him that a
young gentleman waited to see him in the dining-room.

"Oh!" said the doctor to himself, "my dilatory pupil, I presume."

He seemed lost in thought for a minute, and then slowly crossing
the hall, entered the dining-room.

Louis had been very anxious for the appearance of his master, yet
almost afraid to see him; and when the door opened, and this gentleman
stood before him, he was seized with such a palpitation as scarcely to
have the power of speech.

Dr. Wilkinson was certainly a person calculated to inspire a school-boy
with awe. He was a tall, dignified man, between fifty and sixty years
of age, with a magnificent forehead and good countenance: the latter
was not, however, generally pleasing, the usual expression being stern
and unyielding. When he smiled, that expression vanished; but to a
new-comer there was something rather terrible in the compressed lips
and overhanging eyebrows, from under which a pair of the keenest black
eyes seemed to look him through.

Louis rose and bowed on his master's entrance.

"How do you do, Mortimer?" said the doctor, shaking hands with him.
"I dare say you are tired of waiting. You have not seen your brother,
I suppose?"

"No, sir," replied Louis, looking in the stern face with something
of his customary simple confidence. Doctor Wilkinson smiled, and
added, "You are very like your father,--exceedingly like what he
was at your age."

"Did you know him then, sir?" asked Louis, timidly.

"Yes, as well as I hope to know you in a short time. What is your name?"

"Louis Francis, sir."

"What! your father's name--that is just what it should be. Well, I hope,
Louis, you will now endeavor to give him the utmost satisfaction. With
such a father, and such a home, you have great privileges to account
for; and it is your place to show to your parents of what use their
care and instruction have been. In a large school you will find many
things so different from home, that, unless you are constantly on your
guard, you will often be likely to do things which may afterwards cause
you hours of pain. Remember that you are a responsible creature sent
into the world to act a part assigned to you by your Maker; and to Him
must the account of every talent be rendered, whether it be used, or
buried in the earth. As a Christian gentleman, see, Louis, that you
strive to do your part with all your might."

Dr. Wilkinson watched the attention and ready sympathy with his
admonitio