIL.'
+
+_See page 124._]
+
+Cecil was to start from home each day about half-past eight, and not to
+return till after the school broke up at five o'clock, except on the two
+half-holidays--Wednesday and Saturday. Eight miles' walking would have
+been too much for him; and it had been arranged that on the four other
+days he should dine with Mr. and Mrs. Bardsley, and his hours of work
+would be from nine to twelve and from two to five, with tasks to prepare
+at home in the evening.
+
+It seemed rather hard to begin this routine just in the first days of
+August, when the weather was so lovely, and the woods so enticing, and
+holiday cricket-matches going on in Wilbourne Park. Cecil's face was a
+little dismal at breakfast the first morning, and it was real
+self-government which kept him from grumbling when Jessie was helping
+him to put his schoolbooks together. Just as they were firmly strapped,
+his mother came to bid him 'good-bye for a few hours,' with a tender
+kiss and a few cheerful words, and after that his heart felt lighter,
+and he set out bravely; but he was just beginning to think what a long
+dull walk it was, and what a dusty road, and how delightful it would be
+if he might shy his books over the hedge and strike off across the
+meadows to join Percy, who had gone out fishing, when he heard steps
+behind him, and turning, saw the tall curate running along with rapid
+strides. His first impression was that something had happened at the
+Rectory since he started, and that Mr. Yorke was come to take him back;
+but he was soon undeceived.
+
+'I've got business in Fairview,' the young clergyman explained, 'and I
+meant to go in early; and when I saw you pass by, I thought I might as
+well get ready and try to overtake you. I like company myself; don't
+you?'
+
+'Yes, very much,' said Cecil, swinging his books over his shoulder
+cheerfully again, instead of dangling them drearily from the end of the
+strap, as he had been doing before. 'Lewis wanted to come with me, but
+mother wouldn't have liked his walking back alone; and besides, one
+doesn't always want a little chap like that after one.'
+
+'I thought Percy might want to get his watch-chain mended,' said Mr.
+Yorke, with rather a droll expression in his eyes. 'Doesn't it require
+mending periodically? That was what he always used to tell me last
+vacation, when I met him going into Fairview.'
+
+'He hadn't had his watch long then, and was always taking it out to look
+at it,' said Cecil, laughing. 'I think that was how the chain got
+broken. He's used to it now. I wonder if Uncle Percy will give _me_ a
+watch when I'm sixteen. Of course Percy wanted one particularly, because
+of his going to Sandhurst. He's gone out fishing this morning: mustn't
+it be jolly in the water-meadows?'
+
+'Very; but how well this part of the road is watered!--it's quite
+pleasant walking here. I suppose the Fairview water-carts come out as
+far as this.'
+
+'I wish they'd come all the way,' said Cecil; 'I was just thinking how
+dusty it was before I met you.'
+
+'And I was wondering whether you chose the road instead of the path on
+purpose, because you _liked_ the dust: there's no accounting for
+tastes.'
+
+'I'll try the path next time,' said Cecil with a smile. 'Do you know old
+Bardsley, Mr. Yorke?'
+
+'Yes, I met him at the Institute one day, and we had a lively discussion
+about Greek roots. He's a clever man, I think, and has a real taste for
+teaching. When he gets hold of a fellow that cares to learn, I'm told
+there's no limit to the pains he'll take with him.'
+
+'Jim Payne didn't like him at all,' said Cecil, alluding to the son of a
+small farmer in the neighbourhood; 'he said he was an awful brute.'
+
+'Jim Payne likes nothing but idleness, and his father is mistaken enough
+to let him have his way.'
+
+Cecil wisely suppressed some further quotations which he had meant to
+make from Jim Payne's account of Mr. Bardsley; and they walked on
+sociably together, talking of other things. It really seemed quite a
+short walk, after all, though Cecil had fancied it very long when he
+first set out.
+
+He was in tolerably good spirits when he trod that road again in the
+evening, though this time he was alone the whole way. He did not dislike
+either the school or the schoolmaster as much as he had expected; and he
+felt that if he worked hard, and conformed to rules, there was no danger
+of his ever finding Mr. Bardsley the terrible monster that Jim Payne had
+described him to be.
+
+It would, and did, seem a drudgery to prepare school tasks that evening,
+while Percy was enjoying 'elegant leisure;' but there was the Saturday
+half-holiday to look forward to, and Cecil's health was good, and not
+likely to suffer from his speedy return to work. Seeing him so patient
+and industrious, his father wondered how it was that he still expressed
+no sorrow for his past idleness, but did not press him for any such
+acknowledgment. He believed that it would come in time, and was quite
+content to take his present good conduct as a sign of penitence. 'He
+would not bear his punishment so well if he were not really sorry for
+his fault,' he said to himself.
+
+'You are not angry with Cecil now, father, are you?' said Jessie softly
+the next morning, as they stood watching him trudge down the gravel path
+towards the gate on his way to school.
+
+'No; very much pleased in some ways,' he answered. 'How late the post is
+this morning! I'm afraid old Hawkins is stopping for a long chat with
+Mrs. Giles. Just run down the lane and see; and if there is any letter
+for me, bring it at once to my study. I have to go out in five minutes.'
+
+Jessie was running off directly, with her long hair streaming in the
+wind, when her mother called to her to put something on; and she came
+back, snatched her garden-hat and holland cape from their peg, and flew
+away again. Yes, the old postman was standing gossiping with Mrs. Giles
+at her garden gate, just as Mr. Cunningham had foreseen. When Jessie
+breathlessly inquired if there were any letters for the Rectory, the old
+man answered composedly, 'Yes, Missy, three letters for your house--two
+for your reverend father, and one for Miss Mary. Shall I take 'em round,
+or shall I give 'em to you?'
+
+'Oh, I'll take them, please,' said Jessie; and back she flew with them,
+and straight into the study she went, holding out the two that belonged
+to Mr. Cunningham.
+
+'Thanks. This is the one I wanted, from your Uncle Percy,' he said as he
+took them from her; 'and this is from Dr. Lomax. What makes him write
+again, I wonder?'
+
+'Oh, father, do open it, please!' said Jessie excitedly, a sudden hope
+springing up in her breast.
+
+'My child, what can there be in it to signify? It is an account for some
+schoolbooks, perhaps,' said Mr. Cunningham, rather as if he thought her
+a very silly little girl. But when he looked up and saw her eager,
+quivering face, he added, with a smile, 'Well, to set your mind at rest,
+I will just take a glance.'
+
+He opened the letter as he spoke, but it was much more than a glance
+which he gave it. A minute passed, two minutes, three, and still he read
+on and did not speak. Jessie never took her eyes off his face; hope and
+fear struggled together in her heart, and hope was uppermost. But for
+the gravity of her father's silence, she would have felt sure that all
+was coming right.
+
+At last he spoke. 'There _was_ a mistake, Jessie: the marks were counted
+up wrong, it seems, and your brother has not been to blame, after all.'
+
+'And not lost the "exhibition?"'
+
+'No; his marks more than entitle him to keep it.'
+
+'And you will let him go back next month, father?'
+
+'Certainly. Why, my dear----' For Jessie was off like an arrow from a
+bow, and did not even hear his exclamation.
+
+He supposed she had gone to tell the others, and paused to read over the
+letter once more, with deep thankfulness, and much sympathy for Cecil.
+It was from young Mr. Lomax, not from the Doctor: the similarity in the
+handwriting had misled Mr. Cunningham. He said the mistake had been
+discovered by his father, but that, as it had been made by him, he
+could not rest without personally acknowledging it, and expressing his
+regret. He had been himself surprised, in the first instance, at the
+result of his addition; but as he had only to do with Cecil in
+mathematics, in which he was not _remarkably_ proficient, it did not
+seem so astonishing to him as it did to his father, who had watched the
+boy's progress in classics. Dr. Lomax had not gone over the books
+himself at the time, but having occasion to refer to them for something
+the morning of the day on which Mr. Lomax wrote, he had counted up
+Cecil's marks throughout the year, just for his own satisfaction, and in
+doing so had discovered the mistake that had been made. 'We have since
+been over it all together,' continued the son; 'and being now fully
+convinced of my mistake, I hasten to apprise you of it, and to express
+my deep regret.' If Cecil had seen this sentence, and some which
+followed, he would certainly have abandoned his idea that 'young Lomax
+might have done it to spite him.'
+
+'Mother!' called Mr. Cunningham, suddenly remembering the appointment
+which this letter had made him forget for a few minutes; and as his wife
+came running down in answer to his call, he went on: 'Has Jessie told
+you, love? I mustn't stay--but take the letter; I shall try to get down
+in time to meet that poor boy as he comes out from morning school.'
+
+'I haven't seen Jessie,' Mrs. Cunningham answered; but she seemed to
+guess instinctively what the letter contained, and one glance at it
+confirmed her impression.
+
+'My darling boy! oh, thank God!' she exclaimed. 'Lewis, you will bring
+him straight home with you, won't you?'
+
+'If I don't, I shall have you following me and hugging him before the
+whole school,' said her husband, laughing, but almost with tears in his
+eyes; and he hurried away, while she went joyfully back to the
+drawing-room to tell Mary and Frances the good news.
+
+They literally 'jumped for joy;' and there was a kind of triple hug
+between the mother and her daughters, from which Frances was the first
+to break away, crying, 'Oh, where's Jessie? do let me tell her! how glad
+she will be!'
+
+'She knows, I think,' said Mrs. Cunningham; 'it was she who brought
+father the letter. But find her by all means, and Lewis too, that we may
+all be happy together.'
+
+Lewis was easily found, but nothing could be seen of Jessie; and
+presently her little brother was sent to the meadows where Percy was
+fishing, to see if she had run there with the tidings; but there she was
+not, and there was some consternation at the Rectory when the fact was
+announced.
+
+'I really think she must have gone to Fairview,' said Mary anxiously.
+
+'Perhaps she thought she could overtake Cecil,' suggested Frances. And
+though they did not know it, this guess hit the exact truth.
+
+When Jessie left the study, she firmly believed that if she were only
+quick enough she could catch Cecil, who was very likely to linger on his
+way; and she had a vision of finding him leaning over a certain gate
+which opened into a harvest-field, and which was a favourite
+halting-place with all the young people.
+
+No, he was not at the gate; but Jessie, full of her one idea of
+overtaking him, flew on and on till she had reached the outskirts of the
+town, and still she saw nothing of him--the truth being, that not having
+allowed himself more than enough time for his walk that morning, he had
+hurried on instead of stopping anywhere, and was in school by this time.
+She was dismayed when the country road began to turn into a street, and
+realized for the first time how far she had come. She had not had a
+thought of doing wrong when she began to run after Cecil, but now she
+was struck with a sudden sense of misdemeanour, and a fear that 'mother'
+would be angry.
+
+'I wonder if I ought to go back,' she said to herself, 'or whether I may
+just go on to Mr. Bardsley's! It isn't far now, and then Cecil could
+come back with me, I daresay. Perhaps I could still catch him just as
+he's going in.'
+
+Inspirited by this thought, she began to run again, and in a little
+while she was standing opposite the square brick house which she knew to
+be Mr. Bardsley's. There was not a sign of a boy on the steps, nor was
+there any sound of voices from the playground; evidently Cecil and his
+companions were already at study. She stood there, panting and weary,
+not very well knowing what to do next.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+'IT'S ALL RIGHT!'
+
+
+JESSIE fancied that if she rang the bell and asked for Cecil, she should
+be either sent away or shown into the great schoolroom; and the idea of
+facing Mr. Bardsley and all the boys seemed to her very terrible--almost
+too terrible to be entertained for a moment. But then, to leave Cecil in
+ignorance of the good tidings that she had run all this way to bring to
+him!--to let him go on through the day still feeling himself in
+disgrace, and not knowing that all was explained! No, she could not bear
+that either. She put up a trembling hand, and not daring to meddle with
+the big knocker, which looked prepared to make any amount of noise,
+took hold of the bell at the side of it, and gave a feeble tinkle,
+which would scarcely have been audible to the housemaid had she not
+happened to be close at hand cleaning the hall lamp. She opened the door
+so suddenly, that Jessie, who was prepared to wait some time, was quite
+startled, and so confused that she could not say anything.
+
+'Did you ring?' asked the maid sharply, looking down in amazement at the
+dusty little figure and flushed frightened face.
+
+'Yes; oh, please,' said Jessie, recovering herself, 'is Master
+Cunningham here? and would you tell him that I want to speak to him a
+minute?'
+
+'The young gentlemen are in school--they can't be disturbed now,'
+replied the servant, preparing to shut the door.
+
+'But oh, please, if you would tell him I've come with news from home,
+and I want to see him so much,' said Jessie desperately; 'I'm his
+sister.'
+
+The maid looked hard at her, and Jessie felt sure she spied out the
+gloveless hands under the holland cape; but with as much dignity as she
+could muster, the child added, 'I'm Miss Jessie Cunningham;' and
+something in her tone and manner must have borne out the assertion, for
+with a quick 'Step in here, please, and I'll speak to Mrs. Bardsley,'
+the maid opened the door wider instead of shutting it, and allowed her
+to enter the hall.
+
+She then gave her a chair, and went into a room close by, from which she
+soon reappeared, followed by a quiet-looking lady, not very old, but
+with a cap and spectacles, and something about her which made Jessie
+feel quite ashamed of her own heated, untidy condition.
+
+'You have come with a message for Master Cunningham, I understand; I
+trust no accident has occurred at his home,' said Mrs. Bardsley in a
+voice as quiet as her face.
+
+'Oh no! it's all good news, and I thought I should have overtaken him,
+but I didn't; and oh! if you would please let me see him, and then
+perhaps he would come back with me.'
+
+'I don't think he can return till after school, unless you have brought
+an order from his father to that effect,' said the schoolmaster's wife;
+'but come and sit down, and then perhaps you will be able to explain
+yourself more fully.'
+
+She took Jessie into a prim-looking sitting-room; and in rather a
+confused way the little girl did contrive to explain what had brought
+her, and how important her news would be to Cecil. 'And if Mr. Bardsley
+would let him come back with me I don't think father would mind, and
+mother would like it so much better than my going back alone. I oughtn't
+to have come, I'm afraid,' she wound up, feeling every minute more and
+more dismayed at herself.
+
+'I fear you must be causing anxiety at home,' said Mrs. Bardsley, still
+rather stiffly. 'I will send and ask Mr. Bardsley to allow your brother
+to speak to you for a minute;' and she went out of the room, leaving
+Jessie alone.
+
+Some minutes passed, and Jessie grew more and more nervous; but at
+length appeared Cecil, looking very schoolboyish, with a great dab of
+ink on his collar.
+
+She jumped off her chair and ran to him, and got out one great 'Oh,
+Cecil!' and then, instead of saying anything more, she began to sob.
+
+'What is it? what's up?' said he in utter amazement. 'Don't cry, don't
+cry; is anything wrong at home?'
+
+'Oh no! it's all right! and you've got enough marks, and you're to go
+back after the holidays. And oh, Cecil! I'm so glad! and I'm so hot, and
+I've run all the way!'
+
+'And you're obliged to cry about it,' said Cecil, laughing, and kissing
+her. 'I say, sit down here in this arm-chair; there, I'll fan you with
+my pocket-handkerchief. How's it all come out? has the Doctor
+written--or what?'
+
+'Yes, I think it was he; and father's so glad, and he said himself you
+should go back. He counted up the marks wrong--not father, but somebody,
+you know--and you've got plenty, and you're not a bit to blame; father
+says you're not.'
+
+A sort of dancing light came into the boy's black eyes, but he didn't
+say a word. Jessie was quite astonished, and a good deal disappointed,
+at his taking the matter so quietly.
+
+'Aren't you glad?' she said; 'I thought you would have been ready to
+jump out of your skin for joy. _I_ was; but I came straight off,
+thinking I should overtake you. How fast you must have walked to get
+here first! Oh, Cecil, do you think I could have a little water?'
+
+'You're too hot to drink cold water,' said Cecil in a wise,
+elder-brotherly way. 'I've got an apple in my pocket; you shall have a
+bit of that.'
+
+It was rather a greenish specimen, and one bite of it more than
+satisfied Jessie, without refreshing her in the least; but she sat
+holding it in her hand, and looking at Cecil with loving eyes, too happy
+to mind much about her thirst and fatigue.
+
+'Do you think Mr. Bardsley will let you come back with me?' she said
+presently.
+
+'Not till twelve o'clock, I'm sure; perhaps he would then. Father didn't
+say I was to come, did he?'
+
+'No, I was so silly I didn't wait to ask him; he didn't know I was
+coming. Cecil, do you think they will be very angry with me? I have
+never been so far alone before.'
+
+'I'm afraid mother won't like it,' said Cecil; but he thought to himself
+that he should always love her for it; and if he had been a girl instead
+of a boy, he would have told her so. 'I must go back to study now; but
+I think you had better wait here, if Mrs. Bardsley will let you,' he
+continued, after a minute's reflection.
+
+'But what will they think at home? They must have missed me. Cecil, I'd
+better go;' and she stood up, feeling how dreary the lonely walk back
+would be, with those tired feet of hers that had run along so merrily
+when the thought of telling the joyful news had been the only one
+present to her mind.
+
+'There's father, I do declare, in old Mr. Rawson's gig!' exclaimed
+Cecil, who was looking out of the window; and sure enough, at this
+moment, a funny old-fashioned carriage drew up at the door, and Mr.
+Cunningham got down from it and shook hands with the owner.
+
+_He_ was not afraid of the big knocker, but the maid was much longer in
+answering his rat-tat-tat than Jessie's feeble ring; and only a sense
+that they were not in their own house, and must not take liberties,
+restrained the children from opening the door themselves. They could not
+resist running out into the hall to meet him, thus forestalling any
+inquiry for them by their immediate appearance.
+
+'Well, Cecil!'--oh, such a different 'well' from the one that had
+greeted him on his return for the holidays!--then to Jessie: 'And so you
+are _here_, little madam! Mother is making herself quite unhappy about
+you.'
+
+Before Jessie could answer, he turned to the maid, asking her to request
+Mr. Bardsley to see him for a minute; and she ushered him into the
+sitting-room where the children had been, and went off with the message.
+
+Then his little daughter got hold of his hand and whispered, 'I didn't
+mean to vex mother; I thought I could have overtaken Cecil. I am very
+sorry.'
+
+'Well, I don't think I need tell you not to do such a thing again,' said
+Mr. Cunningham with a smile, 'for the temptation is not likely to
+recur. These things don't happen every day; do they, Cecil? My boy, I am
+sorry for this week of disgrace, and more glad than I can tell you to
+find it was not deserved.'
+
+Cecil looked down, coloured, put his hands in his pockets and took them
+out again, twisted his eyes in a vain attempt to see the whole extent of
+the ink spot on his collar, and finally, standing quite upright, and
+looking straight before him, said in a very modest and yet manly way, 'I
+am glad you know that I was not really idle, father; but I didn't work
+so hard as I ought the last week, and I was stuck-up and made too sure
+of success. I would rather you knew that.'
+
+Jessie, looking to see how her father took this, was struck by the
+shining of his eyes as they rested on his son; but before he had time to
+make any reply, Mr. Bardsley came in; only, Cecil was sure, by the way
+his father's hand remained upon his shoulder while he was speaking to
+the master, that he understood and appreciated the frank confession, and
+that they should be closer friends henceforth than ever before.
+
+Mr. Bardsley gave leave for Cecil to return home at once; and Mr.
+Cunningham said he would call again the next day, out of school hours,
+to explain more fully how Cecil's prospects were altered, and 'make some
+arrangement.' Jessie was rather alarmed at the sound of this, but Cecil
+guessed that his father meant to withdraw him from the day school, and
+wished to offer some compensation for taking him away in this sudden
+fashion, just at the beginning of the half-year.
+
+Spite of Jessie's tired feet, the walk back was very pleasant; and
+neither she nor Cecil were insensible to the honour of having their
+father all to themselves, and at this unusual time of day too. He
+explained that he had met their mother in the village, so anxious about
+Jessie, that instead of waiting till towards twelve o'clock to go into
+Fairview, he had got Mr. Yorke to finish his parish business for him,
+and had started off at once, accepting a lift from Mr. Rawson by the
+way. And when he added quietly, 'You will take care that she is never
+made uneasy again by any thoughtlessness on your part, Jessie!' the
+little girl answered, 'Yes, father,' in a very subdued and humble tone,
+and felt quite as sorry as if he had lectured her for an hour.
+
+'Do you think Mr. Yorke will be at home again now? Might I run in for a
+minute, father?' said Cecil as they passed the curate's lodging.
+
+'I am not sure; you can see if you like.' And Cecil _did_ see; and
+finding his friend busily engaged sermon-writing in the queer little
+dining-room, tarried only for a few words.
+
+'I suppose father has told you,' he said as he burst in.
+
+'Yes, I am _so_ glad;' and Cecil's inky little paw was enfolded in the
+curate's heartiest grasp.
+
+'I shan't forget this week in a hurry,' the boy continued; 'but I'm not
+so very sorry now that it all happened. Thank you for that nice Sunday.'
+
+He did not say, but he implied how much it had helped him through; and
+Mr. Yorke answered cheerily, 'I could have sympathized more if I had
+known all that I know now; but I don't think you wanted pity. I believe
+your father's sermon showed you the way to bear your trouble.'
+
+Cecil's cheeks were burning, and he only said shyly, 'You showed me
+too;' and then hastily adding, 'I want to catch up with father before he
+gets home,' ran off again, after one more hearty shake of the hand had
+been exchanged between them.
+
+If the memory of pain could be effaced by after-happiness, the remainder
+of this day would have amply sufficed to blot out the past week. Never
+did Cecil feel more glad than when his mother kissed him, called him her
+own darling boy, and at his request forgave Jessie's escapade, and gave
+her and Frances a week's holiday, that he might have as much of their
+company as he chose. And on the following Sunday, when he took his place
+in the choir again, and Mr. Yorke came to dinner at the Rectory, and all
+was thankful rejoicing, that sorrowful Sunday on which he had felt as if
+the whole world were against him seemed already far away.
+
+The trial was gone by, and some of the effects it had left behind it
+were very pleasant. But for it, Cecil felt he never could have known Mr.
+Yorke so well, nor his own little sister Jessie. They were his especial
+friends from henceforth, in a way which they had never been before, even
+though Jessie had always been regarded by Percy and others as 'Cecil's
+particular chum.' Percy himself had seemed hitherto at an immeasurable
+distance from Cecil, and had generally appeared to expect to be treated
+with the same sort of respect as would have been shown to a school
+'senior;' but now, wonderful to relate, a change came over him, and he
+condescended to unbend not only a little, but a very great deal. It
+actually seemed as if he had begun to respect Cecil! No one but a
+schoolboy, with an admired and venerated elder brother rather given to
+snubbing, can quite realize how astonishing this change appeared to the
+person most concerned. For Percy to invite Cecil to come out fishing
+with him, in the genial tone of an equal who really cared for his
+companionship, instead of ordering him in a lordly way to take his
+tackle down to the river for him, was something so unexpected and
+flattering, that it went nearer to turning Cecil's head than anything
+that had happened yet. Perhaps it really might have done so, but for the
+wholesome lessons the boy had learned during his time of humiliation.
+
+These fishings with Percy became a sort of institution during that week,
+which Jessie had rather counted on for having Cecil all to herself.
+'Francie doesn't care, because she wants to do her gardening; but what
+made me like so to have holidays, was only that I might go about with
+Cecil, and now he goes off with Percy and doesn't want me!' thought the
+poor little maiden, in rather an injured way, as she sat forlornly in
+the wide window-seat on Wednesday morning, watching the retreating
+figures of her brothers. Spite of all her unselfishness, that sense of
+injury _would_ come, and was very disagreeable.
+
+'Who will take the boys' dinner down to the meadows for them by and by?'
+said her father, coming suddenly into the room. 'I have promised them a
+long, uninterrupted time for their sport to-day, because to-morrow we
+are all going for a picnic to the Beacon, and there will be no fishing
+then. You and Francie are the two idlest folk in the house just now,
+aren't you, Jessie? so suppose you turn errand-women?'
+
+'Oh, father, are they going to fish all day?' exclaimed Jessie, jumping
+up when she was spoken to, but showing no great alacrity in offering her
+services.
+
+'Till tea-time, I believe, if they don't get tired of it. Do you know I
+am so glad of these fishings, Jessie?'
+
+'Are you, father?' she said, rather drearily, conscious that there was
+no gladness in her own face or voice.
+
+'Yes, because I know what a brother's friendship is worth. I believe
+Percy's good-natured patronage seems to Cecil the greatest reward he has
+had yet for his bravery in bearing his misfortunes.'
+
+Jessie did not like the idea much; it seemed to her that if it were
+true, her father and she had _both_ reason to feel slighted.
+
+'Use your imagination, Jessie,' said Mr. Cunningham, smiling; 'you have
+plenty, I know, and the great use of it is to help us to see things from
+other people's point of view. Shall I tell you something else? I am so
+glad of this companionship because I believe Cecil, though the younger,
+will do Percy good.'
+
+Jessie quite understood this; her face brightened, as it always did at
+anything like praise of Cecil, and she felt it very delightful to be
+taken into her father's confidence in such a 'grown-up' kind of way.
+
+'I can carry the dinner, if you like, father,' she said briskly.
+
+'Suppose Francie and you both go, and take your own dinners as well?
+That will be a kind of picnic on a small scale, almost as pleasant,
+perhaps, as the grand one of to-morrow. You can come away afterwards,
+and leave the boys to their sport.'
+
+Jessie looked rather cloudy again for a minute; it was so like being
+offered a little slice when she had wanted the whole loaf!
+
+Her father was standing quite near her now, and he smoothed down her
+hair softly with his hand, as he said, 'Jessie, have you ever thought
+what a sweet and happy thing love is when it has overcome jealousy? It
+is not worth _very_ much till then.'
+
+For one moment there was a sharp struggle within her, and then she
+pressed her cheek against his arm, with a loving, grateful gesture. He
+had no fear that his little maiden would give way to jealousy any
+longer. Now that he had given the sore feeling a name, he knew that she
+would be as anxious to drive it away as he was.
+
+That dinner in the meadows was very pleasant--'Quite enchanting,'
+Frances declared. 'Awfully jolly,' said Cecil, who was not so choice in
+his vocabulary. Percy looked on it as rather a childish entertainment,
+and said more than once that he wished 'they' hadn't forgotten that he
+always took pepper with everything; but he never blamed either of his
+sisters, only this mysterious 'they,' and made an excellent dinner,
+spite of the absence of the pepper-box. He was very kind to Jessie
+too,--so kind that she quite forgave Cecil from henceforth for thinking
+Percy's notice a very grand sort of thing; it seemed as if he almost
+included _her_ in the new respect he had begun to have for his younger
+brother. And then, Cecil! Cecil was so entirely delightful on this
+occasion, that she wondered how, even for a moment, she could have
+thought him anything but the most perfect of all possible brothers. From
+the noble way in which he dispensed the tart, only leaving himself a
+very small piece, though she _knew_ he liked it better than anything,
+down to the good-nature with which he gave his last bit of cheese to the
+lame old setter, that had limped down to see after them, everything in
+his behaviour was just according to her own heart, and totally unlike
+the selfish greediness of what she called 'common schoolboys.' And then,
+when, instead of going back to his fishing directly after dinner, he
+asked her to walk with him as far as the bridge and watch the trout
+leap, she was the very happiest and proudest of little sisters. If it
+had not been for what her father had said, she would have lingered near
+him the whole afternoon; but as it was, she came away quite contentedly
+after she had watched his angling for a minute or two, and really felt
+how nice it was that Percy and he should have become such allies,--how
+much pleasanter for him than having only her for a companion. Percy's
+vacation would be over before his, and then her time would come perhaps;
+anyhow, she was much too sure of Cecil's love to have any excuse for
+jealousy in seeing him taken up with others. He had opened his heart to
+her when he was in trouble, she should never forget that. Oh! how dear
+this had made him to her, both 'for then and for always!'
+
+No after-trial worth recording shadowed Cecil's boyhood; and now he is a
+man--just such a man as Jessie longed to see him. He very seldom thinks
+of the incidents here related, but yet the lesson he learnt in that
+memorable week is still bearing fruit in his life; and when any trial
+comes to him, he does not say it is 'very hard,' but takes it as a new
+proof of the fatherly love that watches over him, and, in dark seasons
+as well as bright ones, is ready to sing with the psalmist, 'Every day
+will I give thanks unto Thee, and praise Thy name for ever and ever.'
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Transcriber's Notes:
+
+Obvious punctuation errors repaired.
+
+The original text had no table of contents. One was added as an aid to
+the reader.
+
+Page 31, "emained" changed to "remained" (have remained bitterly)
+
+Page 51, "See page 52." was added to the text to conform to remaining
+illustrations.
+
+Page 52, "tel" changed to "tell" (you'll not tell)
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Holiday Tales, by Florence Wilford
+
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