Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III Though there was more than one snug little room at Bracefort which other people might have turned into a schoolroom, yet Lady Eleanor always preferred, in the summer at any rate, to take the children with her to the hall for their lessons. Her favourite seat was by the great mullioned window, which shed light on everything in the rooms, and her favourite teaching was to make every old picture or helmet or weapon on the walls tell its story to the children. So on the day after Salamanca Day she was sitting as usual in her corner by the window, on a very stiff high-backed chair ; for people did not lounge in those days, and children were taught at meals to keep their thumbs on the table to make them sit upright. Little Elsie sat by her on a smaller but equally stiff chair, stitching diligently at her sampler, and Dick stood before her glancing furtively over his shoulder. The blue sky outside was so great a distraction to him that LadyEleanor had turned his back to the window, and set before him an old steel morion of the time of Queen Elizabeth ; and with this to inspire him, Dick was struggling with the ballad of the Brave Lord Willoughby. " Come, Dick," Lady Eleanor was saying, " we can do better than that. Try again. ' For seven hours to all men's view—' " But just at this moment the Corporal came in. " If you please, my Lady, Betsy Fry's just come up. She's in a terrible taking about her boy, and she's brought him up to see you." " Very well. I'll come out and see her directly," said Lady Eleanor. " Come, Dick,"—but Dick had turned half round and was smiling at the Corporal. " Come, sir," said the Corporal returning, " heels together. Little fingers on the seams of the overalls. Eyes to the front," and he placed the boy's hands gently in position b...