Captain Bayley's Heir:

baskets up area steps. His looks were homely, and his attire far from clean; but John was a good husband and father, and the great proportion of the many twopences he da

ere red and hard from much scrubbing and polishing, and she was considered generally by the servants in the establishments at which she

Sarah bustled about getting the tea, that he was informed of the important events which had taken place; for John, like many more distinguished men, had his idiosyncrasies, and one of these was that he hated to be, as he called it, "hustled," before he had tidied up.

, John, Evan 'as b

would prefer hearing the facts to wast

nd had to be taken to the 'Mane Society and put into a hot b

e from his mouth; "one of my mates tells me as he heard a chap going along w

nice business he made of it; when he got close out to the dog down he went hisself, and would have been drowned as sure as fate if a young gent as was a-standing there

ly into the fire; the number of facts and ideas presented suddenly

van?" he said at last; "col

at do you think? I have got thirty-eight bob

arted sort of action; and I ain't no manner of doubt, Sarah, that that's just what you think it yerself, only you are a bit scared over the thought that he might have been drowned, which is natural and woman-like. It seems to me as Evan has done a wery honourable kind o' action. I know as I should have liked to have done it myself, though I holds that a man can'

o keep up a semblance of disapproval, but embraced him with great heartiness, and then wiped her eyes with the corner of her apron. Then came the great point of the d

nd a way to be proud of. You are to do with it just what you likes; it were best

nnet, and I should like to get you a pound of bacca; and Winnie wants a new pair of boots and stockings, and

ish as you had bought that instead; that's human nature, and it's the same with men, women, and boys-at least that's my 'sperience, and mother will tell you the same. My advice is, give that money to mother to keep for you, say for a month. Well then,

d advice too, fa

ities of the family having been obtaine

when the important business of tea was concluded, and he again settled himself to hi

ne of those chaps as fought so well the day they got attacked going back to the School. A fine-looking chap he is too, with a pleasant face, and a nice sort o

proper, come Sunday, for you and I to go round to that young fellow's house and tell him how we feels about it. If it had been a chap of our own station in life I suppose there ain't nothing we wouldn't do for him,

ket-book my name and where we lived, and said as how he would look i

likely to be a great many on them living about here; but if there was fifty I would call on them all till I found the right one. I shan't be easy in my mind, not till I have shaken that young chap's hand and told

lked by, were not of a nature to display his powers. Harry could play other and very different kinds of music; for whenever Evan earned a sixpence by holding a horse, or doing any other odd job, a penny or twopence were sure to go in the purchase of a sheet of music for Harry at the cheap bookstalls. Harry had learned the notes from a secondhand book of instructions which John Holl had bought for him one Saturd

her foot as she worked; but in her heart she appreciated them; they made her feel as if she was in church, and sometimes she wo

al, was playing on his violin, and Mrs. Holl

ed, "who's a-coming botheri

. Holl moved towards the door, wiping the lather from her arms and hands,

or, and he saw who was standing without, "it's

then, catching sight of Harry, he at once wa

how he was; and as I had to come down to the School to-day for a book I wanted f

an already spotless chair and placed it for her visitor. "My John does nothing every evening but talk of how he wishes he cou

ork of breaking the ice, and then, if the cold was too much for him, I was to go out and fetch him in and finish the job myself. So you see it was a mutual arrangement, and no particular thanks due to any one. But your son is a plucky young fellow, Mrs. Holl, and he beh

nd a nice shouting he will make; his voice goes through and through my head when he is only a-talking with his brothers and sisters here, and if anything can bring them to the windows it will be his voice. He offered to come round here with the barrow a

worse for his cold bath. I came round partly to see him, partly to know if I could do anything for him; he seems a sharp lad, and I am sure he is as honest as he is plucky. As

ing into mischief; there never was such a boy for scrapes; if all my eight were like him I should go clean mad afore the week was out. When he is in the house, as long as he is tal

haracter than he deserves. He is up to fun, as is only natural with one

is too full of boyish tricks to be of any good in a place, and we should be a-having him back here

oubt he would tame down after a time, just as other boys do. Perha

lin; "I was wondering who was playing so well. How jolly it must be to play!

the street, for I can't very well get across crossings by myself. The wheels go well enough on a level, but I cannot push them up a curb-stone. But what with r

are fond of books I shall be glad to let you have some; I have got no end of them, and there they stand on my she

me at the bookstalls, and I have gone through and through them until I could almost say them by heart. And then tales of travel and history,

d rather do the toughest bit of construing than have a page of Greek history to get up. Well, I will certainly look you up some books on history and some

hat story about the siege of Troy. I only had it for a fortnight. Father bought it for me, and then one of the little ones manag

an to say that you read Virgil in Latin! You ar

and there was a Latin Grammar and Dictionary among them; and when I had learned the Grammar, it was very easy with the Dictionary to make out the sense of some of the Latin books. But of course I often come

I have got an hour at present with nothing special to do, so if you like we will have a go at it together. What have you got here?" and he walked across to a shelf on which were a number of books. "Oh! here

ving been regularly taught to construe, he was unable to apply the rules of grammar which he had learned. Frank taught him how to do this, how to take a sentence to pieces, how to parse it word by word, and to see how each word depended upon the others,

ds in their work, that the hour was far exceeded before the lesson came to an end by Mrs. Holl interfering bodily in

e, for half an hour and read with Harry. But I don't think he will want any help long. Still, it may help to show him the regular way of getting at things. And now I must hurry off. You will ask Evan to think over what I have said. Here is my address. I wrote it down in case I should find no one in. If he makes up his mind about it before I come again, he had better call on me there; the best time would be between nine an

earted and good-natured, without no sort of nonsense. He just sits himself down and makes himself at home

Harry did

, in a low voice, as if thinking aloud; "

ee very much of them myself in the houses I goes to, but I hears plenty about them from the servants' ta

al nature between them and us; there must, of course, be good and bad among

ts for it; just the same as you, who have educated yourself w

in grammar; it's the tone of voice, and the way of speak

loa or shout to each other in the streets. D' ye see they are taught to speak quiet, and they hear their fathers and mothers, and people ro

d a half sitting here, showing me how to construe. Why, I see the whole thing in a different way now; he has made clear all sorts of things that I could not understand; and he

"but I should not call him anything out of the way. Now

, quite shocked at what seemed to him a m

with eyes in his head could see that if you was dressed the same

nd me of an old saying I saw in a book the o

"you ain't no goose, Harry, and if any one else said

with a little laugh turned to his books again

for such an occurrence had not been known in the memory of the oldest inhabitant in the street, and quite a

was shared by the rest of the young Holls. It was evening when the cart arrived, and John was just enjoying his first pipe, and he onc