the best use of
these quiet morning hours."

Bessy muttered something which Mrs. Goodriche did not choose to hear,
but when she got into the parlour, she threw herself back on the sofa
as if she were dying of fatigue.

Mrs. Goodriche handed a Bible to her, saying:

"We will begin the morning with our best book: you shall read a chapter
whilst I go on with my work; come, find your place--where did we leave
off?"

Bessy opened the Bible, fetching at the same time a deep sigh, and,
after some minutes, began to read.

Mrs. Goodriche could have sighed too, but she did not.

Bessy was a most careless reader; she hated all books; indeed, her aunt
thought that, from never having been exercised in anything but learning
columns of spelling, she had hardly the power of putting any sense, in
her own mind, to the simplest story-book which could be put into her
hands.

It was heavy work to sit and hear her blunder through a chapter; but,
when that was finished, the kind aunt tried at some little explanation;
after which she set her to write in a copy-book. Mrs. Goodriche
dictated what she was to write: it was generally something of what she
had herself said about the chapter; but what with blots, and bad
spelling, and crooked lines, poor Bessy's book was not fit to be seen.

This exercise filled up nearly an hour, and a most heavy hour it was:
and then Mrs. Goodriche produced a story-book--one lent to her by Mrs.
Fairchild--which, being rather of a large size, did not quite appear to
be only fit for children; what this book was I do not know.

"Now, my dear," she said, "you will have great pleasure in reading this
book to me, I am sure; but before we begin I must fetch another bit of
work: I have done what I brought down."

"La!" said Miss Bessy, "how fond you are of sewing!"

"Don't you remember, Bessy," replied Mrs. Goodriche, "that I never
attend to anything you say when you begin with 'la'!"

"We always said it at school," she answered.

"May be so," replied Mrs. Goodriche, "and you may say it here, if you
please; but, as I tell you, I shall never attend to anything you say
when you put in any words of that kind."

"La!" cried Miss Bessy again, really not knowing that she was saying
the word.

Mrs. Goodriche went up for her work, and when she returned, as she
might have expected, her bird was flown; and when she looked for her,
she saw her amongst some gooseberry bushes, feeding herself as fast as
she could. W