t me here
when I was ten. Just before the summer holidays were over Uncle Charlie
married, and I'm sure our new aunt does not care for us to be there. But
I never thought they'd send Chris to school. I wonder what they'll do
with Nellie?"

"Can't you write to your father?"

"I will directly, but it's so long before I can hear."

* * * * *

A poor little fellow taken from the nursery. A brave, bright little man
enough, but oh! so young, so pitifully young to be sent to a school
where there were fifty or sixty boys in what was called the lower school
only! Poor little Christopher! If his mother could have seen him! He
came--bright--happy--full of life, determined to like it; but before two
days were over his little soul was full of misery. The boys of ten and
eleven years became his dread and torment. On the second day he saw
nothing of Hubert till the evening, and then he said, "Hubert, why
couldn't I go to our grandfather?"

"Nobody even thought of such a thing, Chris. I don't expect our
grandfather would like us."

"How do you know?" said the child.

"Oh! don't bother," returned his brother. "Only by what I've heard nurse
say. She was talking one day to Jane, and she said, 'The children would
have gone to General Graham's, only, you know, he was angry with master
for marrying, and so master never asked him to have them.' I asked nurse
what she meant, and she was vexed that I'd heard it, and said it was
nothing I could understand."

"But I am so miserable here."

"Try to like it. Seton says you can go into his study to-night, and do
your exercises. The fellows in the school don't leave you alone, do
they, Chris?"

"No," said poor little Chris; "they don't." And sitting in Seton's
little study that night the child found comfort for the first time.

And for a few days things seemed better. But it was not to last. Those
boys in the lower school, who had tormented him before, were worse than
ever, now that they thought he was being made a favourite of by one of
the senior boys, and the poor little fellow had no peace. He complained
bitterly to his brother, but it was no good. Hubert said it would only
make the boys ten times worse if he interfered. "And never mind, old
fellow," he said; "it's half-holiday to-morrow, and you'll get some
jolly games."

"Jolly games," thought poor little Christopher; "I know better. They
won't be very jolly to _me_."

And then Christoph