to educate myself," she said soberly. "I thought if I could
learn even only a little before I went to Cousin Charlotte's it would not
seem _so_ bad. But I don't seem able to get on _very_ well. I can't
quite make out what it is all about, and the words are very long.
I thought I'd try though. I only wish I'd thought of it sooner."

Esther felt a twinge of shame. She had thought of it, but she had done
nothing, and her inmost conscience told her she might have spent her time
more profitably than she had. "If we were not going away, Pen," she said
enthusiastically, "we would have lessons here every day. P'r'aps if we
kept on at it we might get to understand better, and we might get some
nice books in time. But," hopelessly, "it is too late now."

"Oh, I don't think so," said Penelope encouragingly. "It can never be
_too_ late to learn things, and p'r'aps we can make up for lost time.
At any rate, let's try."

"Very well, we'll begin now. Shall we start together? What book are you
reading?"

"It is called _The Invasion of the Crimea_" said Penelope slowly.
"I think it will be very interesting--further on."

"I wonder what the Crimea was," mused Esther.

"If we read very carefully perhaps we shall find out. There seems to be a
lot about soldiers and battles."

"I wonder," said Esther, after a moment's thought, "if it will be any good
our reading all this. Don't you think we ought to learn something that
people talk about every day?"

Penelope looked a little disappointed. "I don't know," she said slowly.
"I don't know how to--or what books to get, and--and p'r'aps some people
do talk about the Crimea. Cousin Charlotte may, and then won't she be
surprised if we know all about it!"

"Is it long?" asked Esther, still dubiously. Esther wanted to find the
royal road to knowledge, which is easy and short and smooth--so they say,
but no one knows, for no one has found it yet.

"Eight more volumes," said Penelope, almost apologetically. She was
beginning to feel her zest for self-education considerably damped.
"But," brightening up a little, "we can go on with this, at any rate,
until we find out what we _ought_ to learn. It can't do any harm.
It looks like history, and I am sure we ought to know history."

"Yes," agreed Esther. So they began taking it in turns to read; but the
words were long, and the names difficult to pronounce, and Esther's mind
was in such a state of turmoil she could not fix it