if once he made up his mind. It frightened her a little, for she did
not feel half wise enough to lead him to make up his mind the right
way. She did not talk to Betty about it; indeed at present Betty's
head seemed too full of ships to hold anything else. Hezekiah had made
Godfrey a beautiful little model vessel, carpentering quite wonderfully
with his remaining fingers, and had taught him the names of the ropes,
which the boy learnt directly. That was all very well, but when it
came to his saying them over to Betty when he ought to have been doing
his reading lesson, and drawing little ships on the slate when he
should have been at his sums, Angel began to be rather alarmed, and
ventured to speak gently to her sister about Godfrey's neglecting his
lessons. Betty was always ready enough to own herself in the wrong;
she was overwhelmed with penitence before Angel had half finished her
gentle remonstrance.

'I declare I want looking after twenty times more than Godfrey does,'
she exclaimed, with the quick tears in her bright eyes. 'I won't go
near Kiah for a week, and no more shall he.'

'Oh no, you mustn't do that!' exclaimed Angelica, in dismay; 'that
wouldn't be fair to poor Kiah or Godfrey either. I like you to go
there. I think it is a good thing; only I don't think it ought to
interfere with other things that have to be done.'

Betty stopped her as usual with a vehement hug.

'You are, next to Martha, the wisest person in the world, Angel. It's
Godfrey's history lesson this morning, and I'll take care we both do it
properly.'

But Betty had to find out that it is easier to make resolutions for
ourselves than to impress them upon other people. Godfrey was by no
means inclined for his history lesson that morning. Betty had taken a
great deal of trouble to understand about the Norman Conquest herself,
and to make it easy for Godfrey, but he would not take any interest
to-day in the oppression of the poor Saxons, or the curfew bell, or
Domesday Book.

'I want to go back to them coming over,' he persisted. 'What was his
flag-ship like--the admiral's I mean?'

'If you mean William the Conqueror's I don't know, and he wasn't an
admiral, he was a general. Godfrey, don't look out of the window--what
are you thinking about?'

'I'm thinking that if the Channel Fleet had watched the harbours
properly those French ships wouldn't ever have got out of port.'

'Godfrey, you must attend to what I am telling