ed to give up; but
I'm quite sure she will be glad to hear of your doing the same. Now we
must make haste, for fear we should be too late for dinner.'

CHAPTER XV.

A CATASTROPHE.

It was not a very pleasant trio that sat at the table the morning after
the visit to the cottage. If Mabel had disliked the coarse work on which
she had been employed the day before, her repugnance to the examination
to which she was subjected by Aunt Mary, in order to test the
capabilities of her niece, and to find out what lessons would be most
appropriate for her, showed itself so plainly in fits of sullenness, or
tears of vexation, that even Miss Livesay herself could not help
feeling-dispirited; while Clara, though she tried to think only of her
lessons, felt very much disposed to shed tears on her aunt's account.
More than once, indeed, a subdued expression of rage escaped from the
irritated Mabel; but it was so instantly and authoritatively checked by
her aunt, that Mabel was made to feel that it would be useless for her
to contend: so she sat and pored over her book in sullen silence.

This lasted until near dinner-time, so that the results of this
morning's work, so far as Mabel was concerned, had been anything but
satisfactory when the books were put away; and it was with very painful
feelings that Miss Livesay contemplated not only the drudgery she would
be subjected to, in having to go through _early lessons_ with this
refractory niece of hers (who was far, very far behind both Clara and
the Maitlands in her learning), but the conflict she was likely to
encounter with pride and obstinacy, evils she never before had to
contend with.

Aunt Mary, however, was not one to give way to despondency, and at the
dinner-table she had resumed all her usual cheerfulness; nor did she
make the least difference in her manners to her nieces, but chatted with
them both, as if nothing had occurred to disturb her serenity.

The mornings at Oak Villa were always devoted to lessons; in the
afternoon there were two hours spent in work and reading; then the day's
duties were finished, if we except the looking over the lessons for the
following day, which Clara never omitted doing. And on this day she had
a scheme in her head, both for doing Mabel good, and saving her dear
aunt trouble.

In short, she determined, if possible, to induce her cousin to exert
herself in learning extra lessons, in order to overtake the young
Maitlands and hers