My Lady. 31
hardly turning his head; “but don’t bother now,
there’s a good boy.”

My hands fell at my sides; I felt as if all my
pleasure in the book was gone ; and I crept silently
into my corner. I learnt afterwards that the new
mare, which had that day made her first journey,
had fallen lame, and turned out by no means worth
the price my father had paid for her; while, to
crown all, a ham that he had taken to sell, or rather
to give in part payment for the horse, had turned
out to be badly cured, and my father, justly angry
with Nance for her carelessness, had been upbraiding
her with it at the moment of my return. But I
understood nothing of this at the time, and only
felt nobody thought of me, nobody cared for me,
except, perhaps, my new friend. Well, I would care
only for pleasing her.

Accordingly, I studied my card diligently the next
day until my lady came, although I could get no
good from the study except accustoming my eyes
to the look of the queer marks that were so hard to
distinguish. I was slow at first ; indeed, I began to
fear that I never should know some of the smaller
letters apart; but my lady was very patient, and
seemed neither surprised nor discouraged at my
dulness. The putting together of the letters into
words was hard work too, for why should b-a-t be