the cover of a letter; and hobbling up to the
table, he took the pen, cleared it of a hair that was sticking in it,
made a scratch or two weakly and ineffectually, then wrote in a neat
clear hand, without running up or down, 'Friarswood, Christmas.'

'A pretty hand as ever I saw!' said Mrs. King. 'Well, if you can write
like that, and can be trusted to make no mistakes, you might write out
our bills; and we'd be obliged to you most kindly.'

And so Paul did, so neatly, that when the next evening Mr. Cope walked in
with the money, he said, looking at Harold, 'Ah! my ancient Saxon, I must
make my compliments to you: I did not think you could write letters as
well as you can carry them.'

''Twas Paul did it, Sir,' said Harold.

'Yes, Sir; 'twas Paul,' said Mrs. King. 'The lad is a wonderful scholar:
he told off all the sums as if they was in print; and to hear him
read--'tis like nothing I ever heard since poor Mrs. Selby, Miss Jane's
mother.'

'I saw he had been very well instructed--in acquaintance with the Bible,
and the like.'

'And, Sir, before I got to know him for a boy that would not give a false
account of himself, I used to wonder whether he could have run away from
some school, and have friends above the common. If you observe, Sir, he
speaks so remarkably well.'

Mr. Cope had observed it. Paul spoke much better English than did even
the Kings; though Ellen was by way of being very particular, and
sometimes a little mincing.

'You are quite sure it is not so?' he said, a little startled at Mrs.
King's surmise.

'Quite sure now, Sir. I don't believe he would tell a falsehood on no
account; and besides, poor lad!' and she smiled as the tears came into
her eyes, 'he's so taken to me, he wouldn't keep nothing back from me, no
more than my own boys.'

'I'm sure he ought not, Mrs. King,' said the Curate, 'such a mother to
him as you have been. I should like to examine him a little. With so
much education, he might do something better for himself than
field-labour.'

'A very good thing it would be, Sir,' said Mrs. King, looking much
cheered; 'for I misdoubt me sometimes if he'll ever be strong enough to
gain his bread that way--at least, not to be a good workman. There! he's
not nigh so tall as Harold; and so slight and skinny as he is, going
about all bent and slouching, even before his illness! Why, he says what
made him stay so long in the Union was that he looked so small and young,
that no