t to take a parting peep at the external before locking the door for
the night, Betty found him sitting upon the door-step, only, however,
to send him off, as she described it, 'wi' a flech [1] in 's lug (a flea
in his ear).' For the character of the mother was always associated
with the boy, and avenged upon him. I must, however, allow that those
delicate, dirty fingers of his could not with safety be warranted from
occasional picking and stealing.

At this period of my story, Robert himself was rather a
grotesque-looking animal, very tall and lanky, with especially long
arms, which excess of length they retained after he was full-grown. In
this respect Shargar and he were alike; but the long legs of Shargar
were unmatched in Robert, for at this time his body was peculiarly long.
He had large black eyes, deep sunk even then, and a Roman nose, the size
of which in a boy of his years looked portentous. For the rest, he was
dark-complexioned, with dark hair, destined to grow darker still, with
hands and feet well modelled, but which would have made four feet and
four hands such as Shargar's.

When his mind was not oppressed with the consideration of any important
metaphysical question, he learned his lessons well; when such was
present, the Latin grammar, with all its attendant servilities, was
driven from the presence of the lordly need. That once satisfied in
spite of pandies and imprisonments, he returned with fresh zest, and,
indeed, with some ephemeral ardour, to the rules of syntax or prosody,
though the latter, in the mode in which it was then and there taught,
was almost as useless as the task set himself by a worthy lay-preacher
in the neighbourhood--of learning the first nine chapters of the first
Book of the Chronicles, in atonement for having, in an evil hour of
freedom of spirit, ventured to suggest that such lists of names, even
although forming a portion of Holy Writ, could scarcely be reckoned of
equally divine authority with St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans.

CHAPTER VIII. THE ANGEL UNAWARES.

Although Betty seemed to hold little communication with the outer world,
she yet contrived somehow or other to bring home what gossip was going
to the ears of her mistress, who had very few visitors; for, while her
neighbours held Mrs. Falconer in great and evident respect, she was not
the sort of person to sit down and have a news with. There was a certain
sedate self-contained dignity about her which the