t to go to school there? Several boys about your own age
are going."

"Oh, because a lot of girls go there, and I don't want to go to school
with girls," was Master Bert's ungallant reply.

Mr. Lloyd, who had evidently been much amused at the conversation, now
joined in it by drawing Bert toward him and asking, in a half-serious,
half-humorous tone:

"Is my boy Bert afraid of little girls?"

Bert's face flushed till it was crimson, and dropping his head upon his
breast, he muttered:

"I'm not afraid of them, but I don't like 'em, and I don't want to go to
school with 'em."

The fact of the matter was that Bert not only had his full share of the
repugnance to the other sex common to all boys of his age, but he had
besides a strong notion that it was not a manly thing to go to school
with girls, and if there was one thing more than another that he aspired
after, it was manliness.

Mr. Lloyd thoroughly understood his son's feelings, and felt disposed to
humour them. Accordingly, lifting up his head, he gave him a kiss on the
forehead, saying:

"Very well, Bert; we'll see about it. Since you have such decided
objections to Miss Goggles'--I beg her pardon, Miss Poster's--excellent
establishment, I will make inquiry, and see if I cannot find something
that will suit you better. I want you to like your school, and to take
an interest in it."

Bert's face fairly beamed at these words, and he heaved a huge sigh of
relief which brought another smile out on his father's countenance.

"You're such a good father," said Bert, hugging his knees, and there
the matter dropped for a few days.

When it came up again, Mr. Lloyd had a new proposition to make. In the
interval he had been making some inquiries, and had been recommended to
send his boy to a school just lately established by an accomplished
young lawyer, who had adopted that method of earning an honest penny
while waiting for his practice to become more lucrative. It was a good
deal of an experiment, Mr. Lloyd thought but possibly worth trying.

Accordingly, one fine morning in October, behold Master Bert in a rather
perturbed frame of mind trotting along beside his father, who pretended
not to be aware of his son's feelings, although at the same time seeking
in every way to divert him. But it was not with much success. Bert felt
thoroughly nervous over the new experience that awaited him. He had
never seen Mr. Garrison, who was to be his teacher, and imagined hi