4 DOGGED JACK.

disobedience; lazy and idle as you always are, you
have never yet presumed so far. Go to your room-
don't let me see you again to-night. Do you hear,
sir,-leave my presence instantly," and as the boy
hesitated, and seemed about to attempt some ex-
planation, Mr. Gilbert repeated again, with even
increased severity-
 "Leave me instantly, sir; I forbid you to speak
 to me this evening;" and with a flush of anger and
 indignation in his face, the culprit beat a hasty
 retreat.
 He crept up to his own room, and threw himself
on a seat by the window, cold, hungry, miser-
able.
 "He does not, he cannot care for me," thought the
boy, his heart thumping with anger and mortified
affection; "but I thought-oh! I thought he would
have remembered my birthday-my birthday that
mother always gave me a holiday on ; I never thought
he would send me to school to-day, but I am glad-
I am glad now I did not explain how it was. I was
determined this morning I would not remind him
what day it was; if he had loved me, he would have
remembered it himself, and oh, I never thought he
would quite forget-quite forget. He cannot, cannot
love me, and he ordered me out of the room just as
I was about to explain how it was. He forbade me to