ed on together and
turned down a long, narrow court in the lowest part of the town.
At the doors of the houses laboring men, mostly Irish, lounged or
stood about, smoking and talking to one another, or to the women
who leant out of the windows, or passed to and fro on their
various errands of business or pleasure. A group of half-grown
lads were playing at pitch-farthing at the farther end, and all
over the court were scattered children of all ages, ragged and
noisy little creatures most of them, on whom paternal and
maternal admonitions and cuffs were constantly being expended, and
to all appearances in vain.

At the sight of Grey a shout arose amongst the smaller boys, of
"Here's the teacher!" and they crowded around him and Tom as they
went up the court. Several of the men gave him a half-surly
half-respectful nod, as he passed along, wishing them good
evening. The rest merely stared at him and his companion. They
stopped at a door which Grey opened, and led the way into the
passage of an old tumble-down cottage, on the ground floor of
which were two low rooms which served for the school-rooms.

A hard-featured, middle-aged woman, who kept the house, was
waiting, and said to Grey, "Mr. Jones told me to say, sir, he
would not be here to night, as he has got a bad fever case--so
you was to take only the lower classes, sir, he said; and the
policeman would be near to keep out the big boys if you wanted
him. Shall I go and tell him to step round, sir?"

Grey looked embarrassed for a moment, and then said, "No, never
mind; you can go;" and then turning to Tom, added, "Jones is the
curate; he won't be here to-night; and some of the bigger boys
are very noisy and troublesome, and only come to make a noise.
However, if they come we must do our best."

Meantime, the crowd of small ragged urchins had filled the room,
and were swarming on to the benches and squabbling for the
copy-books which were laid out on the thin desks. Grey set to
work to get them into order, and soon the smallest were draughted
off into the inner room with slates and spelling-books, and the
bigger ones, some dozen in number, settled to their writing. Tom
seconded him so readily, and seemed so much at home, that Grey
felt quite relieved.

"You seem to get on capitally," he said; "I will go into the
inner room to the little ones, and you stay and take these. There
are the class-books when they have done their copies," and so
went off into the inne