ardly conceal his aversion. Ah, Eric!
moodiness and petulance cannot save you, but prayerfulness would; one
word, Eric, at the throne of grace--one prayer before you go down among
the boys, that God in His mercy would wash away, in the blood of His
dear Son, your crimson stains, and keep your conscience and memory
clean.

The boy knelt down for a few minutes, and repeated to himself a few
formal words. Had he stayed longer on his knees, he might have given
way to a burst of penitence and supplication--but he heard Ball's
footstep, and getting up he ran downstairs to breakfast; so Eric did not
pray.

Conversations did not generally drop so suddenly in dormitory Number 7.
On the contrary, they generally flashed along in the liveliest way, till
some one said "good-night;" and then the boys turned off to sleep. Eric
knew this, and instantly conjectured that it was only a sort of respect
for him, and ignorance of the manner in which he would consider it, that
prevented Duncan and the rest from taking any further notice of Ball's
remark. It was therefore no good disburdening his mind to any of them;
but he determined to speak about the matter to Russell in their next
walk.

They usually walked together on Sunday. Dr Rowlands had discontinued
the odious and ridiculous custom of the younger boys taking their
exercise under a master's inspection. Boys are not generally fond of
constitutionals, so that on the half-holidays they almost entirely
confined their open-air exercise to the regular games, and many of them
hardly left the playground boundaries once a week. But on Sundays they
often went walks, each with his favourite friend or companion. When
Eric first came as a boarder, he invariably went with Russell on Sunday,
and many a pleasant stroll they had taken together, sometimes
accompanied by Duncan, Montagu, or Owen. The latter, however, had
dropped even this intercourse with Eric, who for the last few weeks had
more often gone with his new friend Upton.

"Come a walk, boy," said Upton, as they left the dining-room.

"Oh, excuse me to-day, Upton," said Eric, "I'm going with your cousin."

"Oh, very well," said Upton, in high dudgeon; and hoping to make Eric
jealous, he went a walk with Graham, whom he had "taken up" before he
knew Williams.

Russell was rather surprised when Eric came to him and said, "Come a
stroll to Fort Island, Edwin--will you?"

"Oh yes," said Russell cheerfully; "why, we haven't see