to say--'There's one
stupid dunce of a fellow; I could never make anything of him.'"

"You will do better in future," whispered Nelly, as she went forward to
shake hands with Mr. Learning, who benignantly smiled at his pupil.

"We will go in here first," said Dame Desley; "Lubin, dear, come to my
side."

The poor boy would gladly have kept back, and had some thoughts of
running away down the hill, so grievously was he ashamed that his mother
and guardian should see what little use he had made of his hours. He
dared not, however, disobey; so with Dame Desley on one side, and
stately Mr. Learning on the other, feeling like a culprit between two
constables, he entered his ill-furnished cottage.

Dame Desley looked to the right hand, and then she looked to the left;
and the longer she looked the longer grew her face, and the graver the
expression which it wore. There was a terribly awkward silence. Nelly
felt quite uncomfortable, and Lubin stood twisting the button on his
jacket, and wishing himself up to the neck in brook Bother, or anywhere
but at home. At last the mother spoke, but her accents were those of
displeasure.

"What can you have done, stupid boy, with all your minutes and hours?"

"I gave some to my shopping--" whimpered Lubin.

"Humph!" growled Mr. Learning.

"Very few, I fear," said Dame Desley.

"Procrastination picked my pocket of some, and--and--"

"I suspect that the frequenters of Amusement's Bazaar could tell us
where the best part have gone," said Mr. Learning with freezing
severity. "You have thrown away your minutes and your hours upon balls,
ninepins, marbles, and lollypops."

What could poor Lubin reply? He knew that the accusation was too true.
His distress reached its height on his seeing that the eyes of his
mother were resting on the big DUNCE, which stared in black letters from
the wall.

"Oh, that I could pummel Mr. Learning for writing it up there!" thought
Lubin.

"I wonder that you do not blush to look at that!" exclaimed Dame Desley,
in high displeasure. "This very day you must be off to Mr. Reading's,
and get a respectable paper to cover that shameful wall."

"And don't forget the ladder of Spelling," cried Mr. Learning; "there's
nothing to be done without that."

Nelly, who saw that Lubin's face was growing as red as the feathers of
Parade, now timidly came forward to try and draw attention from the
unhappy sluggard. "Dear mother, I hope that you remember that you h