Rose pulled her pet curl and put up her lip, but had to own that she was
wrong, and said meekly, after a pause which threatened to be sulky,

"I suppose I should have said 'Luly and I,' in that case, and 'that sort
of things' and 'rightly,' though 'correctly' would have been a better
word, I guess."

"Thank you; and if you will kindly drop 'I guess,' I shall like my
little Yankee all the better. Now, see here, Rosy, I don't pretend
to set myself up for a model in anything, and you may come down on my
grammar, manners or morals as often as you think I'm wrong, and I'll
thank you. I've been knocking about the world for years, and have got
careless, but I want my girl to be what I call well-educated, even if
she studies nothing but the three 'Rs' for a year to come. Let us be
thorough, no matter how slowly we go."

He spoke so earnestly and looked so sorry to have ruffled her that
Rose went and sat on the arm of his chair, saying, with a pretty air of
penitence,

"I'm sorry I was cross, uncle, when I ought to thank you for taking
so much interest in me. I guess no, I think you are right about being
thorough, for I used to understand a great deal better when papa taught
me a few lessons than when Miss Power hurried me through so many. I
declare my head used to be such a jumble of French and German, history
and arithmetic, grammar and music, I used to feel sometimes as if it
would split. I'm sure I don't wonder it ached." And she held on to it as
if the mere memory of the "jumble" made it swim.

"Yet that is considered an excellent school, I find, and I dare say it
would be if the benighted lady did not think it necessary to cram her
pupils like Thanks-giving turkeys, instead of feeding them in a natural
and wholesome way. It is the fault with most American schools, and the
poor little heads will go on aching till we learn better."

This was one of Dr. Alec's hobbies, and Rose was afraid he was off for
a gallop, but he reined himself in and gave her thoughts a new turn by
saying suddenly, as he pulled out a fat pocket-book,

"Uncle Mac has put all your affairs into my hands now, and here is your
month's pocket money. You keep your own little accounts, I suppose?"

"Thank you. Yes, Uncle Mac gave me an account book when I went to
school, and I used to put down my expenses, but I couldn't make them go
very well, for figures are the one thing I am not at all clever about,"
said Rose, rummaging in her desk for a dila