afterwards found out the reason was, that, although necessity
compelled him to re-open his school as soon as he could, he was too weak
to undergo the fatigue of following up his favourite diversion.

When the dinner-hour arrived, and the boys were dismissed, I waited
patiently to see what he would do with my basket, which stood beside
him. "Take your basket, and eat your dinner, Master Keene," said he,
walking out of the school-room into his own apartments. I could not
help saying, "Won't you have the sandwiches, sir?"

He turned round and gave me a look so penetrating and so diabolical,
that I felt sure that he knew to whom he had been indebted for his late
severe illness.

From this day forward Mr O'G never interfered with the contents of my
basket and I had my dinner all to myself. The shock which had been
given to his constitution was so great, that for three or four months he
may be said to have crawled to his school room, and I really began to
think that the affair would turn out more serious than was intended; but
gradually he regained his strength, and as he recovered his vigour, so
did he resume his severity.

But I was a great gainer during the three or four months of quiet which
reigned during Mr O'Gallagher's convalescence. Since I have been grown
up, I have often thought, and am indeed confirmed in my opinion, that we
lose rather than gain by being educated at too early an age. Commence
with one child at three years, and with another at seven years old, and
in ten years, the one whose brain was left fallow even till seven years
old, will be quite as far, if not further advanced, than the child whose
intellect was prematurely forced at the earlier age; this is a fact
which I have since seen proved in many instances, and it certainly was
corroborated in mine.

In six months I could read and write very fairly, and had commenced
arithmetic; true, I was stimulated on by the advice of Captain
Bridgeman, the love I bore my aunt Milly, and the hatred which I had for
my master, which made me resolve that I would not deserve punishment on
that score.

It was in May that I administered the dose to Mr O'Gallagher; in
September he was quite well again, and the ruler, the ferrule, and the
rod, were triumphantly at work. It is useless to say how often I was
punished, for it was every day; always once, sometimes twice; I became
completely callous to it, nay, laughed at it, but my mind was ever at
work upon so