he would not give way. Walter, and
Power, and Henderson, all knew that he was bullied, sorely bullied; this
they learnt far more from Eden, and from other sources, than from
Charlie himself, for he, poor child, held himself bound by his promise
to Wilton, and kept his lips resolutely sealed. But these friends knew
that he was suffering for conscience sake; and Walter helped him with
tender, brotherly affection, and Power with brave words and kindly
sympathy, as well as by noble example, and Henderson by his cheering and
playful manner; and this caused him much happiness all day long, until
he felt that, with that short but heart-uttered prayer which he breathed
so earnestly from "the altar of his own bedside," he had strength
sufficient to meet and to conquer the trials which night brought.

In the house one boy and one only helped him. That boy _ought_ to have
been Kenrick; his monitorial authority and many responsible privileges
were entrusted to him, as he well knew, for the main express purpose of
putting down all immorality, and all cruelty, with a strong and
remorseless hand. It required very little courage to do this; the
sympathies of the majority of boys, unless they be suffered to grow
corrupted with an evil leaven, are naturally and strongly on the side of
right. In Mr Robertson's house, for instance, where Walter and
Henderson were monitors, such wrong-doings could not have gone on with
impunity, or rather could not have gone on at all. There, a little boy,
treated with gross severity or injustice, would not have hesitated for
an instant to invoke the assistance of the monitors, whom he looked upon
as his natural guardians, and who would be eager to extend to him a
generous and efficient protection.

The same was the case in Mr Edwardes's house, of which Power was the
head. Power, indeed, had no coadjutor on whom he could at all rely.
One of the monitors associated with him was Legrange, who rather
followed Kenrick's lead, and the other was Brown, who, though
well-intentioned, was a boy of no authority. Yet these two houses were
in a better condition than any others in the school, because the heads
of them did their duty; and it was no slight credit to Walter and
Henderson that their house stood higher in character than any other,
although it contained both Harpour and Jones. This could not have been
the case had not those two worthies found a powerful counterpoise in two
other fifth-form fellows,