After tea the young people had to learn their lessons for the next day.
They always tried to get these done, and the books put away, before Mr
Proctor came in on his shop being shut, and the business of the day
being finished. He liked to find his children at liberty for a little
play, or half an hour of pleasant reading; or, in the winter evenings,
for a dance to the music of his violin. Little Harry had been known to
be kept up far too late, that he might hear the violin, and that his
papa might enjoy the fun of seeing him run about among the rest, putting
them all out, and fancying he was dancing. All believed there would be
time for play with papa to-night, tea had been so much earlier than
usual. But Agnes soon feared there would be no play for Hugh. Though
Jane pored over her German, twisting her forefinger in the particular
curl which she always twisted when she was deep in her lessons; though
Agnes rocked herself on her chair, as she always did when she was
learning by heart; and though Mrs Proctor kept Harry quiet at the other
end of the room with telling him long stories, in a very low voice,
about the elephant and Brighton pier, in the picture-book, Hugh could
not learn his capital cities. He even spoke out twice, and stopped
himself when he saw all the heads in the room raised in surprise. Then
he set himself to work again, and he said "Copenhagen" so often over
that he was not likely to forget the word; but what country it belonged
to he could not fix in his mind, though Agnes wrote it down large on the
slate, in hopes that the sight of the letters would help him to
remember. Before he had got on to "Constantinople," the well-known
sound was heard of the shop-boy taking the shop-shutters out of their
day-place, and Mr Proctor would certainly be coming presently. Jane
closed her dictionary, and shook back her curls from over her eyes; Mrs
Proctor put down Harry from her lap, and let him call for papa as loud
as he would; and papa came bustling in, and gave Harry a long toss, and
several topplings over his shoulder, and yet Hugh was not ready.
"Come, children," said Mr Proctor to Agnes and Hugh, "we have all done
enough for to-day. Away with books and slates!"
"But, papa," said Agnes, "Hugh has not quite done. If he might have
just five minutes more, Miss Harold--"
"Never mind what Miss Harold says! That is, you girls must; but between
this and Michaelmas--"
He stopped short, and the girls saw that it was a sign from their mother
that made him do so. He immediately proceeded to make so much noise
with Harry, that Hugh discovered nothing more than that he might put
away his books, and not mind Miss Harold this time. If she asked him
to-morrow why he had not got down to "Constantinople," he could tell her
exactly what his father had said. So merry was Hugh's play this
evening. He stood so perfectly upright on his father's shoulders, that
he could reach the top of his grandmamma's picture, and show by his
finger-ends how thick the dust lay upon the frame: and neither he nor
his father minded being told that he was far too old for such play.
In the midst of the fun, Hugh had a misgiving, more than once, of his
mother having something severe to say to him when she should come up to
his room, to hear him say his prayer, and to look back a little with him
upon the events of the day. Besides his consciousness that he had done
nothing well this day, there were grave looks from his mother which made
him think that she was not pleased with him. When he was undressing,
therefore, he listened with some anxiety for her footsteps, and, when
she appeared, he was ready with his confession of idleness. She stopped
him in the beginning, saying that she had rather not hear any more such
confessions. She had listened to too many, and had allowed him to spend
in confessions some of the strength which should have been applied to
mending his faults. For the present, while she was preparing a way to
help him to conquer his inattention, she advised him to say nothing to
her, or to any one else, on the subject; but this need not prevent him
from praying to God to give him strength to overcome his great fault.
"Oh, mother! Mother!" cried Hugh, in an agony, "you give me up! What
shall I do if you will not help me any more?"
His mother smiled, and told him he need not fear any such thing. It
would be very cruel to leave off providing him with food and clothes,
because it gave trouble to do so; and it would be far more cruel to
abandon him to his faults, for such a reason. She would never cease to
help him till they were cured: but, as all means yet tried had failed,
she must plan some others; and meantime she did not wish him to become
hardened to his faults, by talking about them every night, when there
was no amendment during the day.
Though she spoke very kindly, and kissed him before she went away, Hugh
felt that he was punished. He felt more unhappy than if his mother had
told him all she thought of his idleness. Though his mother had told
him to go to sleep, and blessed him, he could not help crying a little,
and wishing that he was a Crofton boy. He supposed the Crofton boys all
got their lessons done somehow, as a matter of course; and then they
could go to sleep without any uncomfortable feelings or any tears.
In the morning all these thoughts were gone. He had something else to
think about; for he had to play with Harry, and take care of him, while
Susan swept and dusted the parlour: and Harry was bent upon going into
the shop--a place where, according to the rule of the house, no child of
the family was ever to set foot till it was old enough to be trusted;
nor to taste anything there, asked or unasked. There were some
poisonous things in the shop, and some few nice syrups and gums; and no
child could be safe and well there who could not let alone whatever
might be left on the counter, or refuse any nice taste that a
good-natured shopman might offer. Harry was, as yet, far too young;
but, as often as the cook washed the floor-cloth in the passage, so that
the inner shop-door had to be opened, Master Harry was seized with an
unconquerable desire to go and see the blue and red glass bowls which he
was permitted to admire from the street, as he went out and came in from
his walks. Mr Proctor came down this morning as Hugh was catching
Harry in the passage. He snatched up his boys, packed one under each
arm, and ran with them into the yard, where he rolled Harry up in a new
mat, which the cook was going to lay at the house-door.
"There!" said he. "Keep him fast, Hugh, till the passage-door is shut.
What shall we do with the rogue when you are at Crofton, I wonder?"
"Why, papa! He will be big enough to take care of himself by that
time."
"Bless me! I forgot again," exclaimed Mr Proctor, as he made haste
away into the shop.
Before long, Harry was safe under the attraction of his basin of bread
and milk; and Hugh fell into a reverie at the breakfast-table, keeping
his spoon suspended in his hand as he looked up at the windows, without
seeing anything. Jane asked him twice to hand the butter before he
heard.
"He is thinking how much four times seven is," observed Mr Proctor: and
Hugh started at the words.
"I tell you what, Hugh," continued his father; "if the Crofton people do
not teach you how much four times seven is when you come within four
weeks of next Christmas-day, I shall give you up, and them too, for
dunces all."
All the eyes round the table were fixed on Mr Proctor in an instant.
"There now!" said he, "I have let the cat out of the bag. Look at
Agnes!" and he pinched her crimson cheek.
Everybody then looked at Agnes, except Harry, who was busy looking for
the cat which papa said had come out of mamma's work-bag. Agnes could
not bear the gaze, and burst into tears.
"Agnes has taken more pains to keep the secret than her papa," said Mrs
Proctor. "The secret is, that Hugh is going to Crofton next month."
"Am I ten, then?" asked Hugh, in his hurry and surprise.
"Scarcely; since you were only eight and a quarter yesterday afternoon,"
replied his father.
"I will tell you all about it by-and-by, my dear," said his mother. Her
glance towards Agnes made all the rest understand that they had better
speak of something else now. So Mr Proctor beckoned Harry to come and
see whether the cat had not got into the bag again, as she was not to be
seen anywhere else. It is true, the bag was not much bigger than a
cat's head; but that did not matter to Harry, who never cared for that
sort of consideration, and had been busy for half an hour, the day
before, in trying to put the key of the house-door into the key-hole of
the tea-caddy.
By the time Agnes had recovered herself, and the table was cleared, Miss
Harold had arrived. Hugh brought his books with the rest, but, instead
of opening them, rested his elbow on the uppermost, and stared full at
Miss Harold.
"Well, Hugh!" said she, smiling.
"I have not learned quite down to `Constantinople,'" said he. "Papa
told me I need not, and not to mind you."
"Why, Hugh! Hush!" cried Jane.
"He did,--he said exactly that. But he meant, Miss Harold, that I am to
be a Crofton boy,--directly, next month."
"Then have we done with one another, Hugh?" asked Miss Harold, gently.
"Will you not learn any more from me?"
"That is for your choice, Miss Harold," observed Mrs Proctor. "Hugh
has not deserved the pains you have taken with him: and if you decline
more trouble with him now he is going into other hands, no one can
wonder."
Miss Harold feared that he was but poorly prepared for school, and was
quite ready to help him, if he would give his mind to the effort. She
thought that play, or reading books that he liked, was less waste of
time than his common way of doing his lessons; but if he was disposed
really to work, with the expectation of Crofton before him, she was
ready to do her best to prepare him for the real hard work he would have
to do there. His mother proposed that he should have time to consider
whether he would have a month's holiday or a month's work, before
leaving home. She had to go out this morning. He might go with her, if
he liked; and as they returned, they would sit down in the Temple
Garden, and she would tell him all about the plan.
Hugh liked this beginning of his new prospects. He ran to be made neat
for his walk with his mother. He knew he must have the wet curl on his
forehead twice over to day, but he comforted himself with hoping that
there would be no time at Crofton for him to be kept standing, to have
his hair done so particularly, and to be scolded all the while, and then
kissed, like a baby, at the end.