eve
what an amount of falsehoods she managed to tell Eden and me about it.'

'Ah, if you had lived at Westhaven you would have found out that to be so
particular is the way to make those girls fib,' said Mrs. Morton.

'I hope not. I think we have a very good girl now, trained up in an
orphanage.'

'Oh, those orphanage girls are the worst of all. I've had enough of
them. They break everything to pieces, and they run after the lads worst
of all, because they have never seen one before!'

To which Mary answered by a quiet 'I hope it may not turn out so.'

There were more agitating questions to be brought forward. Herbert had
behaved very fairly well ever since the escapade of the pied rook; the
lad kept his promise as to betting faithfully in his uncle's absence, and
though it had not been renewed, he had learnt enough good sense to keep
out of mischief.

Unfortunately, however, he had not the faculty of passing examinations.
He was not exactly stupid or idle, but any kind of study was a bore to
him, and the knowledge he was forced to 'get up' was not an acquisition
that gave him the slightest satisfaction for its own sake, or that he
desired to increase beyond what would carry him through. Naturally, he
had more cleverness than his uncle, and learning was less difficult to
him, but he only used his ability to be sooner done with a distasteful
task, which never occupied his mind for a moment after it was thrown
aside. Thus time after time he had failed in passing for the army, and
now only one chance remained before being reduced to attempting to enter
the militia. And suppose that there he failed?

He remained in an amiable, passive, good-humoured state, rather amused
than otherwise at his mother's impression that it was somehow all his
uncle's fault, and ready to be disposed of exactly as they pleased
provided that he had not the trouble of thinking about it or of working
extra hard.

Mrs. Morton was sure that something could be done. Could not his uncle
send him to Oxford? Then he could be a clergyman, or a lawyer or
anything. Oh dear, were there those horrid examinations there too? And
then those gentlemen that belonged to the ambassadors and envoys--she was
sure Mr. Rollstone had told her any one who had connection could get that
sort of appointment to what they called the Civil Service. What,
examinations again? connection no good? Well, it was shame! What would
things come to? As Mr Rollstone