ure," Mrs. Holl said, in an aggrieved voice, "you ain't no goose,
Harry, and if any one else said so I should give them a bit of my mind
sharp enough."

Harry did not attempt to argue with her, but with a little laugh turned
to his books again, and was soon deep in the mysteries of Caesar.

The next day a carrier's cart stopped before Mrs. Holl's house, to the
great amazement of the neighbourhood--for such an occurrence had not
been known in the memory of the oldest inhabitant in the street, and
quite a crowd of children collected to witness the delivery of a square
heavy box of considerable weight at the door.

Harry was almost beside himself with delight as he took out the
treasures it contained; and as fully half were story-books, his delight
was shared by the rest of the young Holls. It was evening when the cart
arrived, and John was just enjoying his first pipe, and he once more
uttered the sentiment he had expressed so often during the last four
days, "I should like to shake that young chap by the hand."

[Illustration]

CHAPTER IV.

AN ADOPTED CHILD.

A FEW days after school had commenced Frank Norris called in again at
the Holls'. It was a bright day, and Harry had gone out in his box, and
Mrs. Holl was alone.

"Harry will be sorry he is out, sir," was her first greeting to Frank;
"he has been looking forward to your coming again. You don't know, sir,
how much good you have done him. The boy has generally wonderful good
spirits, considering his condition; still, though he don't say nought, I
can see sometimes that he isn't never quite happy except when he is
working away with his books or playing on that fiddle of his.

"Evan has been and spent all the money as was given him that day at the
Serpentine in buying a new fiddle for him. I don't see much in the thing
myself, and it seems to me they must have cheated Evan altogether, for
it ain't a new un, but an old, brown, dirty-looking thing, as looks as
if it had been made nigh fifty years; and they goes and charges him
thirty-eight shillings for it, and pretended to make a favour of it,
while John only paid seven and sixpence for the one he had before, which
was a beautiful new shiny one.

"However, Harry seems delighted with it, and says it's beautiful soft,
and mellow. But what he means I don't know, though I do allow it ain't
so squeaky as the other; and sometimes when Harry is playing soft on it,
it does sound beautiful. Still, thirty-eigh