ave been far
different. His life had been saved, so had his peace of mind, and now
even the consequences of old transgressions had been lightened for him.
What had he done to deserve all this?

This was the question which the boy humbly asked himself as he entered
the chapel that morning, and the Doctor's sermon fitted well with his
altered frame of mind.

It was a sermon such as he had often heard before in that chapel; the
words struck him now with a new force which almost startled him.
"Forgetting those things which are behind--reaching forth unto those
things which are before,"--this was the Doctor's text, and in the few
simple words in which he urged his hearers to lay the past, with all its
burdens, and disappointments, and shame, upon Him in whom alone
forgiveness is to be found, Stephen drank in new courage and hope for
the future, and in the thankfulness and penitence of his heart resolved
to commit his way more honestly than ever to the best of all keeping,
compared with which even a brother's love is powerless.

Before the morning was over Stephen duly went to the Doctor, who talked
to him very seriously. I need not repeat the talk here. Stephen was
very penitent, and had the good sense to say as little as possible; but
when it was all over he thanked the Doctor gratefully, and promised he
should never have to talk to him for bad conduct again.

"You must thank your brother for my not dealing a great deal more
severely with the case," said Dr Senior; "and I am quite ready to
believe it will not occur again. Now, good-bye."

And off Stephen went, the happiest boy alive, determined more than ever
to respect the Doctor's authority, and prove himself a model boy.

Sunday afternoon at Saint Dominic's was usually spent by the boys in
fine weather, in strolling about in the gardens, or rambling into the
woods by the banks of the Shar.

This afternoon, however, was somewhat overcast, and a good many of the
boys consequently preferred staying indoors to running the risk of
spoiling their best hats in a shower. Among those who kept the house
was Oliver, who, in reply to Wraysford's invitation to go out, pleaded
that he was not in the humour.

This indeed was the case, for, now that Stephen's affairs were settled,
the dread of the approaching Nightingale examination came back over him
like a nightmare, and made him quite miserable. The nearer the hour of
trial came the more convinced did Oliver become tha