y. He did not know what
had passed when he had left the library, that his mother's head had sunk
low, and her heart had shed the tears that he had not seen, and that now
came flowing from her eyes. And he did not know that she was utterly unfit
to speak to any one, so that when she stopped at his door, and seemed to
be going in, his father had said--

"No, Louisa, you must not; I will go and tell him that you would come, but
that you can't."

So that was how it was when Arthur heard his bedroom door open, and looked
round with an eager longing in his eye. He sunk back again on his pillow
when he saw that it was his father that was coming towards him, and he lay
there quite quietly without moving, so that Mr. Vivyan almost thought he
was asleep.

"Arthur," he said, "your mother wished me to tell you that she would have
come to see you herself, only she was not able. You know, my dear little
boy, she is quite ill with the thought of your trouble; and won't you try
and be cheerful, for I am sure you would not like to make her ill, would
you, Arthur?"

"No, father," said Arthur, in a very quiet voice, without lifting his head
or looking up.

"Good night, my child," said his father, stooping down and kissing him;
and then as he took his candle and went away from the room he said to
himself, "He is a very strange boy--very strange indeed. After all, I
don't think he takes it so very much to heart as Louisa imagines."

But he did not know. When Arthur heard his door shut, and when he knew
that no one would come in again, the storm began, and it was a storm of
passion when sorrow, and anger, and affection all raged together.

Arthur had always been a passionate child, and now the wild tempest that
nobody saw showed plainly his uncontrolled feelings. "Oh, dear! oh, dear!
what shall I do?" moaned the poor child to himself, tossing on his bed.
"And am I making mamma ill too? But how can I help it? How _can_ I help
it? I can't help being most frightfully miserable; yes, and angry too. I
am angry. Why did he come back from India to take mother away? I don't
believe she wants to go. Yes, I suppose she does though. Oh, I wish, I
wish he had never come back from India! Everything has gone wrong since. I
don't love him one bit. I wish, oh, I wish it was as it used to be once!"

Poor Arthur, he sobbed and moaned until he was tired, and the knowledge
that he was very wicked did not certainly make him happier.

He sobbed himself