think that a relative of one of their classmates should have brought
such sorrow on the head of the honest son of toil; and when Teal
announced joyfully that "His uncle had found the hat of the gardener,"
Rosher was obliged to slap the speaker on the back, and say, "Bravo!"

This being M. Durand's first term in an English school, that gentleman
could hardly have been expected, as the saying goes, to be up to all
the moves on the board; and certain of his pupils, sad to relate, were
only too ready to take advantage of his lack of experience. It was
discovered that it was comparatively easy to obtain permission to leave
the class. "Please, sir, may I go and get a drink of water?" or
"Please, sir, may I go and fetch my dictionary?" was sufficient to
obtain temporary leave of absence; nor did the French master seem to
take much notice as to the length of time which such errands should by
right have occupied. The consequence was that not unfrequently towards
the end of the hour a quarter of his pupils were gathered in what was
known as the playshed, drinking sherbet, or playing cricket with a
fives ball and a walking-stick.

One particular morning, when the Lower Fourth were struggling with the
parsing and analysis of a certain portion of Goldsmith's "Deserted
Village," a mysterious patch of light appeared dancing about on the
wall and ceiling, attracting the attention of the whole class, and
causing the boy just told to "go on" to describe "man" as a personal
pronoun, and to put a direct object after the verb "to be."

"Fenleigh," said Mr. Copland, "just see who that is outside."

Valentine, who was seated nearest the window, rose from his place, and
looking down into the yard beneath saw the incorrigible Jack amusing
himself by flashing sunbeams with the pocket-mirror which he had won in
the dormitory sports. The latter, who ought by rights to have been
transcribing a French exercise, grinned, and promptly bolted round the
corner.

"Who was it, Fenleigh?"

Valentine hesitated.

"Who was it? Did you see the boy?"

"Yes, sir; it was my cousin."

"What! J. Fenleigh in the Upper Fourth?"

"Yes, sir."

"Humph! very well," answered Mr. Copland, making a memorandum on a slip
of paper in front of him; "I'll seek an interview with that young
gentleman after school."

Valentine's heart sank, for he had in his pocket a letter from Queen
Mab saying that she was driving over in the pony carriage that very
afternoo